The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-10-13
OPERATORS
ARE WARNED
BY GOODRICH
Governor Says Commission
Will Bare Facts if Refusals
to Furnish Coal Continue
Alleges Accounts Padded.
DECLARES PRICE FAIR
(By Associated Press)

SA-N4> oANs lilu, wv. MANY
operating accounts of coal companies
are padded for the purpose Of avoiding
the federal income tax" said Governor
James P. Goodrich of Indiana, ia an
address at Good Roads meeting near
here today, in discussing tho recent
orders of the Special Coal and Food
commission which recently fixed ccal
prices in Indiana. He declared that II
the mine operators of Indiana continue
their refusal to furnish coal upon the
order of the commission 'all the facts
in the possession of the commission
will be given to the public"
Discussing the assertion of Phil H.
Penna, secretary-treasurer of the In
diana Bituminous Coal Operators as
sociation, that the mine owners had
no attention of complying with the or
ders of the commission. the governor
said that men in Indiana who before
the war were content with salaries of
$4,000 to 100000 were now drawing
100000 and $4,000 for managing
mines. Il don't think Penna or any
one else connected with the operators
association wants the inside facts laid
before the people of the state" Gov
ernor Goodrich himself is a coal mine
operator.
Declares Price Liberal.
After discussing the origin Of the
special coal and food commission Gov.
ernor Goodrich said in part:
THE action of the operators in defy
ing the orders of the commission and
the prices they are seeking to charge
for coal in Indiana have settled be-
yond question the fact that neither
the coal operators nor any other group
of men can safely be trusted to deal
fairly with the public when the fixing
of prices is left entirely in their hands
as in the price of coal at the present
time.
The commission has fixed a price
that is liberal and under which any
mine that has right to operate, car
make a fair profit Phil Penna. the
paid agent of the operators assocIa-
ton, makes the statement that twenty
nine mines in Indiana can not operate
under the prices fixed by the COM
mission. All these twenty-nine opera
tors have to do to get relief is to go
before the commission. show thei-
costs, and if the facts indicate that the
rate is not high enough as to their
particular mine, the commission Will
undoubtedly modify the order.
Accounts Are Padded.
THE truth of the matter is that
many of the operating accounts of the
coal companies are padded for the pur-
pose of avoiding the federal income
tax.
"If the operators as Penna indicates.
want to pursue the same public-be-
damned policy that brought the liquor
business to its end and has driven
the public to drastic regulatory meas
pres in the control of other business
as to protect the people from eXtov-
ton, the responsibility lies with them.
Calls Commission Fair.
"Thc commission has shown a dis
position to deal fairly with the opera
tors in the adjustment of this matter
They only want coal for the people of
Indiana at fair price. This they in
tend to have if there is the power
vested in them under the laws TO re-
quire the operators to furnish the
coal
The operators complain that too
much publicity has been given to the
facts ascertained by the commission.
This was not done, however, until the
operators indicated pretty clearly that
they did not intend to comply with
any of the orders of the commission.
The operators may drive the commits
sion to do some things that under or
binary circumstances would not be
done. They might just as well un-
derstand that this commission intends
to exhaust every lawful power that is
vested in it to see that the provisions
of the law are faithfully carried out
and that the people of the state aIe
given coal at fair prices.
"One thing is certain: If the opera
tors persist in their refusal to furnish
coal TO the people of the state upon
the order of the commission. all the
facts in the possession of the commits.
sion will be given to the public. 1t is
for the coal operators TO say whether
or not it will be necessary to take
further steps in order to protect our
people"
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