The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1922-04-03
SUGGESTS NATION
TAKE GOAL MINES
B0rah Says Its Only alternative
If Not ReOrganlze0.
EXISTING SYSTEM FAULTY
Senator Doubts if Public Will Much
Longer Submit to WastefuI Methods
Employed.

Washington, April 3.-The nation
wide coal strike Went into effect With
out causing Il ripple 50 far as could
be observed in the administrative
operations OF the government
Congress, however, unlike the ad-
miniStrative branches of the govern
ment, marked the opening OF the
strike with ii continuation of hearings
on the Bland resolution for appoint
lnent by the president of commits
sion to investigate the coal industry,
and with statement by Chairman
Borah, Of the senate education and
labor committee, that unless the coal
industry was reorgdnized in the inter
est of the public ii would be up to
the public to try the experiment in
public ownership.
Declaring that he cid not underesti-
mate the task assumed in event OF
government ownership, Senator BOrah
said he doubted very much If the
public will much longer submit to the
present method OF operating the coal
mines" The strike was described by
the senator as the symptom of the
disease which is The chaotic and
the ShameleSsly Wasteful method i'll
which the industry is now being car
ried on.
If the coal industry is not reor-
ganxed in the interest of the public
Senator Borah's statement said, then
it will be up to the public to try the
experiment Of public ownership. |
do not underestimate the task which
the public will assume when it under
takes this. But | doubt very much
if the public will much longer submit
to the present method of operating
the coal mines The present strike is
the symptom. The disease is the cha
ntic and the Shamelessly wasteful
method i'll which the industry is now
being carried on. Of course, this chaos
and waste is unlOaded on TO the pub
lie III eNh0rbitant prices. There is no
possible explanation nor justification
for the price of coal at the present
time other than that of waste and
bad management and mconSciOnable
profits.
Take one item in this chaotic in
dustry and that is the proportion OF
irregular employment. The average
bitumin0uS mine runs about 200 or
possibly 215 days out of the 365. The
unprOductive hours are sheer waste
There follows the fixed charges, the
depreciation of idle mines, idle cars,
railroads, etc. This item of waste
alone has been estimated at $50O,0O0,-
900 year. Either labor or the con-
Stunning public must pay this, for a
glance at the profits disclOses that the
operators take on no part of ii.
The coal miner, is in a sense an
expert 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 situation, 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 1913, and that his annual
average 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 regard
to this coal industry is not alone be-
tween the operators and the miners,
but between the coal industry and the
public"
The hearings of the Bland coal COM
mission resolution, which are being
held by the house labor committee,
included the views Of the operators as
presented by Alfred w. Ogle, of Terre
Haute, Ind, vice president of the Ma
lional Coal Association. Ogle told the
committee there was little possibility
If getting the union leaders and rep
resentatives Of the operators in the
Ditumin0us fields together in a joint
conference, and declared that efforts
which he said were being made to
make it appear that the operators had
forced the strike in order to sell sur
plus coal stocks were absurd. Prac
tically all of the coal on hand, he said,
IS in the bins of the consumers who
have bought and paid for it. The OPP
orators, Ogle informed the committee
would not oppose legislation creating
Il commission to investigate the coal
industry.
Touching violation of agreements
Chairman Nolan said:
1T is a good thing for the Ameri
can people to find out that men en-.
gagged in big industry make con-
tracts to be construed as they see At,
and regard them like the German en-
peror as a scrap Of paper
you can't charge operators with
that" replied Ogle.