Evening star., 1926-06-06
BY WALTER r. McCALLUM.


- ARRIVING out its promise,
made three months ago. the
House interstate and foreign
~ commerce committee has pre-
pared two committee drafts
of an inclusive bill to correct the evils
Of recurrent strikes in the coal indus
try and protect the Government and
the public from shortages of coal.
Even though the bill may not pass
either house at the present session of
CongresS-for any coal legislation is
highly controversial, touching SO many
phases of our national life and bring
ing into friction many conflicting fac
tors-the committee will have made a
good start toward bringing order out
of the chaos in coal which has vir-
tually stopped the wheels Of industry
and caused consumers to dig down
deep into their pockets three times in
the last seven years.
Although Secretary of Commerce
Hoover has told the committee he does
not believe the difficulties of the coal
industry can be corrected by remedial
legislation, declaring that regulation
of prices, profits, the right to produce
or wages would not secure cheaper
coal nor would 1t solve the major
questions of labor relations, the COM
mittee believes otherwise, and has
gone ahead with its work to draw up
legislation in line with the recommen-
dationS of President Coolidge which 1t
hopes will protect the Government and
the public from coal shortages. The
bill In its present form may not pre-
vent strikes, but it's coercive and me-
diation features will combine with the
pressure of enlightened public opin-
ion, in the view of many men on Capt.
tol Hill, to cause miners and operators
to think twice before precipitating an
other coal crisis such as the late an
thracite strike or the great bitumi-
nous strike of 1922.
Bill Not Yet Reported.
The bill. already introduced by Rep
reSentative Parker of New York,
chairman of the committee. has not
yet been reported out of committee
and may not come before the House
for action for several days. Other
committee meetings will be held to
consider further the details of the
measure, but in it's main essentials
1t will doubtless remain unchanged.
Whether it will succeed of passage is
uncertain. Without question some of
its features will meet with definite op-
position from either the production
side or the side of the owners of coal
mining properties. But in any event
the committee has made a start on
the coal legislation asked py the Presi-
dent, and has consistently held before
1t the main objective urged by the
Chief EXe4etive-that of protecting
the Cover r-1ent and the people from
suffering u times of coal shortage
from any 'nuse.
The measure. as it now stands,
would p;sce investigatorial powers
over coA production, marketing, dis
tributioz wages, time worked. con-
sumption, stocks and selling prices of
all mineral and manufactured coal, in
the hands of the Bureau of Mines of
the Department of Commerce, there
by setting aside the several sugges-
tfonS made at the open hearings
which closed month ago. that new
Independent bureau be established to
have complete control over coal mat
terS as far as the Government is
concerned.
Most drastic of the provisions con-
tained in the measure is that EN-
powerinG the President to declare
national emergency in order to pro-
tect against shortages or possible
shortages of coal, "by reason of a
lockout or strike or the possibility of
lockout or strike affecting sub
stantial decrease in the production of
fuel" Backing up this authority is
provision which would invoke the
powers already existing in the Inter
state Commerce Commission's emer-
gency coal act. This act is most dras-
tic. providing for setting up Federal
coal distribution agency, to facilitate
interstate movement of coal, assign
coal car prioritieS and generally to keep
the Government, industry and the
consuming public provided with coal
to meet existing needs. The commit
tee measure invokes all the powers of
the emergency coal act now vested
in the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion. and for purposes of inquiry and
investigation would remove all the
records. documents, papers and cor
reSpondence of the United States Coal
Commission, the Federal fuel dis
tributor and the United States Fuel
Administration to the Bureau of
Mines.
Intent of Coal Act.
The emergency coal act reads in
part as follows: THAT by reason Of
the prolonged interruption in the op-
Grafton of a substantial part of the
coal mining industry in the United
States and Of the impairment in the
service Of certain carriers engaged
in commerce between the states. and
by reason of the disturbance in
economic and industrial conditions
caused by the World War, a national
emergency exists which endanger
the public health and general well
fare of the people If the United
States. Injuries industry and business
generally throughout the United
States. furnishes an opportunity for
the disposition of coal and other fuel
at unreasonably high prices. limits the
supply Of light, heat and power,