Bisbee daily review., 1919-09-09
J. D. A. Morrow Tells Senate Commmittee Such Combina-
 tion Would Be Impossible.
PRICE AT MINES
 LOWER THAN LAST YEAR
Better Grades of Coal Have Advanced But Lower Grades Decline, Making
 Average of All Grades Less.

- ist and would be impossible if attempt ed J. D. A. Morrow, vice president of the National Coal Association, told the Senate Subcommittee in it's first days inquiry here into the coal situation. Prices at the mine, Mir. Morrow added, have declined under the competition which prevails and are lower now than they were a year ago.
 "There are about 5000 separate com mercial producers operating approxi- mately seven thousand mines, from which bituminous coal is regularly shipped Mr. Morrow said. 'In addi- u0n there are some two thousand Op- orators with about three thousand mines, who begin producing and sell ing coal whenever the price goes up a little and offers profit to them. Thus in 1917 coal production was reported to the United States Geological Survey from 10,634 mines. Moreover, there are hundreds of thousands of acres of coal lands along railroads on which new mines can be readily and quickly opened by anyone so disposed.
 'Such a condition obviously does not lend itself to restrictive combinations
  erhtors of each mining field are sub ject to competition from the produc- CTS of other fields, so that buyers have many different sources of supply available to them.
 Anyone who alleges that there is a nationwide combination among bi- luminous coal producers when these are the conditions of bituminous coal production and distribution, merely ad- vertises his own ignorance or convicts himself of deliberate and vicious mis- statements.
 'Of the five thousand separate bi- luminous coal producers in the United States, 2,294, approximately 45 per cent, hold membership in the National Coal Association. They produce about GO per cent of the total output of bi- luminous coal in the country.
 Charges that the National Coal As sQciatiOn is combination to maintain prices are without Foundation in fact they doubtless proceed simply from ig norance of it's purposes and activities. The National Coal Association neither buys nor sells coal; neither does it have anything whatever to do with the prices which it's members ask or sell at, nor with the territory into which tlley ship their coal nor the quantity which they produce"
 MT. Morrow stated that bituminous coal prices have declined since the aImistice, and in general are lower than the prices fixed by the United States Fuel administration. He sub- mitted charts to the committee graph ically showing the prices which bitum- inous coal sold at the mines in differ ent districts of the United States from April 1 to August 1, 1919. In connec- tion with these charts. Mir Morrow ex- plained that when the price restric- tiOns of the fuel administration were removed on Feb. 1 last, the better more desirable coals went Co a pre- mium in the open competitive market and the less desirable cOals declined in price.
 This was the action to be expected, he said in a market where the buyer exercises his choice and can obtain the kind he prefers. As a result, instead of the uniform prices in different dis tricts, which were fixed by the United States Fuel administration, prices promptly spread out, some coal going higher and some lower than they had been.
 ''Meantime,'' Mir. Morrow said, "the cost of producing bituminous coal is higher now than it was year ago, due to the fact that the mines then were operating six days a week, and in many cases now are operating only four days per week, and in some cases only three days per week. The over head expense of maintaining mines goes on just the same whether coal is produced or not. These idIe-day ex- penses have resulted in increased costs per ton, as compared with last year. When these increased costs gre consid- cred in connection with the general de- crease in prices, it is clear that profits of bitumnOus coal operators are ma terially less than a year ago"
 Referring to statements by Repre- sentative Hnddeston of AlalGma. Di- rector General Hines of the Railroad Administration and others to the ef- feet that bituminous coal prices at ths mines are unduly high, Mir. Morrow said:
 T wish to deny publicly and emphat- ically these allegations that bitum'nous coal prices are being maintained in some improper manner and are unduly high am convinced that these state ments proceed simply from a lack of understanding of the facts"
 Mir. Morrow drew comparisons be- tween the. prices of bituminous coals at the mines in tho United States and foreign countries.
 Prices at the mines in Great Brit ain," he said. "are aboue three tines the mine prices prevalent in the United States; in France the mine ,rices are more th1n thrpa and o half times those of the United States. Eng fish mine prices range from S604 10 S7 IA per ton, while bituminous coal in France is costing abont SS.T6 per ton at the mines. The average mine price of bituminOus coal sold in the United States is in the neighborhood of S24O per ton"