Evening journal., 1920-10-29

Coal costs So. - ton at the mine.
This price includes the cost and pront
TO The Ope ratOr and all labor costs or
mining and cleaning and making the
product ready for the ultimate con-
sumer. Yet in July cbal cost cil 4
ton at Hampton Roads and S22 a ton
I'm New England. The basic reason has
been strikes, but strikes entirely out
side OF the coal field.
Chicago Is built on millions OF
cubic yards Of sand and gravel. There
are mountains OF sand and square
miles OF gravel where sand ana
gravel can be had for a few cents
cubic yard, within a few score miles
OF both Chicago and New York. Yet
Chicago and NeW York have TO pay
from $3.50 to So a cubic yard-aDout
twice what coal costs at the nine
fOr common sand or gravel.
PIicks used TO cost $40 a thousand.
But The price is sl4 a thousand IA
New York and Chicago, where rents
keep climbing because OF lack OF con-
siructlOn.
The basic cause in both these cases
Is slrikes-but strikes entirely outside
Of the building field. IN,
IL was a strike, but not a strike
by the growers or jobbers or re-
toliers OF fruit and vegetables, whica
forced every family IN 'he North At
lanlic section to pay 100 per cent
moro for their fruit and vegetables
this soring.
The 100000 men whose time and
WAGES were reduced by The sinall
printers strike, The mill ons OF men men
that were put out OF work 0y lle
coal strike, and. in general, Dy Iur
me biggest losses and costs Irohl
strikes have been caused by strikes
which occurred entirely outside the
| Industries most injured.
There are, because OF the intrisate
interrelation OF the human body, GER
/ tain vital nerve centers whose small
est disruption may have an ehect on
/ the whole human system OUT OF az
proportion 10 the area seemingly al
! fectCd.
4 man familiar with anatomy can,
| bv iabbing a needle into ceTaln OF
! theet nerve centcrs, though he leave
La wound no bigger than a needie
point. paralyze some major iuhctlon
q the body.
Water next TO air, is the most
plentiful and the most necessary lhin2
| to human life in the Whote Wotiu
| Vet Today 100000 New Workers de
] ltNu luI tNtll NA'F "a 49,
| iheN use on source twenty miles
outside OF the city limits, which NcrN
| few Of them have ever even seen II
ANYTHING should happenaO This source
/ for a single day, 5,OOOO0O New YORK
crs could not wash. With.S Weeh
millions OF persons would not be aDl'
10 get anything TO drink and woulc
have to give up their business g anc
Their homes and move out JI u'
city. -
In the same way, not only New
Workers. but most OF Whe rest OF oui
people have 10 depend for the fooC
they eat 10 keep them alive, Tor th'
fuel they burn for light and neat Iol
the clothes they wear ana LOT VII.
WaliA every other necessary OF llNlhe
on intricate and distant systems ~
production, transportation ana as stll
buion. most Of which they never s' se'
and scarcely know about and WHO'S.
cperalion is in the hands OF othel
Mon thew do not know and Owe
Syhom they have little more conlro
than an ordinary cell in the humal
lbodv has over the intricate organlza
tlon Of the human body that keeps
thus. lust as in the human body
On In our vast. intricate Industrial or
ranizailon there are many wal herN.
cenfers whose smallest disruption ma!
have an eject on our whole econoinll
system out OF all proportion no T'
area affected. 49,,
And The skilled labor leader today
intimately familiar win Qur, tSo t
nomic anatomy has discovered wa
ne can, by striking al theSe nrl "
eenters though the disruption ma
moi itself appear on dhe surface TO p
bir or important. paralyze whole sec
lions OF our economic body
THE nations coal supply IS, o
course. one of the two most conspic
lous OF such nerve cemers.
Considered In bulk, o7 IN Intu
value coal represents less than : pc
reni ~ The total OF American com
modify production. All the men en-
gagged in coal mining represent. les
Than . per cent OF The total or Amer
lica's Industrial workers. Yet coal ]
lout OF an proportion ITO these hg,ire
iho most vital necessity in America
Industrial life. ,.. .
seriously interrupt our supply o
whea or wool or cotton OF sWel
anv other single product and yo
mSSv MN sion 40 20 or perhaps 40 pe
reni NJ an Industry. Seriously inter
runt phe supply OF coal, and % pc
cenf of industry. transportation, hea
lleht and almost as big a propoNi9 ~
N Inc food and water supply OF IN
whole country would be shut on
Iast November certain labor leader
stopped This less than 2 per cent 2
our production by the strikes or thl
less than ? per cent OF our worker
FOR n few weeks and threatened I
non Il longer. The actual non-prc
lductian was perhaps not more wa
$40 OOO 600 worth OF coal, nut VI
mere beginning OF the .srikc' coupie
,ii,t,l,. fhre,V millions Of men OF