Evening star., 1947-05-18

=. n
AS a comparison, the iron and
steel industry made a profit after
taxes in 1914 of $760 100000. In
1910 it made profit Of $4l4 ,O0o, 900
and in 1885 q profit Of $23, 600, 900.
ALI figures since 1910 are subject to
revision because of carry-back and
other tax provisions.
Fortune Magazine pointed out re-
Gently that in coal the marginal
producer sets the price and the rest
Of the industry follows. In coal the
concept OF competition has been
The IT-sell-it-to-you- cheaper -than-
he-will attitude OF a bargain base
ment In bad times. Coal Is like
housing, which permits almost no
one to die of exposure but has yet
TO write a positive record appro-
pirate to the 10th century"
The blame cannot be placed en-
tirely on coal mine operations or on
coal miners. A good share Of it
belongs on the American public.
As Senator Morse. Republican, of
Oregon said recently, the public, as
the ultimate employer of the. miners,
has done a very bad job.
Wage Scale Better.
The Centralia Ill.) explosion Of
March IS, In which Ill miners lost
their lives. showed the deplorable
lack Of safety In the mines. The
recent Interior Department med
ical and sanitary survey of mining
communities showed disgraceful
living conditions. John L. Lewis
president of the United Mine Work
ers, has testified to the advancing
age of the miners and the dearth oi
young men willing to 90 under.
ground. b
The latter condition has come
about despite a steadily advancing
wage scale. At the low ebb in 1893:
were averaging less than 81.
a week. The National Industria.
Recovery Act, later declared un.
constitutional, put life into the in
dustry as well as into the UNIV, ano
wages started up. Average weekly
earnings in the soft coal industry
we're estimated as of last October
at $62.5o.
Cost of coal to consumers also has
gone up. The Bureau Of Labor Sta
tistics reports the retail price Of
soft coal In large cities was $7.l7 a
ton in May, 1888, and $1108 last
October. A considerable part Of this
increase is attributable to wage
raises.
Loses Ground to Oil.
It is generally agreed further in
creases In the price Of coal, which
might be inherent in any agree
ment formulated on return of the
mines to private operation June 80
would have little immediate effect
Of the market. This is because OF
the large investment householder
and industrial users have in coal
burning equipment.
Over long period, however
higher prices would tend further
to disrupt the industry, for reasons
Of competition. While coal still L
the principal source OF heat ane
energy in the United States, 1t ha.
been losing ground for many years
to oil, natural gas and hydro-elec.
trio power. In the future there will
be atomic power. For the long run
cost is the principal factor in the
choice of industrial fuel and has ar
bearing on domestic
heating. AS the price of coal goes
up, its major advantage, cheap
ness, diininishes.
Present high production and prof
table operation indicate only 9
temporary reversal of the trend
The Federal Reserve Board index
shows that between 1920 and 1916
industrial production rose
81 per cent, but during the same
period coal production dropped IL
per cent. Before the first Worlc
War soft coal production had beer
expanding at the same general rate
as industrial activity.
Industry Regulated.
From 1924, when a sudden deciin.
set In, until the beginning Of tn,
last World War, the coal industry
was beset by trouble. Possibly 300,.
900 miners jobs were eliminated
mines were abandoned, price war
developed, wages and production
dropped. The Government had Il
step IN with the MIRA, the Guffey'
Snyder Coal Act and the Btu.
minous Coal Act Of 1887 to regulat.
and stabilize the industry.
Three causes usually are given fol
the long-term decline In coal con.
sumption: The reduced industria
activity Of the 193os, competition
from other fuels as sources o.
energy and increased efficiency II
the utilization Of coal. Coal wa
used to produce 30 per cent Of 81
the energy consumed ID the United
States in 1900, the Bureau OF Mine
reports. but In 1915 coal supplied
only 46 per cent Of the country,
energy needs.
Goals principal competitor l
petroleum; next Is natural gas
Virtually m naval vessels now bun
Oh where once they were fuelet
with coal. on = used 3 mars thar