The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-08-04
Irving 70 Bleed the Turnip

There is a bitter coal strike on in the soft coal
fields Of western PENNSYLVANIA. The miners are en-
gagged in desperate effort to regain the West Vir-
GINA coal fields for unionized labor There Is plenty
of activity in Kentucky and Ohio.
Civilized men will be likely to sympathize with the
miners in their struggle to secure so elemental hu-
man right as that of collective bargaining, their only
safeguard of anything approaching decent standards
of living But informed common sense demands
calm examination of the general economic conditions
in the whole industry
Such suggestion is no disguised apology for the
ma ority of the coal operators, whose soco-economlc
policies have proved them to be choice collec-
ton of industrial pirates scutted the ship OF
social Justice yet the plain fact is that the miners
nou have to contend not only with the irresponsible
selshness of the operators, but with an even more
inpregnable enemy namely, the forces and processes
of industrial evolution.
# is futile to attempt to make turnip bleed even
", the hest of causes If requires blood he must
look elsewhere The coal industry Of the United
States outside the we-unonized anthracite felds OF
PENNSYLVANIA in state of anarchy and depression
which will force either readjustment or dlsintegra-
ton .
This is due to the increasing of cheap oil
for fuel and other reasons for decreased coal con-
sumption; to the increased efficiency of coal-Inining
methods, "
marginal fields which should be closed down in
definitely.
The maximum annual demand for soft coal ii
the limited States came in the year 1918. 1t then
was $40 900 900 tons Yet even in the present dlsor
canized state of the industry, there would be no
difficulty in producing billion tons Of soft coal in
the United States in one year without increasing
either the machinery, fields worked or the labor
force available Thoroughly reorganized, equipped
with the best machinery, exploiting only the most
productive fields and recognizing labor organizations
so as to promote the fullest productive cooperation,
there is little doubt that we could produce billion
and half tons each year.
In 1927, a fairly prosperous year, we produced
s1sOo0OoO tons, with labor in the soft coal fields
averaging 1911 days of work during the year.
Along with the decreased consumption of soft coal
has gone falling of in coal prices.
These conditions have produced a sharp COM
netition between rival coal fields and operators AS
labor cost represents at least rs per cent OF the cost
of coal this that operators ercey resist any
such raising of the wage scale as would be implied
in full unionzatou Of the industry
This resistance is especially savage and determined
when the threatened increase in wages falls upon
any local group of operators and promises to put
them at competitive disadvantage with other oper-
ators in another field.
Our soft coal situation, then, is one which calls
for something more than a courageous battle for the
rights Of union labor. 1t demands complete in
dustrai shakeup in the interest of the American
public the coal industry the operators and the miners
All the poorer or marginal mines should be closed
ONLY the richest fields should be worked. These