The Washington herald., 1921-03-28

E0nECADTS FUEL FAMINE.
Oyerproduction, IL the root Of
most Of the trouble in the coal
mining industry in the United
States. according to Philip Murray,
vice president Of the American
Miners Association. who was here
last week. stopping at the Raleigh.
'The. coal mining industry has
grown beyond the demand for fuel
In this country" said Murray. Few
Americans outside Of the industry
realize that We annually mine 7oo.-
100000 tons OF coal and that the In
dustry gives employment to 10000
men.
I'VE mine enough coal In eight
months to supply all domestic re-
quirements for the year. The coal
year Is surplus" Murray pointed
out. That 10 the reason our mon
have been working on an average of
last four months.
ne EstIokc CITY uWciicI oHo
the farmer were both glad Of the
mild winter. but what IL meat for
one man IL poison for another, for
to the coal miner Of the country
and his family the warm weather
meant an underconsumption OF coal
and a diminished demand for
fuel -. ."..
The organized coat miners Of
the country are naturally in favor
of restricted imm! !sration. for the
same reason. Murray replied. when
asked for his stand on the immi-
grafton question which has such q
vital bearing on labor problems in
the United States.
When we already have more men
than the industry requires, why
bring In more to give rise to still
more idleness during the dull
monthsr' Murray asked.
BELIEVES MINERS WILL,
BE BUSY IN FUTURE.
Although the mines are very quiet
at present. about the middle Of May.
Murray says that things will open
up. for II Is during the summer
months that at least 50 per cent of
the coal supply is mined for ship
mont to the Northwest. During the
four or five months following, he
declared that the miners would be
busy. and that times would be good
in mining districts.
Murray fears that the railroads
will not have enough cars this year
to transport the nations fuel.
Il would not be a bit surprised
to see a fuel famine this winter
because Of the Inadequate transpor-
tation facilities" he said. 81 have
not noticed much activity on the
I part Of the railroads in bringing
their rolling stock up to date. The
usual excuse one hears from rail-
road officials is the results of gov
ernment ownership" The organ
lied rail workers declare that most
Of the difficulty was due to lack OF
cooperation between the railroad
ofhcials and the government during
tration OF the railways"
The best solution of the transpor-
tation problem. in Murray's opinion.
would be the further development
of the waterways of the country,
For the last fifteen years friends
Of the various projects looking to-
ward the development of the water
ways of the country have worked in
vain to secure Congressional appro-
priations for improvement of our
rivers and for the construction of
new canals" said Murray. IF Con-
gressional action could be secured
and some of our rivers improved, Il
would not be long before the rail-
roads Of the country would be
awakened to the growing competi-
I uon Of water-borne transportation.
PAYS HIGH TRIBUTE
TO U. 8. NINE BUREAU.
Murray paid high tribute to the
work of the United States Bureau of.
Mines in bringing about better
working conditions and safeguard
ing the lives and health of the min
ers of the country.
DR.. Holmes, DR.. Manning and
DR.. Cottrell, as chiefs of the bureau,
have all served both the govern
ment and the miners of the United
States with interest and fdelity,
and we are looking for close co-op-
eratioh from the new director, in
whose ability We have great conf
dence," said Murray.
Since the Bureau of Mines began
80 "oIh dHlOnB tne miners OF the
country there have been fewer ex-
plosions, a decrease in the number
of fires and a general Improvement
In both living and working condi-
tons among the miners. Murray
said.' -...
Speaking of the lot of the Ameri-
can working man and that of the
miner abroad. Murray declared. that
the workers of the United States
are better off than those in any
other country in the world.
The last twenty years have wit
messed vast Improvement in the
general standard of living among
the working men of the United
states. 1t has been a period of
great progress, and all our indus
tries have taken rapid strides. The
standard of living has been raised
higher and higher each year, educa-
tional facilities have been extended,
and things once regarded as luxu-
ries are today included among the
ordinary comforts of the American
% Ln