Evening star., 1922-04-02

4 4
shamelessIy wasteful method in
which the industry in now being car
| ried on. OF course, this chaos and
waste is un1oaded onto the public in
exorbitant prices. There is no pos
sible explanation nor justification for
| the price of coal at the present time
other than that of waste and bad
management and uncrnscionable
profits
Take one item in this chaotic indus
try and that is the proportion of irregu-
lar employment. The average bitumi-
! nous mine runs about 200 or possibly
215 days out of 365. These unproduc-
tive hours are sheer waste. There fol-
lows the fixed charges. the depreciation
Of idle mines, idle cars, railroads, etc.
This item of waste alone has been es-
! timated at s5Q0,0Oo,0Oo year. Either
labor or the consuming public must pay
for this, for a glance at the profits
| discloses that the operators take on no
part of it
Miner Expert Workman.
4Ac COdl miner IN a sense an tS-
pert workman He cannot very well
mine coal one month and work in the
wheat fields the next. Even If he could
adjust himself as a laborer to the situa-
ton, the propinquity of the jobs are not
at hand.
Il find In the Pittsburgh district the
average days work by the miners for
1921 was 123 and that his annual aver
age earnings were S762 This situation
is due to the method under which the
industry is carried on.
THE public finally pays for all
these things. The reckoning in re-
gard to this coal industry is not
alone between the operators and the
miners, but between the coal in
dustry and the public"
Reduction In Wage Needed.
Mr.. Ogle declined to say in reply to
a direct question by Chairman Nolan.
what he considers a fair reduction"
| in the wages of miners.
There must be a reduction in the
wages of miners" he said, ito place
them on some comparable basis with
workers in others industries. The
farmer. for example, who works long
hours receives wage absurdly low
hardly a dollar a day along with the
! miner receiving $3.50. l prefer not
| A readjustment of working condi-
! tions also must be considered in this
! connection"
| Mr.. Nolan said a reduction of 25
per cent would mean IS cents a ton
i based on Indiana cost figures given
| by the witness.
| That would affect freight rates"
| said the witness. because it would
| be tremendous saving for the
| roads, the biggest coal buyers"
| The operators, Ogle declared, could
| offer no objection to adoption by Con-
| gress OF resolution for appointment
| by the President of a commission to
| investigate the coal industry and get
at the basis of the long-standing dis
put between the operators and miners.
| Touching on violation of agree
ments, Chairman Nolan said:
! 1T is a good thing for the Ameri-
! can people to find out that men en-
| gagged in a big industry make con-
| fit, and regard them like the Ger
man emperor as a group of raper."
| You can't charge operators with
| that" Ogle replied.
| Ogle thought there was a possibil-
ity that miners and operators would
/ get together in Indiana.
| Representative London, socialist,
| New York, wanted to know how long
Indiana operators have been losing
money.
! well, at any rate, it is very kind
| of you not to come here and ask for
a bonus" said Mr.. London.
! John L. Lewis, president Of the
! United Mine Workers of America,
; will testify tomorrow.