Evening star., 1923-09-24

this great basic industry. the COM
mission recommends the use of the
powers of the federal government
over interstate commerce, recognizing
that under our constitutional system
a substantial part of the responsible
ity rests on the state and local gov
ernments and should remain thereI
and an even larger part on the INDUS
try itself and the public which 1t
serves The public includes investors
in coal lands and properties. coal op-
orators and miners, sales agents ana
retail dealers, as well as industrial
and domestic consumers, and II Is the
aim of the commission, in view of the
facts presented in it's report, not only
TO protect the legitimate interests OF
the indusry but to Utilize to the full
est extent the good will and resources
of the industry itself in putting 10 an
end the disgraceful evils wnlcn nave
developed and which we have de-
scribed. ,
.'The commission is equally averse,
on the one hand to the unnecessary
establishment of any new ana un-
attached governmental agency and
on the other to leaving this very
necessary governmental responsi-
bfIity to a haphazard collaboration
of existing bureaus. whether In any
cne department or in several depart
ments We believe that the logical
and appropriate agency to exercise
the necessary administrative and
quasi judicial functions required for
the coal industry already exists In
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion We recommend the creation for
this purpose of a special division in
that commission. There should be
some organic relation between the
Interstate Commerce Commission, in
the exercise of it's regulatory powers
over the coal industry, and the geo.
logical survey and other bureaus
~ i1I, nIr ,6
facilities for collecting any part of
the Information needed. The Inter
state Commerce Commission itself
should, however, create any neces-
sary facilities for continuing the
collection of current information
which does not more appropria tely
and naturally come from these exist
ing sources. Fact finding and in
depreciation of the facts would thus.
with mutual advantage. be separated
to this extent from executive action
based on the facts. The government
must go beyond continuous fact find
ing and publicity, important and eIe-
mentary as these functions are.
Evil of Monopoly.
1.-THE fundamental evil in the an
thracite industry is that of mo-
nopoly-the treatm of limited
natural resources as if they were
like other private property Reliance
on competition without supervision
has resulted in persistence of a per-
manent level of high prices above
which extortionate increases were
made whenever suspension of MIN
ing or other distur Dances give rise
to the phenomenon of premium coal.
In the anthracite industry we have
secured stability-1which is desirable
but ii has been at high cost to the
consumer and has made anthracite
a luxury fuel
One remedy, short of price fixing
or public ownership, remains in the
hands of the government for the pro-
lection of the public interest This
Is the levy of graded tax on row
alties and differential profits. This
would not lower the price of coal
but 1t would secure a public revenue
without increasing the price of coal.
The present sales tax imposed by the
state of Pennsylvania on anthracite
gives no such protection. even though
II yields some S7,000.00O to the state.
Since 1t is percentage on the f. o. b.
mine price, it falls on the marginal
high cost producer, as on others, and
even more heavily when he is selling