The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-04-20
WASHINGTON. D. c.. April 20.

WASHINGTON. d. c.. April 20. -
Government Intervention in the coal
strike, or some official action to re-
neVe the situation, was promised
when the situation becomes acute"
or when the public begins to feel the
pinch of the coal shortage There are
experts who contend that the public
was pinched from the moment the
strike was threatened, and such of
these experts as are not engaged on
one side or the other of the wage con-
troversy are now busy computing the
costs of the strike. Their figures are
at once interesting and startling.
The average citizen probably goes
his serene way without thought that
the coal strike is hurting him until
suddenly he finds that he cannot get
coal when he wants It, or must pay
a higher price than he was charged
for his last order, and it is at this
average citizen that the experts are
aiming their broadsides of statistics.
Thus David L. Wing. who has studied
the coal problem for years, says:
"Since every cost or waste in coal
production, whether it be of natural
resources, or man power, or of CAPT
tai, must eventually be borne by the
coal consumer, it is not enough for
the man in the street merely to read
the news of threatened strikes, grum-
BILE over high prices and talk of prof
iteering and summary legislation. He
must realize that this is a problem
which he too must cooperate in solv.
ing, by bringing about an intelligent
public opinion without which no sound
and equitable settlement of the coal
problems of this country is possible.
From 1910 to 1918 strikes caused
10.6 per cent of the idle days in the
bituminous coal industry. The fig,
ure for the year 1919 was still larger
and for the current year it may be
one to challenge public attention. Al
any rate, the prospect warrants con
4 sideration of the cost of the strike
= that began April 1.
Exact compilations of strike costs
are impossible. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics long since abandoned eff
forts in that line, for even this Gov
eminent agency could never secure
complete reports on such concrete
items as loss in wages and loss in
products, and at the same time there
are so many items entering into tbs
the cost of strike that are indefinite
and susceptible only of estimate OF
approximation.
Giving the Public Jolt.
However, in the case of basic
industry such as coal the statisticians
have more informing data with which
to give the public jolt. First of all
they point out that total cessation
of coal production and exhaustion o
coal supplies on hand would result il
the complete industrial and CONNER
cial paralysis of the nation: famin
and death would speedily stalk tn
land and chaos ensue. Government
itself would break down and civiliza
ton totter and fall. That is the poss
BILE ultimate cost of a coal strike, an
is beyond reckoning in money. Notf
ing like that would ever be permitte
10 happen, of course, but the picture
one to be borne in mind
Getting down to dollars and cents
the first item is the wage loss of tn
mine workers. If there are 10000
miners idle as result of the strik
their loss each day totals at least 81
100000 on the basis of their averag
earnings per day worked in 1921
Next comes the loss in wage to worl