New-York tribune., 1922-03-27
Coal Strike
l robe Planned
In Congress 5
lcsu,inued from psu. one

;he tands Of actual operating men to
the hands OF purely financial interests.
Financial interests have one chief in.
terest, which is financial. All things
must give way to proGts.
w hat HOW is happening in the min
lng industry happened decade ago ii
TIC railroad business.
The United States Steel Corpora.
(ion. operated purely for financial re-
'ufns on policy dictated by financial
e&pedioncy or what seems to be expedi-
eHcy, controls vast bituminou coal in
'efest. steel interests in Alabama
eontrol vagt bituminous coal properties
p 5hat state. Coal mines operated by
Saen concerns are operated as wheels
5h great proiit-making machine. and
1t is impossible for practical coal man
@Eement TO ha5e any effective voice in
the making Of policies.
Railroads Control Mines
Tho hearings before tho Committee
ON Manufactures OF the United States
senate, in 1927 on the question OF the
publication OF the production and prof
rs 10 coal revealed that seven rail
roads control 96 per cent of the OUTPUT
Of antarctic in the United States. 90
per cent of this heinz by ownership ana
N'4tS bN tRItt NNl MESe IA
roads arc the Reading Company. the
Delaware. I.ackawanna G Western, the
-eEigh alley the Erie interests, the
Deia"arc & Hudson company. the Penn
srlT&nla, the New York. Ontario &
Western and the Lchign Coal and Nav
lgation Company.
I'm this manner the Gnanci.l inter
SITS OF Wall Street camoufIage their
ownership of the coal industry TIE
'fohts from the operations in the coal
industry are not to be found in the
report Of the coal mines themselves,
but in the dividend reports Of the rail-
roads. The ultimate cost to the con
sumner is Increased by the exorbitant
freight rates and the ultimate CON
sumer pays these dividends.
Reports for the year ended 1921
show that these companies made eX-
orDitant profits. The Delaware. Lacka-
wanna & Western Company declared
stock dividend in August of 100 per
cent. 1t paid $I1.32 share dividends
on this watered stock. Its net earnings
or the year were %19.000,G Geo. It's coal
holdings made this possible.
The Delaware &, Hudson Company's
surplus OF $1,000 600 came from coal
holdings. The railroads with coal
holdings acquired eXorbtaut profits in
N"4A' t't'i iO4I W III viz liiNC.itC -
railroads in the United States.
Profits Are Manipulated
The profits Of the coal industry arc
manipulated so as TO appear moderate
or so az to show the company operating
at i loss in order that wages Of miners
may be maintained at the lowest con-
ceivabla level. These financing methods
cf bankers and the seven railroad sys-
TENS alone resulted in $500,000, 900 Of
fictitious or unnecessary securities on
the basis Of which the coal industry is
milked for SEQ 900 600 in dividends an
nUallv.
"Suppression Of these facts was the
purpose Of the injunction against the
Federal Trade Commission which was
recently obtained by the mine owners.
"The efforts OF the constructive
forces in our government to obtain dis
scmination of the truth about the coal
industry through the publication of
the production and profits in coal have
come TO naueht.
$50 long as purely financial interests
control the operating policy in any in
dustry that policy is certain to be de
structive, because human needs are
overlooked in the race for balance
sheet showing. That is one vital defect
in the coal industry, perhaps the chief
factor in the fixing of the ruthless
policy which has brought about the
crisis which is impending'