The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-02-21
DANGER OF GOAL
STRIKE NOW
!. REMOVED
Renewal Of Bituminous Min
ers' Wage Scale for 3 Years
Removes Menace:
/ BY w. 8. COUSINS.
Copyright, 1924. by Cosmopolitan
News Service.

News 6erVlco.l
NEW YORK, Feb 21.-"The re
neWal Of the present bituminous
miners wage scale for three years
removes the danger Of q strike in
the soft coal fields this spring, q
menace which was much less for
midable to the big coal operators
than to the American public,
Frank ]. Milman, president Of the
Milman Coal Corporation, said to-
day
The mild weather, together with
the prudent policies adopted by a
number of the prominent industrial
consumers of bituminous coal, in
laying up surplus against the
contingency Of a strike in the
spring, proved to be a good ally
of the constructive forces in the
industry, and made the prospect
Of strike almost negligible.
A national tie UP OF the mines
either to force wages or prices
higher was unthinkable after the
mild weather, and the huge surplus
of 65,000,O00 tons Of soft coal that
had accumulated in the bins OF
consumers since last October
Whether freedom from the hazard
Of a coal strike has been purchased
at too high price remains to be
seen.
Prices Drop.
1.-THE over development of the
bituminous coal fields" Mr.. Milman
declared, 1.-The plain fact that the
output Of all the mines, IL kept in
continuous operation, could not be
a nnrh4I iOn g.. 4. -
doubt the greatest problem calling
for solution today. The wage agree
ment stabilizes the labor end OF
the bargain, but it does not clarity
the whole situation. Prices of all
steadily dropping in recent years
manned stationary. A great many
mines, which cannot be operated al
a reasonable profit, will be shut
down, and remain closed until the
market rises to their level.
This will entail hardship, not
only among the mine owners and
operators, many of them with
limited resources, but also to the
miners, who will be thrown out OF
work. The lot Of the miner Is not
an enviable one, considering that
his working year averages only
about 220 days, and in many cases
is less than 1870 days. Many op
orators, of whom / have intimate
knowledge, are operating their
mines at no financial advantage
to themselves in order to provide
employment for their men,"
|. Prices on most grades of in
dustrial bituminous coal have great
ly declined in the last few years
Mr.. Milman declared, due to the
great overproduction or undercon.
sumption of coal in 1920 and 1921.
"Bituminous coal which / sold in
100 carload lots at 1875 a ton in
1919 will bring little more than
$3.50 ton today" he said. while
anthracite has slumped off from
$3.50 to $3.50 a ton since the
middle Of last year.
Price War.
Two influential factors which may
enter into a projected price war in
the bituminous coal industry, are
the competition between union and
non-union fields and the ever in
creasing use Of petroleum in com
mercial plants, steamships and Of
flee buildings. Union regulations
prohibit bituminous workers enter
ing the anthracite fields. Non-unior
workmen on promise of steady EN-
ployment can be secured at lower
daily wages than the union men
and thus production costs per tor
are reduced. Surface coal is more
cheaply obtained than the same
product from the deep incisions.
Nothing constructive has yet beer
produced by the Federal Coal Com
mission appointed two years ago tt
plan for the complete reorganiza
ton of the soft coal industry. Its
reports have been safely filed away
with other similar documents