Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-12-07
THE PUBLIC MUST PAY
THE ANTHRACITE TAX
But Ii Wants to Know How Much More
Than the Tax the Operators Will
Add to the Price to Cover Over
head" Charges
by GEORGE NOX Mccain

By GEORGE NOX MCCAIN
TT is inevitable that tho Pennsylvania
state tonnage tax on anthracite. whose
legality has been sustained by the Supreme
Court of the United States, will be passed
down to the ultimate consumer as an in
crease in the price of his coal.
Tho General Committee of Anthracite
Operators has announced that the tax will
amount 10 1919 cents Il ton, so far as they
can estimate at the present time. No OK.
nIanaton is given, however, ms to how this
rsure was arrived at by the clever statisti.
clans employed by the operators.
II presumably represents tho tax per ton
on tho average cost of the product at the
minc-and nothing more.
The interesting question 10 the already
ovcrburdcrpd and harrod householder is,
How much additional will the coal operators
add TO the tax for their trouble in collect
ing it?
Something like twenty five cents ton
has been suggested.
This Overhead" always has been n con-
vcnIont refuge not only for coal companies
and mining concerns generally, but for other
find an excuse for increasing prices to the
public and incidentally the profits to the
producer or retailer.
In this instance of the coal tax il will not
require n platoon Of clerks in the various
mining Offices to keep track, in tho book
keeping way. of the amount of anthracite
mined nnd to be taxed
No elaborate detail of double entry IL
required 10 find out tho number Of tons
mined or screened or washed per day at any
given establishment.
A coal company with m average output
of 1000 tons daily. if tho increase. with
overhead added. is to be fixed at twcnty- five
cents "A ton. would drag down Sl25 every
working day for ''ovcrhcad alone in the
way Of bookkeeping and clerk hire.
tr!fe Of $3.50 per month for collecting
the few facts involved which would require
the services Of but two or three individuals
at most
The whole thing. at the suggested rate of
twenty five cents per ton additional. is n
gigantic gouge. II evidently is n new field
of cndcavor in which TO fleece tho public
S1lII nnoln'r pUUS" bI lllS dnlnrNCVe- 1HN
question IS that of the so-rallcd steam sizes.
which has been referred to hy some one as
"non- competitive by-product" the smaller
grades and the output of the washcries
This product also must be taxed under
the State law.
Oncrators in the mast have claimed that
| thcso rrades known yarjouslv MS buck .
wheat rice and barley. really nrc sold Mt n
loss. that they oro NOT actual bv.products.
| and fprthermorc that they can only com
| motto with bltumjnous coaI for s,cam pur.
nosos
| p,t oro those GRADES bnlnr sold nt n loss .
| ,rLcv oro ,o,,
Trc rrn.cn, cooI crisis has lod b,rndrcds
| of rconlc 10 h,y steam siYcs Of anthracite
.. unhoord. of nrircs for - wostorul but
,,ooossorr ro,,os,tc corsrrnt,on This ia
"ro,ro,,, "a tho onorotor IL NOT "a the 70 .
.ouor
| Oro bor.obo,dor ,ost Saturday mid 60 n
| 49,, r,r b,,o,,,rh,o, si,o on.hroc,to Tho
sor,o s,,o ,ro. nricod % him hv otbcr reto,,
| Joo,o. -. ,lo cana f,uro .bovir, FIN,
.,o.. .r,,,,I, :, ., urdors.ordi,c omorc
! .,: ,o,oiI,rr ., nut ,loso ,roJos ot
With III" tax added to IA" COSY OF steam