Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-13
COAL BARoNs EXPLOITING THE PEOPLE

With the arrival of the first anthracite coal at tidewater
the announcement is made that The price of coal at the mine
has been increased one dollar a ton so that the retail price,
in New York at.least, is now $i4.50. AS usual in all labor
disputes, the public is the goat.
The miners who went on strike April 1 have gained
nothing by their idleness. They have returned to work at
the scale of wages that prevailed when they went out. On
the other hand, the strike has cost the miners over a million
dollars which loss can never be made up.
The operators, who were already over-charsins the
people, simply charge such losses as they sustained to the
dear public and thus gracefully get out from under. They
raise the price of coal on an average of one dollar and s ton
and there seems to be nothing to do but to pay it.
Admitting that it has cost the operators something to
keep their mines in shape during the five months thst they
have been idle, when one realizes the price that the opera
tors were getting for coal before the strike began it would
seem to the ordinary layman that the cost OF the upkeap Of
the mines during the strike could be borne by the operators
and they would still be ahead of the game.
But the cost of keeping the mines in condition during
the five months of idleness could not, at the most, be more
than several thousand dollars. At the increase of one dollar
a ton on coal this amount would be made up the first day of
operation. But that fact is overlooked. The strike furnishes
an excuse to increase the price of coal and once the price OF
coal is raised it never comes down. The public
will be paying for the upkeep of the mines during the
five months of idleness Just past for the next twenty years if
the operators have their way.
AS for the tax that the state Of Pennsylvania is putting
on all the anthracite coal mined, the operators could we'll
afford to pay that out of the enormous profits they have al
ready made. As a matter of fact, the price Of coal for the
past winter or two has been so excessive and public pres
sure was becoming so great for a reduction that it was evil
dent some relief would have to be given and a cut In the
price was almost inevitable. The strike furnished a good
excuse for retaining the old price-in fact, it is believed by
a great many that the operators were not worrying about the
strike at all as it was playing directly into their hands. But
while the people would probably stand for a continuation
Of the old price even though that was excessive, there is no
justification in raising the price a dollar a ton just because
it cost the operators a few thousand dollars to keep the
-.-- cao Is ,nfo, fp fpnrn W five months while n StrlKeI
was on.
Congress has already taken action toward a thorough
investigation of the whole coal industry, getting before the
public every possible detail about the business. 1t is to be
hoped that this legislation will be pushed and the results
made known. If, after such an investigation, it is apparent
that an increase or even the old price is justified there will
be no complaint, but until such impartial proof is presented
the opinion will prevail that the people are being exploited
and robbed by the coal barons when a price of S14.5O is
charged for coal.
Coal is one of the essentials of life in this climate.
Wages generally are being reduced on the strength of a re-
duction in the cost of living. How is such a situation to be
Justified with coal now selling at $i4.5 a ton?