The Washington times., 1922-04-03

tional leadership ~ "a
OF the miners is a s$xa ~ -, n -
radical" leader
ship IL pure prop WILLIAM HARD
agandist bunk. The conventions of
the miners are fairly radical" The
delegates to the conventions come
straight out of the mines. They
are. much more radical than most
of the national leaders-who do not
work in mines. 1t Is apparently the
mines, and not the national leader
ship, that must be credited with
producing "radicalism" in the coal
industry.
Lewis In 1919 talked very seldom
about any such things as national
control OF the coal industry. He
worked very little at carrying out
the mandates of the conventions Of
the miners regarding the securing
OF national control for the coal in
dustry. 1t is to be observed that
now he talks about national control
quite bit.
What IL it that has made this
change In him? He is far from be-
ing a theoretical sort of man. lie
does not talk in distractions. There
is nothing abstract either about him
or about Jim Lord. the head Of the
American Federation OF Labor's Min.
ing Department. They are burly
massive rugged persons who deal
with situations which are right be
fore them and not with dreams out
of books.
What is IL then that drives them
on toward the advocating of some
sort of national control although
neither OF them displays the slightest
sign Of having ever been Influenced
in the slightest degree by any theory
OF naturalization in general The
answer Is the same answer which
accounts tor the strong stand taken
against the coal operators by such
far from radical statesmen as Sen.
ator Frelinghuysen of New Jersey.
1t is:
The colossal inefficiencies OF the
coal industry and the failure Of the
coal operators to find any way in
which those inefficienCies can be
remedied under purely private con.
troll.
The coal industry is Inefficient
first. from the standpoint OF the con.
servation OF national resources. Eu-
ropean mining methods get the coal
out of the mine and leave the mine
empty of coal when the mining Of
IT is finished. American mining
methods take a certain part OF the
coal out Of the mine and leave a GER
tain other part lost in the mine at
the end of the operation. That lost
part-standing in walls and pillars
and not recovered for consumption.
amounts to an enormous tonnage
every year.
The coal industry is inefficient
next, from the standpoint Of the de.
velopment OF machinery. In thou.
sands OF mines the amount Of hand
work done with picks and shovels,
and also the amount of arm and foot
work done In pushing cars is shock.
ing 10 engineers who in industries
such as the iron ore industry have
seen the introduction of elaborate
successful machines for tightening
the physical labor of men and for
speeding that labor.
The coal industry is inefficient fur.
ther. from the standpoint OF invest.
ment economy. The amount of
money invested in mines and the
amount Of money invested in rail.
way cars and in railway locomotives
for carrying coal away from mines is
at least 80 per cent larger than
would be necessary II soft coal mines
were operated continuously instead
of intermittently. The coal opera.
tors for many reasons, quite beyond
their power, have not been able to
regulate the demand for coal in the
market. Soft coal comes to the
market in waves. There have to be
enough mines, and there have to he
enough railway cars and railway
locomotives to handle the tops of the
waves.
The cost Of the excess equip
ment and the cost OF the excess
man-power needed to operate the
coal industry in these circum.
stances has been estimated by
technical observers as amounting
to an average OF one dollar on
each ton of coal mined-or, in other
words, about half a billion of dol.
lars year.
The coal industry Is Inefficient
again--in it's dealings with the in.
dividual miners from the stand.
point Of the equal rights of all OF
them to equal opportunities for
work. Some miners may be work.
ing five days a week. others three,
others one, and others-often many
others-no days at all. Yet they
are all OF them necessary to the
industry at peak moment and II
they did not stay In the industry
the homes and the factories OF
the country might suffer great in.
conyenIonce and great hardship