The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1920-07-10
COAL OPERATORS
FIGHT MINERS
DAMAGING DATA
Vigorously Oppose Introduction
of Figures Concerning Wages
and Profits.
IMPRESSIVE EXHIBITS
Admission at Anthracite Coal
Commission Hearing Sought
to Prove Profiteering.

Scranton, Pa, July 9-Upon the
resumption of the hearings of the
Anthracite Coal Commission here this
week interest conferred in the question
as to whether the commission would
receive and incorporate in the official
record of the case certain exhibits pre-
pared and submitted by w. Jett Lauck,
consulting economist of the United
Mine Workers of America. The COM
mission is considering the demands of
the miners that wages in the anthracite
field be placed on a parity with the
wages of bituminous miners, with a
minimum wage of So per day, and that
the operators be required to recognize
the union.
The Lauck exhibits in controversy,
seven in number, deal with the subjects
of alleged monopolistic control and
prohteering in the anthracite industry,
and were enumerated by him as fol-
lows:
/. Relation of wages to costs of pro1
duction, profits and prices.
2. Profits of anthracite coal mining
companies.
8. Wholesale and retail prices of an
thracite coal, 1913-1920.
A. Freight rates and cost of trans
portation of anthracite coal.
S. Operating and financial perform
ances of anthracite railroads.
6. Combination in the anthracite in
dustry.
2. Cost of producing anthracite coal
at the mines in March, 1920.
Representatives of the operators con-
tend that the case before the commits
sion has to do solely with wage demands
and the demand for recognition of the
union, and that accordingly the Lauck
exhibits in question are not only not
germane but are wholly irrelevant. They
ask that the commission exclude them
from the record and give them no con-
sideration in arriving at its decision.
Mr.. Lauck and International Vice
President Philip Murray. of the miners
organization, will argue for the admis-
sibility of the exhibits. and the latter
indicated the line of their contention at
the last session of the commission when
he said that they would insist that the
commission consider any and all evil
dence on the right of the miners to a
living wage, the ability of the anthracite
industry to pay such wage, and the
right of the public to be furnished coal
at prices that do not include extortion-
ate or undue profits.
Early in the session of the commits
II
the contentious of the miners with re-
spent to the eight hour day as follows:
Cd Sustained efficiency is more i'm
portant than unit output. Interruption
of work due to illness, to which the
over-fatigued worker is subject, is
avoided by the conservation of energy
resulting from the eight hour day.
(2l The direct relation between in
dustrial accidents and fatigue is con-
clusively proven, so that it is not only
those engaged upon production to whom
the eight hour day is necessity.
CD Economics in use of material and
increase in quality of work performed.
"a All scientists are agreed on the
dangers of fatigue, upon the human
mechanism Its effect physically is to
decrease resistance to disease, decrease
efficiency, and shorten the working life
of the individual. Morally, it lessons
self4control and leads to debasing
pleasures in the hours of recreation.
1t has been proven that the increase IN
fatigue in the worker is dangerously
accelerated after the eighth hour. Con-
sequently, the eight hour day is of inn
portance both from the point of view.
of the industrial employer and from
that of citizenship.
80 Democracies, if they are to exist,
must have citizens intelligent enough to
exercise rightly the franchise. If great
masses of the population are worked
to the point of exhaustion and with no
leisure to develop intelligence, it will be
the demogogue who will lead the voters
to the destruction of the state and not
the statesman who will be supported in
wise constructive policies.
90 The eight hour day means ma
tiona1 health and national intelligence.