Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-05-09

WASHINGTON, May 9:-Between
June, 1917, and November, 1921,
there were eight separate govern
mental Investigations CT the coal in
dustry, the published records of
which fill twenty or more large vol
rmes. On September g next a ninth
inquiry and survey will be COM
pleted, and il all the statistics and
other data that are developed are
published in full, together with the
conclusions and recommendations
of the Commission, the result will be
another fye-foot shelf of literature
On coal.
Congress, the President and the
public Will then have available every
essential fact pertaining to the great
fuel industry. Whether all this will
bring about a solution of the coal
problem remains to be seen, but il
is certain that a failure to arrive al
a solution al not be charged to g
lack OF information,
Experts agree that the Investlg-
alton row under way is the mos'
comprehensive that has ever been
made of a great industry. Every
tphase of and every step in the pro-
duction of coal is being examined.
All the pertinent material that has
been gathered for years by such
Government agencies as the Bureau
Of Census, the Bureau of Mines, the
Federal Trade Commission, and the
Geological Survey is being assem-
bled and studied. The most exhaus-
tive missionaries have been sent
to operators, wholesalers and retail
dealers, and as the reports are re-
ceived they are being tabulated
and digested by a staff OF more
than 100 specialists and clerks.
In the matter of wages the first
step was to call on $500 mines for
statements showing every change
that has been made in wage scales
affecting the whole OF one occupa-
ton or more than one occupation
since January l, 1912. In the fields
where the operators have had
agreements with the miners union
1t is comparatively easy to furnish
this information, but in the non
union fields rates changes have been
made more frequently and have
varied almost from mine to mine,
The next step was to call for the
actual wages paid every miner al
each pay period during the calendar
year 1921.
In some places where pay day
comes every two weeks there are
rs such periods, while in others
where the men are paid on the first
and fifteenth of each month there
are twenty-four, but the amount OF
data called for by this QUESTIONABLE
is seen when it is known that in the
bituminous mines alone 663, 00(
miners were employed in 1921. Each
miners name must be given, his
/ a~arVaaNF4 H. 90 f-.-
days worked during each period ant
the amounts paid him. together with
the totals for the year. In addition
this QUESTIONABLE calls for the to,
.al number of starts by the mine fol
each period, the total hours work
ed by each mine for each period
the average number of hours work.
ed and the average number of EN-
ployes at work per start.
A Formidable Document
The blank furnished for this re
port is a great sheet, about 20 by 2
inches in size, ruled on both sides
with spaces for the names of 6
miners. To the report on the bitum
inous miners, therefore, would re
uuire more than 1900 such sheets
and as each sheet may have NOR
than 1000 entries or notations on i
il constitutes a most formidable doc
ument. The amount of clerical wor
devolving upon the operators in pre-
/ pairing it and upon the employees {
; the Commission in tabulating an
] checking it is little short Of stupeI
dous.
, Then the operators We're called VI
on for a statement Of costs, incon
, and disposition made of coal f
each month during a period Of tv
Years. There are 146 items on tn
QUESTIONABLE, and when that lit
bookkeeping and clerical job Is a
TENDED to, the operators can Occur
their odd moments getting up
a table listing all the strikes. the
causes, duration, number of men /
volved, manner settled, etc, for
four-year period. There are scor
and even hundreds of strikes affec
ing individual mines or fields
a which the general public new
hears, and which are comparative
= insignificant, but all must be repol
ed in detail.
I Wholesale and retail dealers
coal must submit exhaustive stat
D. ments showing their volume of bt
mess and profits-or losses, If the
were such-during the same peri
for which the operators report CO.