The Tomahawk., 1920-09-16
THE FERRY COAL PLAN.

or fowl.
THE FERRY COAL PLAN.
Experimental government-operated
mines in both the anthracite and the
bitum1nous coal fields have been pro-
posed to the presidents anthracite
coal commission by Thomas Kennedy,
president of District No. Z, United
Mine Workers of America.
Kennedy, who is one If the big
liberal leaders among the coal miners,
said that he was merely putting for
ward officially the Ferry plan, So
called, which was drafted by the
miners and was suggested at the an
thracite miners conference some
months ago by Neal Ferry, who is now
the miners own member of the three
party commission. The anthracite
miners approved this plan, and it has
become as much part of their inn
mediate program as the Plumb plan
for government ownership and demo-
cratic operation of railroads has be-
come the immediate program Of the
16 railroad labor organizations.
In the anthracite controversy the
anthracite mining companies were
shown to be merely the cover agents
or stool pigeons of the anthracite rail-
roads, which we're in turn owned,
through interlocking stockholders, by
a small group of capitalists dominated
by J. p. Morgan & Co. and the Ma,
tional City bank crowd in Wall street.
Seven coal-carrying railroads form
the anthracite trust, and they all take
orders from Morgan.
w. Jett Lauck, the famous indus
trial economist, had presented figures
showing that the profits of the an
thracite coal business were covered
up in the profits of these railroads
and their selling agencies. The law
yers for the companies fought bitterly
to exclude all of this evidence from
the record. Lauck argued that until
the actual profits of these railroads
and their selling concerns were made
known by an exhibit of their books,
the facts as to the profits of anthra-
cite coal production could not be prov
en-, and hence the commission could
not know whether an increase in the
retail price of anthracite would be
necessary when wage Increase was
granted the miners.
AS final means of prying loose
the facts as to the profit in the coal
industry Kennedy brought forward the
proposal approved by the anthracite
miners-the Ferry plan.
CHECKING IDLE CARS.
The Illinois Agricultural association
has completed survey of the alleged
freight car shortage and Secretary
Thompson Of the association says:
"This survey shows pretty clearly
to the farmers of Illinois the excuse
of car shortage is largely camouflage,
given to cover up some real, deeper
reason for the present transportation
inefficiency. And to search for that
reason will be the next Job Of the
farmers business organization"
Members of the association made
daily records of the car initials and
numbers of all cars lat 494 stations
located in 46 different counties for
seven consecutive days. OF these 494
stations, 146, or 29.5 per cent, report
ed some Of the same cars on tracks
the last day of the count as we're on
the tracks the first day of the count.
"At all stations" says Secretary
Thompson, 1924 cars we're listed the
first day., and of these cars 93s out
of 1924 cars had not been moved from
the country. point for seven consecu-
tive days. This is just little over
10 per cent of the cars at such points.