The Washington times., 1922-10-06

conclusions will WILLIAM HARD.
have to do with both of the chief
problems OF the coal industry.
These two chief problems OF the
. coal industry are:
One-Cheaper coal.
TwO-The United Mine Workers.
On both OF these problems the in.
formation gathered by the intimate
students OF the coal industry is dif.
ferent from the information al pres.
ent generally current among mem.
bers of the public and among mem.
bers OF the profession OF politics.
Coal operators are fully prepared
now to be able TO prove that II the
| Government Is going TO pass laws
which will reduce the price OF coal
at certain times. then the Govern.
mcnt will be Obliged also to pass
laws which will raise the price Of
coal at other times. 1t will be just
as II has been with the railroad bust.
ness. We expected that the Inter.
state Commerce Commission would
always be- reducing the rates on rail
roads. On the contrary. in practice,
IL spends much OF its time raising
the rates on railroads. According to
the best Information here available,
the same thing will happen in Coal-
only more so.
II appears on inquiry that the
periods OF low prices in coal are
much more Improbable and ruinOus
TO the mass OF coal operators than
the periods OF low rates on rGil-
roads ever were to the mass of rail.
a l,a
ernment began to protect tho trav.
ding and shipping public against
getting plundered by the railroad
I companies II also began with the
other hand to protect the mass of
railroad companies against falling
. into bankruptcy. II cut off the peak
nt rates too high and filled up the
hollow Of rates too low. In the case
OF the coal business, tn" hollow OF
low rates or low prices Is always a
hollow which totally destroys the
profits OF thousands OF coal op.
orators: and when the Government
starts filling up that hollow, il is
calculated that the howl which will
arise from the public at large will
be one of the most sublime vocal
performances ever broadcast in
America.
Doubt is expressed here as 20
whether the Government at this time
will really undertake to check high
prices in the coal industry when II
realizes that II would then be con.
fronted with the desperately unpopu-
lar task of also checking all undue
drops in coal prices and profits. II
Is presumed here that a long course
/ NJ pA Ha hafnrn
the public can be broug TO tolerate e
the following sort OF Governmental
bulletin:
office of Federal Coal Price
Commission. Announcement is made
today that 30 per cent of American
coal operators are now losing
money. In former times we would
have let them lose il and go lroke
and go out of tho industry. Last
year, however. hy act of this com.
mission We prevented them from
charging the high prices which
would have given them a trip 10
Atlantic city. This year. therefore,
we are Obliged TO save them II ON
the low prices which are about to
give them trip TO the sheriff. The
price OF coal Is therefore raised
26% per cent"
II Is rGarded here as positively
certain that such bulletins would
have to be issued under any pcrina.
! nent system Of coal price control
and IL is believed that progress in
, that direction will be slow. 1t is also
believed that progress will be slow to.
ward Curhing the United Mine Work.
ers.
The United Mine Workers will be
prepared TO show that most of the
human decent improved working
conditions of which the public in
general heartily approves were in.
troducCd into mines either through
pressure Of the United Mine Workers
or else through the fear felt by
nOn.uniOn operators that IL they did
not introduce these conditions the
United Mine Workers would come
and unioniZe their mines.
The United Mine Workers will be
able to show that besides being an
agency of coercion il has been an
agency OF much genuine progress.
| II will argue that the chief upset
ting factor In the relations betw1 en-
labor and capital in the coal in US.
try Is not the upward movin' de.
mands Of the United Mine VIZ kers,
but the downward pulling .ag of
the nonunion and antiunion .istricts.
These districts, II will be shown.
establish conditions so low and so
cheap that they take business away
from the union districts. Then the
men in the union districts getting
fewer days work, demand more pay
for each day. But this demand, in
fact, is often more than the union
q, operators can really financially en-.
u dure. Then there Is IA strike till the
stocks OF coal are exhausted and
higher prices can be charged and the
higher wages demanded can be paid.
u This IL the cycle, and 1t begins with
the unfair low and cheap competi.