Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1922-05-19

Plan To PreUent Profiteering In Coal Prices
Adopted After Hoover Tells Operators
That Coal Industry Will Either Govern
Itself Or Government Will Govern 1t

WASHINGTON, May 18-Coal Op-
| orators from whose mines is COM
! ing the bulk of non-union and 'open
shop" coal being produced in spite of
the bitdminous strike, reached an
agreement today with Secretary Hoo
Yer upon an administration plan for
| preventing profiteering and high coal
prices during the period the industry
remains partially tied up.
The scheme, adopted after some
tense moments in open debate, dur
ing which Mr.. Hoover told the oper-
ators, assembled in response to Presi-
ident Harding's invitation, that the
coal industry would either govern
| itself or the government would gov
ern it. w S drawn up in a formal
statement by a committee OF the OPP
orators present for reference to At
torney General Daugherty The COM
| mittee also issued a call for another
and larger gathering of operators to
ratify the plan and to bring the com
mittee organization into being In
brief, the plaL will require the crea-
tion of clearing house committees in
each producing coal district, made up
OF operators, consumers representa-
tIves and q government agent, who
Will supervise distribution of orders
for coal. will see that cold is sold di-
rect to consumers and that prices are
reasonable. A general committee in
Washington OF the same type will
maintain ordination between the
district committees. Mr.. Hoover as
sured the meeting, which was at
tended by more than SO operators,
that the plan would be voluntary and
temporary"
Secretary Hoover also proposed the
scale of prices fixed by Fuel Admin
istrator Garfield in 1917, with such
adjustment as may be necessary
should serve as the rough basis for
price agreements. The conference
hung momentarily at this point, but
unanimous agreement was eventual
~ secured. Mr. Hoover asserted that
there would be no difficulty in secur-
ing public opinion for a plan of get
ting the public enough coal and
cheaper coal, even though it should
involve temporary price restraints
Discussing the conference later, he
warned that it was "by no means
certain that such plan will succeed, :"
pointing out that the so operators in
the agreement though controlling a
very great proportion of the present
coal production, "had to obtain the
CO operation of 1900 other operators.
He declared it was a plan to see
what we can do by purely voluntary
action, in the absence of any legal
authority whatsoever, by the coal
mine operators which calls for self
denial by all of themt
The chief task, he said would be
to penetrate the entire body" OF 1900
operators with the plan agreed upon.
In 1920" he edded. ''in somewhat
similar situation" nothing had been
done until prices got from 50 to S15
a ton" while today they were gem
orally from $2.25 to s3 per ton, with
$3.50 being reached in some dis
tricts." The informal committee
meeting with the secretary later drew
up and made public the following
recommended
"That a general conference OF OPP
orators now producing coal should
be called to Washington at an early
date to consider plans for the better
CO. ordination of coal distribution and
the prevention of profiteering
THE following plan or such amend
ment to It as may be proposed, is to
be laid before the conferences:
81. The representatives of that con-
ference be appointed, who together
with representatives of the govern
ment department and the operators
should be a standing committee to
advise upon these CO. ordinations of
coal distribution between districts.
"2. That each district be asked to
form a committee that should CO.
ordinate distribution and to o-oper-
ate with the standing committee.
'3. The various committees would
take measures to insure the direct
progress of coal direct to the con-
sumer in proportion to his needs
a. The Garfield prices should be
the basis for computing sales prices
with such adjustments as are neces-
sary to meet such changed conditions
as to costs and other factors as will
be fair to the public and to the oper-
a tors y