Evening star., 1949-01-23
Ruhr Enters
New Era in
Good Shape
Improvement Note d
in Coal, Iron and
Steel Output
By Peter de MendeIssohn


By Peter de MendeIssohn
BERLIN.-The Ruhr entered the
year ls4s, which will place it under
its new international authority. in
good and promising shape. The new
control organ will find itself In
charge of an industry which has
overcome most of its basic postwar
troubles and which is now well on
the road to full recovery.
Coal output during this past year
has placed Western Germany at
the head of all European coal-pro-
ducing countries. Hard coal pro-
duction in the Bizone has risen to
over $4,000 tons day against 262,-
600 tons in December, 1s47. The
years production totaled just over
81 million tons against II million
tons in 1s47,. and reached "a per
cent of the 1896 production level.
Coke production rose from ST. mil
lion tons to 10 million tons, and
soft coal even exceeded the 1886
production level by Is per cent.
More Miners at Work
Employment in the coal mines has
risen steadily during the year. An
increase of $4,000 miners in the |
hard coal industry has raised the
total to 100000 and significantly the
average age of the miners has
dropped slightly from 38.9 years to
378 years, an indication that i'm
proved working conditions in the
industry are beginning to attract
younger men. Absenteeism, too, has
dropped considerably.
Individual output per shift has
risen slightly from l.2l tons in De-
cember, l947, to l.3l tons in De-
cember, 1948. But it is still con-
siderably below the prewar average
of just over 2 tons.
Iron and steel production show an
even greater improvement during
the past II months Raw steel pro-
duction exceeded 100000 tons per
month as against 287 900 tons at the
end of 1947. This Is actually in ex-
cess of production target figures and
mainly due to the fact that the
suspension of coal deliveries to the
Soviet zone has made more coal
available to local West German
industry. Certain holdups in the
scrap export program also resulted
in more steel scrap being available
than had been foreseen. Production
of raw steel ingots rose by SO per
cent above 1947 output to total of
as million tons and pig iron pro-
duction, with an annual total of 46
million tons, has actually doubled
its l947 output.
Food Rations Inadequate
The two basic industries are,
therefore, in promising shape. But
further advance in 1949 will depend
on whether difficulties in the pro-
duction Of electric power can be
overcome and whether the benefits
Of the general recovery which re-
suited from the currency reform can
be maintained. These played large
part In the steady recovery Of the
Ruhr during 1913.
The development Of prices for
foodstuffs and consumer goods re-
mains to be watched carefully. For,
remarkable as the general recovery
Is, food rations for workers in heavy
industries remain inadequate and
food and vegetables offered in the
free market are on the whole too
expensive for miners to buy. 1t will
be necessary to see that miners con-
tinue to receive the required calories
or production will eventually slump
again. Money has become impor-
tant again to Ruhr workers and
unless economic policy in the Bizone
is able to check rising prices the de- |
mand for higher wages will become
increasingly insistent. Only year
ago daily production figures in the
Ruhr followed with remarkable
closeness the daily fluctuations Of
the available food calories. The two
curves now seem to have rid them
selves of their interdependence, but
there is a danger that they may
grow together again.
Coal Figures Misleading
It is of interest to note that for
coal production the Soviet zone OF
Germany claims similarly encourag-
ing figures for 194S. On the face of
1t remarkable progress would seem
TO have been made. Soft coal pro-
duction (there Is little hard coal in
Eastern Germany is reported to
have increased from 1017 million
tons in 1947 to Ill million tons in
194s. But closer inspection of the
N l. III