Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-07-30
COAL FAMINE CRY
KILLING INDUSTRY,
SAYSG. H. CUSHING
Director of American Whole
sale Association Replies to
Attacks in Article.

Declaring THE cry Of famine is
killing the coal industry in the
United States" threatening the flu
ture of the United States merchant
marine, tending toward government
control of the railroads and the re-
establishment of a federal fuel ad-
ministration and initiating coal prices
generally George H. Cushing man.
aging director of the American
Wholesale Coal Association, today
replied to attacks against him for
former statements in which he as
serted there is no coal shortage in
the United States.
Mr.. Cushings reply is in the form
of an article which will appear to-
morrow in a coal publication. 1t is
termed an expose of the fuel situa-
ton in the United States In 1t Mr..
Gushing cites statistics which he as
sertS show the railroads carried the
same percentage of coal in the first
three months of this coal year that
they carried in the corresponding
three months Of 1919. He declares
that the output in April. May and
June of 1913 was los, 10000 tons.
while the output for the same months
in 1920 was III, 10000 tons.
Propaganda to Blame.
Propaganda, says Mr.. Gushing. which
'looks though some one were try
ing to put something over on the
American people, is partly to blame
for the present situation. This propa-
ganda is not ours, as an industry"
he states. referring to the coal in
duStry.
Referring to the transportation diff
hculties Mr.. Cushing states:
Il wish TO call attention to the es-
sential difference between the trans
portation act of 1920 and it's immedi-
ate predecessors. The old laws pre-
supposed that the railroads were
adequate. They made il mandatory
upon the carriers to transport COM
merce whenever and wherever the
shipper wished.
The new law preSupposeS the rail-
roads are inadequate. 1t empowers
the Interstate Commerce Commission
TO deny transportation to shippers
under certain conditions.
The present plight of the railroads
must be eXplained-unTess it can be
covered up. Some one is personally
responsible. Some one must tell the
people why he acted in such a way as
to cripple our carriers. If the ques-
tion can be ev9ded, omebody is go
Ing to have more comfortable ex-
istence. Naturally. the way to evade
that issue is to prove that private
operation of the railroads is failure
and TO throw them back under public
ownership. where the question will
be lost"
Every successful world commercial
power won its first step toward that
success by having coal to offer to
those who had none. Mr.. Cushing de-
ClareS. England and Germany had the
largest exportable SURPRISES of coal
before the war. he states, and they
were, respectively, the first and sec
ond commercial powers of the world.
Germany has lost her coal. Mr.. Cush-
ing points out. and England's ex-
portable surplus has been so reduced.
he declares. it no more than equals
the mine productivity of France.
Conquer World Trade.
Beginning in 1916 America set out
trade" Mr. Cushing states. We pro-
cceded on the knowledge that we
would get a reader audience if we
had coal to offer. We spent three and
one-half billions of dollars of the
peoples money for ships We Gre
ated Shipping Board to outline our
foreign commercial policy. Having
temporarily. control of our feet the
Shipping Board is building up Amer
lean routes of travel for American
goods. These routes of travel are to
be outlined by American coaling de-
pots.
Thus our whole national policy,
with respect to international trade
rises or falls on whether we have an
eXportable surplus of coal. Naturally
anu OBVIOUSLY we nave not a pound OF
exportable surplus. II is true that we
have a tremendous shortage-a real
fdmine-at home.
The one statement most relied upon
to bolster up the claim of famine
is that the railroads have not been
placing enough cars at the mines."
says Mr.. Gushing. He goes on to "ad-
nit" that the railroads have never
before been in such a bad condition
as they were this spring: that the
percentage of cars at any one mine or
group of mines has been below their
capacity to produce and even below
what has been normal in past years
Even So" Mr.. Cushing stated, the