Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-22
Mr.. HARDING HAS STARTED
TOWARD THE RIGHT SOLUTION
His Coal Commission Would Prepare the
Way for q Permanent ,ndus.
trial Court

'h' III LUP COHl iHuuslis "i'
heartcn all those who have been hoping for
the setting UP of some commission, tribunal
or what not. which would have authority to
learn all the facts and to point out way
for the peaccahle settlement of labor dis
putcs.
The President says that "thc commission
will come IN due time" II will not he
merely nm arbitration commission TO effect
compromise. but n commission appointed
In tho interest OF tho public at largo to do
all within It's power to insure u continuous
and adequate supply Of coal.
The announcement IN the Presidents
reply that public authority is superior to
the authority Of eithcr tho miners or the
operators and that thu case Of the public
must be submitted to the commission ind!.
Gates that ho has begun to think IN the
right direction.
But why does he not appoint the com.
mission Mt once?
The need for II is imperative. II cannot
begin IT'S Investigations moment too soon.
The sending of troops into the mining re-
gions Is n temporary expedient.
Tho soldiers cannot solve the problems In.
volved, All they Gun do is to maintain order
and protect the men who wish to work and
prevent the operators from inviting disorder
BY the employment Of private armed guards
who always irritate the strikers. All par.
ties are expected to respect public authority
represented in the armed soldiers.
But the equities of the case cannot be
aScerta!ncd in this way. They cannot be
asrerta!ncd until the facts are known. The
operators have persistently resisted every
effort to get at the facts, acting as though
they were of no concern to any one but
themselves.
This is not n tenahle position. 1t has led
to most of the trouble in the coal regions.
1t has aroused the indignation of the con-
sumers of coal when these consumers, de-
spairing OF anything better have not looked
on 1t with cynical Indifference
The only way the facts and all the facts
can be ascertained is through thorough
and impartial investigation by commission
composed exclusively of representatives of
the public with authority, legal or moral, to
compel the disclosure Of the truth.
Such commission could carry on its
inquiry while the country is waiting for the
settlement Of the wage dispute. Its findings
would provide the data on which the price
Of coal could be computed
The wage question is the issue of least
Importance.
The methods Of marketing coal. the selling
agency corporations. the privileged buyers,
the priority orders, the royalties, the rea.
tons Of the operators to the railroads and
the relation Of freight rates to prices are all
tosther of much greater moment than the
wages paid to the miners.
Bat H." operators have devoted them
selves for years to an effort 10 create the
impression that the question of wages was
the vital issue. They have been saying that
II they paid the miners an increase of five
cents an hour the price of coal would be
50 high as 70 become burden to the public
The time has come for destroying this fa!acy
and for getting at all the facts.
The President processes to desire to find
a way TO avoid disputes between the miners
and the operators in the future. He can
DO il II he will appoint the right kind Of
commission composed of men in whom the
public has confidence. men who cannot be
suspected Of playing the game Of either the
operators or the miners. the groups whose
joint interests have always been antagon!sttc
10 those Of the public.
While such a commission will be able 10
find a way out for the coal industry. it
cannot bring about peace in other industries
That can come only through the creation of
an industrial court. Such court cannot
lac ..ruIiisIp1 n i'm buplla b.,