The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-02-17
USE OF INDIANA COAL
INCREASED IN STATE
BY FUEL COMMISSION
BY GEO. w. STOUT

13SAA<A4NAI oA1o, L Gu ll.-1 ne COu-
sumption of Indiana coal by Indiana
consumers. or at least an increased
use in Indiana of Indiana coal, is one
result brought about by the operation
of the law which established the spe-
cial- food and fuel commission in the
state, according to the report just
made by the commission to the legis-
lature.
The commissions report declares
that through it's activities in the fuel
emergency period, business relations
were established between coal dealers
and coal mine operators who never
before had been brought into business
contact. In other words, one effect Of
the law has been to place Indiana
coal with dealers, and in the bins of
consumers who never before had used
that product or handled that particular
coal.
Point Possibility.
In the report it is intimated that if
all operators of Indiana coal mines
had co-operated with the commission
as did a portion of the mine-owners,
"the consumption of Indiana coal with
in the state might have been doubled
or trebled."
From the very first keen students
of the law creating the food and fuel
commission have accepted the meas
ure as, in effect, introducing Indiana
coal by compulsion to large number
of new customers and consumers,
leaving it only to the producers of In
diana coal to instruct the people in
the best use of the fuel and to make
permanent the emergency market for
their coal. Some operators have de-
,Iir inc in tho eft q nj O
save an attempt to regulate" an in
dustry "out of business" The COM
mission points out that these reluct-
ant and hostile operators have been
overlooking a good opportunity to in
crease their own business on per-
manent basis in fields not before de-
veloped.
Fight Insurance Bill.
Insurance men are making vigor-
Gus fight against a bill which would
put power in the hands of the head of
the industrial board arbitrarily to
wipe off the slate certain charges for
liability insurance now being collected
from industries. The premium on liza
bility or compensation insurance is
based on an estimated pay ROLL for
one thing.
At the end of the year. when an
audit shows the payroll of the insured
industry actually has been far in ex-
cess of the estimate made in advance,
the insurance company collects addi-
tional premiums accordingly. 1t is as
serted by the insurance men that the
bill they now oppose would give the
states commissioner arbitrary power
to "abolish' this additional premium,
though the fee is alleged to be fair
and proper. 1t is charged that the
bill was drawn by well known at
torney who is close to the powers
named in the measure to exercise new
additional powers.
Vocational training in Indiana has
some able advocates who refuse to
| drop their efforts to obtain from this
session of the legislat ure an adequate
special tax levy to develop vocational
training in the schools of the state.
The request was for a onecent levy.
/ The house voted in favor of one-half
! of cent on each 500 OF taxables. In
! the senate a definite movement is
| well started to set the levy at three
quarters of a cent. This would raise
| s450,000 a year on present tax valua-
tons. but much of this would go, I'M
der the law, to pay the states part of
| salaries for county agents.