New Britain herald., 1922-07-25
STANDARDIZING OF MINES

Their Productive Capacity-Both
 Unions and Operators Have Favored
 Some Such Plan.
 Washington. July 25.-Creation of a federal coal commission of three members appointed to investigate the coal industry and recommend iegisla- ton to congress was proposed in a resolution introduced today by Chair man Borah of the senate labor com mittee.
 Recommendations would be re- quired from the commission "on the advisability or necessity of nationaliz- ing the coal industry" and "the feasi- bility or necessity of governmental regulation and control of the coal in dustry"
 The board would investigate to ind 1 If the labor organizations appearing were properly organized and represen- tative. The term representative" was defined as meaning that the or ganization appearing was made up of a majority of the workers of its class then at work on the road implicated, regardless of how many men nor mally are employed or have been em- ployed.
 Other points on which recommends tions are called for in the bill. in- clude: "Standarizing the mines upon the basis of their productive capacity and regarding the closing down of mines which by reason of their nat ural limitations fall below the standard.
 Living Conditions.
 "Standardizing the cost of living for mine workers, and the living condi- tions which must be supplied or af- forded in order to surround the work men with reasonable comforts, rec ognizing the psychological effect of such surroundings in respect to their efficiency.
 "Standarizing a basis of arriving at the overhead cost of producing the coal and delivering 1t at the door of the consumer, recognizing in this com pilation that the standardized cost of living to the miners must be first and irreducible item of expense"
 A report from the commission to be known as the United States coal commission would be required within nine months. It's finding would be made public only through reports to-, congress.
 Its Memberships.
 Senator Borah proposed that one of the commission members be ap- pointed from list of nominees by | the national coal association. another rom similar list from the United Mine Workers, and the third, repre- 'enting the public to be appointed by he president and lin no wise inter ested in business way with the coal industry Members of congress would be barred from appointment
 The proposals for a federal cast finding body to investigate the coal industry have been frequent since the beginning of trouble in the coal fields. Such step has been favored by or of mine operators in the and anthracite sections of he industry and emphasized as de- irable by the miners union leaders.
 Harding's Proposal.
 President Harding has proposed to rive the commission, which he sug rested should be created to arbitrate wage difficulties and other issues in ontroversy by the employers and miners additional power to make a labor costs. transportation osts and analysing distribution methods.
 The chief contention of officials of he United Mine Workers in refus- ng to accept the arbitration proposal f the president was that insufficient acts had been assembled about the ndustry, its profits and its possible rogress in efficiency to allow them to ccept the conclusions of a simple rbtration board in the matter of ages.
 Might End Strike.
 Miners representatives are known to 6 old that the president might be able l ) get the strike called off should he ! fer the men the previous wage ! ,ale temporarily and create such ,ct-fnding body to make its investi- F aton of the industry and lay re- y ort before him and before the union c nd the employers. Wage negotia- s ons could then be taken up directly t atween the union leaders and the nployers without further government [ tervention and final contract to- ay. The method, it was pointed out, tough not by union spokesmen, ould result in maintaining the war Ii me wage scale for at least another t. ear. | Government officials. however, have 0 id that there would be no further 4 agotiations opened up between the a and the United Mine s 'orkers until the union itself asked | r them. f'