Douglas daily dispatch., 1928-03-24
ROCKEFELLER,
|SCHWAB GIVE
COAL FACTS
MilliOnaires Inform Senate
Committee of BituminOus
Panacea
INDUSTRY HURT
Four Steps Detailed BY
Rockefeller to Solve Coal
Problem
INDUSTRY HURT

WASHINGTON, March % P-Three
distinctly contrasting personalities
each a prominent factor in the eco
nomic life of America-were question
ed today by the senate interstate COM
raerce committee regarding their con-
nectlOn with the floundering bitumin-
Gus mining industry.
First came Charles M. Schwab.
chairman of the board of the Bethle-
hem Steel corporation, whose good
natured bantering and disarming smile
quickly dissipated the tensenesS in the
crowded committee room He denied
active connection with the Bethlehem
Mines corporation of West Virginia
admitted that serious situation faced
the bltumlnouS operators and miners
alike, and advocated other occupation
for the surplus miners as solution.
Then John D. Rockefeller, Jr.,
quietly and evenly asserted his con-
fidence in the officers of the Consoli-
dation Coal company, in which he
owns 1885 shares of common and
preferred stock. He disavowed any
ability to suggest or to work for a
panacea for troubles in the bituminous
mining fields, emphasizing that he ap-
peared "as layman."
Finally, r. B. Mellon, brother of
Secretary Mellon, ha1tingly explained
that he and the treasury secretary held
Is per cent of the stock of the Pitts
burgh Coal company, which has been
a principal target of the United Mine
Workers throughout the inquiry. In
voice that could hardly be heard, he
repeatedly answered st don't know"
to queries by committee members and
union counsel.
Schwab held the stand for one and
a half hours; Rockefeller was queS-
toned for just over an hour; and Mel
Ion had completed his testimony be-
fore an hour elapsed.
The first two cheerfully assented to
examination, while occasionally ex-
pressing a preference not to be re-
quired to go into issues about which
they claimed lack of knowledge. Each
expressed a willingness to aid the in
vestigation in any way possible, butt
Mellon volunteered no remarks aside
from the brief matter-of fact answers
to questions of fact.
Both Schwab and Rockefeller were
allowed to leave upon completion of
their testimony; the former saying he
wanted to head south where his wife
is i'll, and the later to catch a New
York train.
Two questions put by Oliver K
Eaton, to Mellon toward the end Of
the hearing we're:
do you think employers should
keep their word?"
do you think employees should keep
their Word?"
The answer in each instance was "I
don't know" and with that the COM
mittee adjourned.
SchWab's light hearted attitude re-
suited in frequent raillery between him
and the committee, but the tenor of
his talk at other times was deliberate.
He declared against collective bar
gaining asserting a conviction that the
best relations between employer and
employe were obtained through di-
rect dealing. On one occasion he in
formed union counsel heatedly that
such was the policy of the Bethlehem
Steel corporation, and that it would
remain so permanently.
The steel magnate said that his work
with that corporation had been one
"of love-" and that he had never re-
ceived any money for it. His ideal he
added, was to work Tor the betterment
of human relations between capital
and labor Expressing satisfaction
with his progress in that direction, he
expressed the opinion that conditions
similar to those pertaining in the steel
industry could be brought to the coal
industry. One suggestion made by
him was for legal permission for con-
solidation of coal companies.
Continued on Page Ten)