The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-06
For the Good of
 the Community

D ENDING in the Congress of the United States are three bills which have for their purpose relief for the coal car shortage and the distribution of coal purchases throughout the year. One of the bills terminates the provisions Of the Lever war time control act another pro- vides for a permanent official to be known as federal commissioner of coal, and the third and most important, provides for sliding scale of freight rates.
 It has been the custom in all parts of the country for consumers, both of fuel and domestic grades, to buy their SUD- plies in the fall and winter, thus piling into about seven or eight months the great bulk of coal shipments with four or five months of slack buying and consequent slackening of work at the mines. Coal mining differs from most other industries in that the coal must be moved from the mines as fast as it is brought to the suf- face. There cannot be storage facilities at the mines.
 To encourage summer buying the operators in the Birmingham district have l in the past made considerable reduc- tion in price in the spring, with grad ually advancing schedule of prices from midsummer up to October or November, when the heavy winter buying begins. This has to some extent induced consu1l- CTS to lay in their winter supplies in the summer months, thereby giving employ ment to the miners and freight for the cars at the season when consumption is at it's lowest.
 ti A telegram from Washington to The Iron age, relating to these proposed laws, says:
 ] "The third and most important of the bills pro- vides sliding scale of freight rates on coak It is provided that between March and September the freight rate shall be 15 per cent less than the published tariff, and from September to March
 the rate shall be 15 per cent in excess of the pulp
 shed tariff It is the intention of the framers of the bill that this freight rate dfferential shall fur nsh sufficient incentive to coal consumers to pur chase their supply in the spring and summer and store it for winter use. Through this plan 1t is claimed that the coal cars will be kept busy all the year round, and shortages of equipment will not prevail in the winter season, even though no ad-@ ditiona cars are purchased. Furthermore, by keeping the mines busy all the year round, 1t h claimed that the greatest cause of discomfort on the part of the miners will be removed In creased wages, it is pointed out, are chiefly de , manded because of idle time rather than because
 
 which miners are actually employed.
 s'The views of Chairman Clark of the Interstate Commerce Commission are embodied in 3 coin prehensive statement which was furnished to the Senate by Senator Frelinghuysen, who Sunnlar- ized the advantages claimed by MT. Clark for the plan:
 T. It would stabilize the price of coal.
 "2 It would obviate very largely the pressing necessity for more coal cars.
 3. It would remedy the present inadequacy of terminal facilities
 "A. It would promote regularity of employment in the mines, and would thus settle most of the ! outstanding grievances of the miners" !"
 Consumers sometimes hesitate to con- tract in the spring and summer for coal needed the following winter on the ground that prices may be lower later on.' Their hopes are hardly ever realized, but repeated disappointments in this respect fail to work change in their programme.
 There will be slight rise in the price of coal caused by the increased wage scale, and this will probably prevail through the summer Whether coal will cost more next winter than it will in June cannot be foretold. Conditions next No-