Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-09
PROPOSE REMEDIES
FOR OLD KING COAL
Federal Fuel Commission and
Shorter Working Hours
Advanced as Cures.

~ the Associated Press.
PITTSBURGH, Pa, August S.-While
Northern coal operators and miners
representatives considered the need for
: o panacea for the ailments Of old King
Coal, two proposals were offered today
as possible means for lettering condi-
lions in the industry.
Philip Murray, international vice
president of the United Mine Workers
Of America, said the union would seek
regulation of the bituminous coal in
sdustry by creation of the Federal fuel
commission. John H, Jones, president
of Bertha Consumers Co. and once a
miner, suggested q shorter working day
to provide miners with work next
Winter
s'I,eQislation, such as 1t is proposed
to offer, would call for the creation Of
q Federal fuel commission to be given
dictatorship over the entire mining
situation, !" Murray said. Such a body
should have power to take up adjudi-
cation of freight rates and curtallment
OF production to a point to meet ma
tional requirements A commission
would be able to guarantee greater
continuity of operating time and
greater spread of employment. 1t could
stabilize prices, increase wages. improve
working conditions, control methods OF
distribution and marketing facilities,
and at the same time protect the rights
Of the public to see that prices are not
lloisted to an unreasonable point.
Considers Jobs Necessary.
Jones said he believed the most inn
portant matter before the industry was
the provision OF work for the miners.
an my judgment the first thing to
10 is Is work out some plan to enable
the employment Of idle labor and other
conditions will take care of themselves,
IA said Every man Is entitled to q
living wage who is willing to work.
One Immediate way out OF the present
ssiifaculty would be to divide all Work
to be done by reducing the working
hours to 5 or 8 hours q day. This could
be accomplished through the co-opera-
ton of all concerned
No information was forthcoming
concerning the attitude Of the operators
toward the proposal OF Secretaries Doak
and Lamont for another conference in
washington on the situation.
Operators in Northern West Virginia
are scheduled to meet Monday night to
discuss q proposal that they seek Gov.
eGIULlGI1b IGkulhbltA1 Va VIE AtNAeOeAc - NNsN
IL was learned that j. D. A. Morrow.
president of the Pittsburgh Coal Co,
suggested at a recent conference with
Secretaries Doak and Lamont that
Government regulation be considered
Northern Fields Handicapped.
The northern bituminous coal indus
try has not prospered in number OF
years. Northern operators failed in
recent attempts to secure greater dif-
ferential in freight rates between SOUTH
ern and northern fields to lake ports
and claimed before the Interstate COM
rnerce Commission that they lost lake
trade because they could not compete
with the southern fields.
Labor troubles have beSet the north
ern fields since 1927, but the mines
continued to operate on a non-unlon
basis. The strike was called on In 1928.
Local strikes we're called q few
months ago by the u. NJ w. and by
the National Miners Union, formed in
1923, and these still are In progress in
western Pennsylvania, Northern West
virginia Miners Union, new organi-
Ration which is seeking conference
with the operators.
The United Nike Workers have OBJ
tanned agreements with few operators
based on union recognition and wage
Adjustments. The National Miners
Union has demanded recognition Of
that union and wage scale based on
IS cents q ton for machine coal.