Arizona republican., 1919-09-12

That is, the Fuel Administration did not give higher prices to the coal producers of any district merely be- cause the coal was of better quality than the coal produced in some ad- iacent mining field. Poor coals and good coals, if their cost of produc- tion were the same, were treated alike, we understand, in fixing the Fuel Administration prices"
 Buyers Fix Prices.
 Mir. Morrow submitted charts to the Committee graphically showing the prices which bituminous coal sold at the mines in different districts of the United States from April to August l, 1919. In connection with these charts, Mir. Morrow explained that when the price restrictions of the Fuel Administration were re- moved on February l, 1919, the bet ter. more desirable coals went to premium in the open competitive market and the less desirable coals declined in price. He stated that this was the action to be expected in market where the buyer exercises his choice and can obtain the kind he prefers. As a result instead of the uniform prices in different districts, which were. fixed by the U. s. Fuel Administration. prices promptly spread out, some coal going higher and some lower than they had been.
 The charts submitted to the Con- mittee showed that in districts pro- ducing high quality coals, such as Pittsburgh, Southern Illinois. the Harlan Field of Kentucky, etc, prices had remained at about the level set by the Fuel Administration, or had advanced few cents above that level. In most districts, how ever, such as Central Pennsylvania, Northwest Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Central Illinois, the Hazard field of Kentucky, Northern West Virginia. etc. MT. Morrow said, coals of lower grade are produced. In such districts, prices declined from 10 cents to 40 cents per ton below the prices which prevailed under the U. s. Fuel Administration.
 Cost Increases.
 Meantime" Mir. Morrow said, "the cost of producing bituminous coal is higher now than it was a year ago, due to the fact that the mines then were operating six days week and in many cases are now operating only four days per week and some cases only three days a week. The overhead expense of maintaining mines goes on just the same whether coal is produced or not These idle day expenses have resulted in increased costs per ton, as compared with last year. When these increased costs are considered in connection with the general de- crease in prices, it is clear that profits of bituminous coal operators are materially less than year ago l"
 Mir. Morrow drew comparisons be- tween the prices of bituminous coals at the mines in the United States and foreign countries.
 Prices at the mines in Great Britain" he said. @are about three times the mine prices prevalent in the United States: in France the mine prices are more than three and a half times those of the United States. English mine prices range from s .94 to STA per ton, while bituminous coal in France is costing about s8.76 per ton at the mines. The average mine price of bitumin- ous coal sold in the United States is in the neighborhood of S2.40 per ton.p
 Effect of Car Shortage.
 The effect of car shortage upon coal production was testified to by John Callahan, Traffic Manager of the National Coal Association.
 ACar shortages caused the coal mines to fail to produce 5,900,0 tons of coal during the weeks ending