Evening star., 1921-04-24
BY SHELDON $. CLINE.

ID - SnELLnoN =. SLlN
~ ABROAD men. industrial
- leaders and others whose
business it is to keep their
Il \ fingers on the pulse of
at what may be the consequences
of the buyers strike" now re-
sponsible for the most serious
stagnation the coal trade has
konw in generation. If the ex-
pected industrial revival comes
along in the late summer or early
fall they fear there will be a coal
crisis worse than that of two years
ago.
The coal profiteers are being
punished with a vengeance. but in
the end those who now are inflict-
ing the punishmen may be the
worst sufferers. If there is an
acute coal shortage next fall and
winter buyers will be in the mar
ket bidding against each other.
prices will soar and the protiteers
will line their pockets with profits
which will more than make up for
the lean months of spring and
summer And it is necessary to
take into account the actual physi-
cal suffering-even sickness and
death-which are inseparably as
sociated with a coal famine.
+ X x
The slump in coal production and
distribution has reached stagEer-
ing proportions. Latest figures
available at the bureau of rail-
way economics in Washington show
that at the beginning of April
255.600 open-top cars-the kind in
which coal is transported--wer
standing idle on side tracks. This
represents approximately one
fourth of the coal cars owned by
American railways. During the
month of March the production of
coal showed progressive decline,
the number of idle cars being ST.
900 greater at the end than at the
beginning of the month. Never be-
fore in the history of American
cars standing idle. and the slump
in the coal trade is the factor most
largely to blame.
About ten million tons less coal
was mined and loaded on cars last
month than in March a year ago.
The result was that more than
100000 miners had work only one
to three days week. and prob
ably 100000 were idle throughout
the month. Official figures for the
three weeks in April are not avail
able. but informal railroad reports
show that fewer cars are being
loaded now than was the case a
month ago, SO that the number of
idle cars and the number of idle
men must be considera bly, greater
than the figures given above.
x + x
There still is time, the experts
say, to avert a famine next fall
and winter. and two ways in which
it may be averted. One way-a
way no one wants-is for the pres
ent Industrial depression to con-
tinue. If factories remain shut
down, of course, there will be no
scarcity of coal next winter Do
mestic consumption uses up SO
small proportion of the nations
coal output that it could be sup
piled even in the coolest Of weather
through utilization of only a frac-
tion OF railroad equipment.
The other way to avert a famine
is for users, large and small. to
begin buying now in anticipation
of future needs. Here is where
the recent history of the coal trade
interposes itself. 1t has been dis
closed that last winter there was
shameful, or shameless. profiteer-
ing in coal. There has not since
been any such reduction in prices
as to convince the consumer that
profiteering has been squeezed out
of profits. In other words, the
strike" of coal buyers has not
accomplished the results achieved
by buyers strikes in other lines.
And coal buyers are determined
that they will not buy. except to
meet urgent present needs. until
results have been achieved.
Unfortunately. from the stand
point Of the interests Of the con-