The New York herald., 1922-06-29
Time to Get at the Coal Problem.

Time to Get at the Coal Problem.
If the United States Government
is compelled to enter into the dis
posal OF the coal strike it should go
into this great question of the ma
TONS fuel supply with one fixed pur-
pose in view, after the ending of the
strike itself. This is to get the coal
mining industry Of the whole country
definitely and finally on the right
economic basis.
There are in the bituminous fields
from 10000 to 100000 more work
ers than there can possibly be any
genuine work for even in normal
times. These 10000 to 100000 men
trying to get living out of an in
dustry where there is no legitimate
work for them comprise nearly 80
per cent. of all the bituminous min
ers. union and non-union, put to-
gether. At the present time, ire
spective OF the strike. they comprise
about one-half of all the union miners
in the bituminous fields.
There is no hope of having salts
factory wage scales and working con-
ditions, satisfactory to the employer
and to the employee alike, where
twice as many men are trying to sup
port themselves and their families
in an industry as that industry can
fairly and decently support.
There are in the bituminous fields
thousands more of mines, good, bad
and Indifferent, than are needed
to supply the normal demand of the
country and the normal demand of
the outside world for our soft coal
To try to operate all these mines two
or three days week in only parts of
the year instead of operating some
of them every day in the week and
all the year through is bound to hoist
the fixed charge item entering into
the cost Of every ton Of coal that
comes out Of the ground, is bound
to hoist the labor cost of every ton,
bound to hoist the price of every ton
the consumer buys.
There is no chance Of giving the
public square deal price in the coal
business when coal costs are built on
the workings of mines that are ex-
cessively expensive to operate be-
cause Of the poor quality of their
coal or because of the difficulty in
getting it out, mines whose labor
gets living out of only two days of
work a week, mines whose overhead
must all be covered by the produc-
tion of 100 days year instead of by
the production of 300 days a year.
THE New YORK HERALD, as 1t has
before set forth, sees no solution of
this always troublesome, frequently
dangerous and sometimes disastrous
national problem except the reorgan-
ization of the whole industry, with
the mines grouped as an operating
unit under private management in
naturally defined zones, where the
costs can be equalized by letting the
fat mine carry the lean mine.
The production can then be stabi-
lized so as to make steady work for
a given number of men in each zone
The rest will have to go into some
other industry. The public can be
protected with fair price based on
the equalized production cost of the
group mines in the zone supplying
the coal to the public in certain geo.
graphical divisions. The very pro-
longing of the national coal supply
for the coming generations can be
aided.
All this, Of course, would have to
be done under Federal control and
supervision, with such changes in the
laws, statute and fundamental, as
would be required. But il the Gov
ernment. must get pitchforked into
this coal strike by force of circum
stances now is the time for it and
the nation to get TO work on perma-
nent solution of the yet unsolved but
ever pressing problem. one of the
greatest problems the American peo-
pie face.