The Washington herald., 1921-01-13
RIGID CONTROL
OF COAL MINING
ASKED in BILL
Calder Measure Would
Empower President to
Seize Mines.
MORE PUBLICITY
FOR INDUSTRY
Places Production Facts
In Federal Hands for
Public Good.

>
as drastic as that under which the
railroads and the packers now do
business is provided for in a bill
introduced in@ the Senate yesterday
by Senator Calder, of New York.
chairman of the committee which
has just completed an investigation
Of the fuel situation in the United
States.
The bill would place all produc-
tiOn figures in the hands of the
government through the Federal
Trade Commission, Interstate Com
merce Commission and Geological
Survey, and makes mandatory the
publication of such figures where
profiteering existed. but keeps them
inYiOlate otherwise.
Power of Seizure.
Most important of all, the Calder
measure would empower the Pres
ident to take Over the coal indus
try in the case of emergency and
administer it with full powers, more
exhaustive than those under which
the Fuel Administration function
ed during the war.
The bill also would provide a Ii
censing system. tax excessive ham
ding of coal by brokers and make
sales within the trade Illegal.
Senator Calder said:
Primarily, this is a bill to pro-
vide for current and impartial pub
licity by reports through govern
ment agencies of the essential facts
concerning the coal industry and
90 81
cerned, instead OF having the facts
gathered by those in the industry
and used or divulged only as suits
their whim and purpose.
Our investigation has disclosed
first. that even after enjolning a
government agency. the Federal
Trade Commission. from gathering
such facts for general use and dis
semination the bituminous coal in
dustry. through the pational asso-
citation and Its branches, have gath
cred from it's members all that the
Federal Trade Commission re-
quested and many more items, and.
second, that while these facts were
then known to the coal operators
they have gotten their story out
through the Associated Press as As
ISOLATED Press news.
Impartial Facts.
Your committee believes a regu-
lar and impartial disclosure of the
facts of the industry by districts as
to supply and mine costs and prices
will do much to prevent continuance
or recurrence of profiteering.
TO enforce the giving of accurate
figures the bill proposes a licensing
system of all operators and dealers
conditioned normally. only on the
furnishing of the required informa-
tion. In any emergency threaten
ing either unreasonable prices or
shortage of coal supply and public
health the President is authorized to
fix thereupon maximum prices, COM
missions and margins, over the
whole or any portions of the United
States as the situation may war
rant and he may then revoke the
license of anyone charging higher
than the maximum prices fixed, and
each such excess charging is also
made a misdemeanor. This action
also authorizes the President to deal
in coal and control it's production,
movement and distribution so as
to put the government and not those
in control in such an
emergency when the usual laws or
trade are in suspense. but limited
only to the continuance of the
emergency and in the Protection of
the public health.
Blame Unnxed. y.
while profiteering has been both
proven and admitted. there exists
as to exactly who is
and to what extent. For
example. as 10 the 100000 tons pur-
chased by the War Department on
show that an average mine price
greater than reasonable original
mine price separated such a price
from what the government was
forced to pay-an excess of $3.50
per ton average for the whole
amount bought.
ITO meet such a situation we feel
that such legislation will be helpful
on the high cost of living .on other
lines. The bill has a provision tax
ing brokers sales, above a certain
for the sale of coal had di-
rect from the producer and taxing
such sales to a much greater point
on subsequent or useless pyramid
ing sales between dealers. This is
to drive coal in a direct
channel from producers to con-
sumers and keep it out of the
whirlpool of endless commissions
and margins.
THE bill does not set up anv
new governmental machinery but
utilizes the experienced agencies in
chiefly the Federal Trade
the Interstate Com
merce Commission and the GeoIoC-
ical Survey"
The Department of Justice is now
calling on nearly every competent
in it's service to prepare
himself to go into the coal and
materials Investigations.
This may result in dropping many
Of the petty profiteering cases, some
Of which are nearly ready to be
brought to the attention of the
courts, 1t was also learned yester-
day.
1t is probable that special inves-
tigators for the coal inquiry will be
named within the next Week. These
will be the men who will have the
in charge. Assistant
Attorney General Nebeker is now
drafting the plan Of campaign tia
will be followed in making the coal
will be to determine whether coaI'
bought by the government was
profiteered on, by any Individual