The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-11-06
BLAME UNIV FOR
UNEMPLOYMENT


coal state, and 10000 of them were
in Illinois. But this is not the whole
story.
Taking the country as whole,
more soft coal was mined in 1924
than in 1918. And in 1928, more
coal was mined than in 1924. Thus
far, the output this year has run
considerably ahead of the output
last year. No, the tota! demand for
coal has not fallen below the pre-
war level.
Lewis Arranged 1t.
Miners in the northern fields are
idle chiefly because their coal has
been olargely displaced by nom
union southern coal. Kentucky and
West Virginia operators pushed
their output and opened new mines
during the war boom, just as all
other operators were DOING. Since
1920, the output from these states
has continues to rise while the out
put in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio
has steadily fallen. Pennsylvania
dropped after 1918, but since 1924
the Pennsylvania output has held
its own.
Wage rates, variations in the
quality of coal, and freight rates
are commonly considered as jointly
responsible for the shift from north
ern mines to southern mines. But
the pressure for low wages and the
failure of the U. NJ. W. A. to resist
the southern operators hostility to
union conditions are the most basic
factors in the situation.
Leading Illinois operators have
taken a considerable share in devel-
oping the southern fields. Peabody
Coal-which mined close to one-sixth
of the Illinois total last year-has
extensive properties in Kentucky
and also operates mines in West Vir-
GINA.
Who Is in the South.
Old Ben Coal Corporation has
West Virginia subsidiary. Old Ben
mad Franklin County Coal are both
tied I'D with Cassett and Company
with a Morgan bank in Philadelphia,
and both of these Philadelphia bank
ing houses have other coal interests
in the southern fields.
Chicago, Wilmington and Frank
lin Coal Company-owner OF the
New Orient, the largest mine in the
worlds tied up with Boston inter
ests. linking it with West Kentucky
Coal Company, and with the West
Virginia mining subsidiaries OF the
Massachusetts, Gas Companies.
Cosgrove- Meehan Coal Corpora.
ton not only owns subsidiary OF
similar name in Illinois and another
in West Virginia, but the chairman
of this company is president OF the
West Virginia Coal and Coke.
Madison Coal Corporation, sub
sidiary Of the Illinois Central Rail
way. has mines also in Kentucky
In fact, all the railroad coal COM
panies, which together mine at least
one-eighth of the Illinois coal, are
controlled by groups of financlers
with great industrial interests, In
Guiding vast coal properties in
southern fields.
But meantime, these larger ILL
nois producers are driving to pro-
-tect their Illinois investments, nc
matter what happens to other CON-
panies or to the Illinois minework-
ers. So they are busily 'consolldat-
ing their interests, closing down
certain mines, mechanizing and
speeding up in other mines, cutting
wage scales, continuing intrigues
with the U. M. w. A. in Illinois
and facing the militant National
Miners Union with growing hos
tility.
Mechanical loading, which is the
latest thing in mechanization fol
underground mining, has increased
in Illinois by more than 50eper cent
in the past two years. Illinois now
leads all other states in the ton
mage of deep-mined coal mechani-
cally loaded, though the percentage
of state output loaded by machine
is higher in Wyoming, Indiana
Utah and Montana.
The percentage cut by machine
is also rising, but the increase ir
cutting machines is a much Older
story than the introduction Of me.
chanical leaders. To the miners il
is still important, for the average
output per machine is pushing
steadily upward.
Strip pits are increasing. Then
output was doubled in Illinois from
1924 to 1928. This month produc-
ton was begun at new giant striI
pit at DuQuoin through which
United Electric Coal hopes to in.
crease output by million tons 9
n year,--and incidentally to raise its
n dividend rate.
y In all, oSe-fifth of the Illinois