The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1939-04-14

WASHINGTON and I'M
workable laws have a way OF con-
cealing their weaknesses for vary
ing lengths of time. It seems to be
true, however, that those weak
nesses, like ones sins, will be found
out. This is especially true OF writ
ten laws that are predicated upon a
formula of how things ought to be
done, rather than upon the basis of
known acts and customs and living
conditions of the people who make
up our nation.
Take the old MIRA, for example.
Its glazing weaknesses and impossi-
BILE prescriptions were discovered
rather soon by the persons and bust
nesses who had to abide by the
terms of that law. It was not so
long, however, before most of us
discovered that the artist who had
sketched the original design of the
blue eagle had made mistake. You
will recall, of course, that the de-
sign had 10 feathers in one wing
and IL in the other. That was bound
to make the bird fly in a circle, and
how true it was of the law, itself!
Even, then, there were many per-
sons who believed the law was not
given sufficient trial before the SUI
preme court moved it down.
Among those who held convic-
ton that MIRA would work was
Senator Guffey, the Pennsylvania
New Dealer. It is the same Sena-
tor Guffey who attempted to de-
stroy, politically, all Democrats
who disagreed with President Roose-
velt-tried to 'read them out of the
party" in radio address.
Senator Guffey, with the aid of
John L. Lewis and the c. I. O.,
pushed through congress the So
called Guffey-little MIRA coal law.
The coal industry was divided in
sentiment about the bill, as I re-
member the legislative battle, but
Senator Guffey won. There came
about a national bituminous coal
commission, with power to fix
prices, with power to compel lot
of other things, including the right
of punishment under other laws if
coal mine owner should commit the
horrible crime of selling below cost
in order to get rid Of his coal.
GuFey LauO Cost the Coal
Industry Many Millions
The first law so enacted was
moved down by the Supreme court
just the same as the original and
big brother MIRA. Senator Guffey
tried again. And so for two years,
or Whereabouts, there has been law
in force that applied the same prin-
ciples Of RECOMMENDATION as MIRA to
the coal industry, and during that
time, according to official reports,
the soft coal industry has lost mon
ey. It lost $37 ,000, 900 in 1887, and
it lost about $50 ,000, 900 last year, the
coal commission has reported.
Naturally, the coal mine owners
are not taking this loss without a
squawk. 1t is not a great deal more
than chirp, however, because the
production of coal dropped from
442, 900, 900 tons in 1887 to 342, 900, 900
tons in 1888. That is pretty rapid
reducing, even if the industry were
really fat.
In consequence of this, and other
conditions affecting labor and prop
erty, Representative Allen, Penn
sylvania Democrat, has introduced
in the house a bill to reconstruct the
Guffey law. His proposal would
eliminate the price fixing; it would
eliminate the special tax on the coal
industry for upkeep of the high pow
cred, but more or less futile, coal
commission, and it would place the
industry again on a basis where its
individual mines would be compel
ing for public patronage instead Of
inducing bootlegging of coal.
I mentioned above that the indus
try had lost money. Well, you and
!, as buyers and consumers of coal,
not to mention the thousands Of
great manufacturing plants using
coal, also lost money because of the
Guffey law. We lost money because
of the price conditions. We would
be penalized in a big way if the
coal commission could ever have
accomplished the almost insur-
mountable job of establishing a set
of federally fixed prices. 1t would
have cost us money because we
would pay the price that was fixed,
and that price would have to be
high enough to allow profit for
the lowest grade and most ineffi-
cient mine operator.
Another Tug of War Between
Coal Miners and Operators
One of the reasons the mine own