Evening star., 1923-08-24

tSOnCinueU ITOIll lESl dSt.t
ment would be reached in the an
thracite field and no shutdown would
occur.
Take the case of the operators" he
said. There is no doubt of their
SINCERE desire for, such an agreement.
A shutdown would involve great eX-
pense. They must provide against the
flooding of the mines. Furthermore.
they are conversant with the fact
that they are likely to lose good
part of their present market in the
future. To a certainty. they lose this
winters market if there is a shut
down lasting two or three months.
Through enlightened self-interest the
operators will use every endeavor
to bring about a settlement.
Take the miners position. l think
that if there is a strike the miner
will be the loser even if he wins the
strike. Should work be resumed after
two or three months, the market dur
ing the winter will have been pro-
vided for, and anthracite mining
would be resumed on part time. The
miners would not care to face that
situation. They realize the hardships
that would occur in their own ranks
if part of the market in the future were
lost to anthracite. L think they would
have a great deal Of hesitation be-
fore assuming responsibility for shut
down after September l."
Cites World War.
Mr.. Hammond ssaid, however, that
intelligent men had been known to
run amuck" in the past.
Before the world war" he said,
"all the intelligent people in the
world predicted there would be no
war;
Mr.. Hammond insisted that in his
opinion there would be no sympa-
81 .%,-il hn arf nf i
luminous miners. The contract with
the bituminous miners does not ex-
pire, he pointed out, until April of
next year.
Former Vice President Marshall.
who. with other members of the coal
commission, was present during the
statement made by Mr.. Hammond.
said that the situation was more
hopeful because of the greater knowl-
edge which has been obtained during
the last year regarding the uses of
bituminous coal.
Calls Anthracite Luxury.
Secondly" said Mr.. Marshall. "an-
thracite has become almost a luxury
fuel. 1t has reached the breaking
point in price. If it goes any higher,
probably Mr.. Rockefeller and myself"
he said with a twinkle In his eye, can
afford to use it. Necessity of main
tanning a market will prevent its
going higher in price.
The operators and miners both
know this. Also In the anthracite
field the miner is a skilled workman,
and in the bituminous field he Is not.
If the anthracite miner is out of
work he has nothing else to turn his
hand to. This Is not true Of the btu
minous miner"
Mr.. Hammond said that the COM
mission as a whole felt hopeful that
there would be no shutdown Of the
mines.
At the office of the federal fuel dis
tributor plans went forward today for
the meeting of representatives of
governors of anthracite-c
states. set for Tuesday in New York.
Mr.. Wadleigh, the fuel distributor,
said that he had received replies from
all except two of the governors In
vited to send representatives, and that
all the replies had been favorable.
The other two governors are expect
ed to accept as soon as they have Sc
lected their representatives.
PinchOt Sees Coolidge.
Gov. Clifford Pinchot of Pennsylvania,
Gated, was a guest of President Cool
1dge at luncheon at the White House
today. 1t is understood that the
President took occasion to go fully
into the coal situation with Gov
Pinchot. The laws of Pennsylvania
are believed to give the chief execu-
tive of the state considerable author
ity in the event OF a strike in the
anthracite region. Gov. Pinchot, by
calling on the President, could obtain
the full power of the federal govern
ment in the event of serious trouble
in the mine field.
COKE MEN PREPARE.