Evening star., 1951-10-21
King Coal
Lewis Says Miners
Needn't Fear Atom
By Horold w. Word


before atomic energy displaces it.
The leader of the 100000 soft coal
and 10000 hard coal members of the
United Mine Workers of America
thinks Britains economic plight
might have been avoided if it could
dig coal faster.
The threatened expulsion of Brit
tsh interests from Egypt and Iran,
and even the loss of India, might not
have occurred had Britain been eco
nomically stronger at home. suggests
this son of a Welsh coal miner
II Britain could turn out another
200 million tons year it's economic
security would be assured. he sug-
gests. 1t has the coal in the ground.
British Production Low
The United States has enough coal
to last several hundred years and
knows how to get it out of the earth
at an average rate of seven tons a day
per man for bituminous and about
three tons day for hard coal.
Britain. on the other hand, gets
about one ton of Bituminous coal a
day from each of its 10000 diggers.
Union policy has been partly respon-
Sible, Mr.. Lewis says. The UNIV has
encouraged mechanization but the
British coal miners union in the past
has opposed it.
Mr.. Lewis has talked these issues
over with British coal mine union
and industry representatives both
here and in London. In conversa-
tions. one gets the idea this is his
'favorite topic-the future of the coal
industry and the importance it may
play in keeping the United States
economically sound.
This country. and the world, are
still on a coal economy" he said in
recent conversation. Atomic
energy will not be a competitive
power threat for many years to come,
because we have had to devote al
most all atomic research to mill
tary uses, and that will continue for
sometime"
He points out, too, that supplies of
uranium, on which maStry of the
atom has depended in experiments
to date, are extremely scarce. Even
water power is insufficient to con-
stitute a. real threat to coal for in
duStrial purposes, Mr.. Lewis con-
tends. The water just isn't there
when you need it most, he says. and
that's why steam standby plants.
geared to coal, have had to be con-
structed at major power dams.
The United Mine Workers did
not oppose the Tennessee Valley
Authority. for example, because we
thought then that it would ultimately
make more customers for COAL" he
said. That has been abundantly
proven"
The military demands for oil also
cut down the threat of petroleum as
an industrial competitor to coal.
Scientist must concentrate on the
powering of military machines be-
cause of the state of world affairs.
So Mr.. Lewis is confident that coal
is the industrial fuel of today and of
the foreseeable tomorrow.
Emphasis on High Yield
In promoting development of mod
ern coal-producing equipment. Mr..
Lewis and his union have made the
big pitch Of getting the miner
share in the niger yield from in
creased output. Today the United
States coal miner receives a base
daily rate Of $16.35, more than So an
hour.
Constant UNIV pressure for
higher wages has, in Mr.. Lewis
opinion, forced the coal operator to
Mechanic to get more and more coal
out Of his property, and the result
has been more and more efficient
mining.
In some Illinois mines coal-digging
and cutting equipment is so effective
that the daily output sometimes hits
the seemingly unbelievable figure of
70 tons day per man. When coal
can be taken out from the surface,
production likewise scars.
Mr.. Lewis thinks that. while the
Diesel railoard engine has set coal
back in this one-time monopoly
field. the development of the coal
burning gas turbine engine will revo-
lutionize the locomotive.
It's indicated the gas turbine will
take up less than half the space of
Diesel motors and that the weight
saving will be terrific. Finely pow-
dered coal is burned with heat pro-
duction impossible to attain in other
locomotives.
Cos Turbine Prospects
Work on the gas turbine engine has
been pioneered by the American Lo-
comotlve Co.. General Electric Corp.
and AlliS-Chalmers Co. of Milwaukee
with the quiet but enthusiastic sup
port of joint committee of coal and
railroad executives. headed by Roy
B. White of the Baltimore g. Ohio
Railroad.
His members mine 95 per cent of
the coal produced in the Nation, Mr..
Lewis says. There are non-union
mines. and they are increasing in
number and output. Non-union coal
can be sold at least 80 cents a ton
cheaper than the union product, be-
cause that amount is collected from
unionized operators to finance the
UNIV welfare and retirement fund
of $3.50 million year. Benefits
available to union miners from this
fund, however, are a powerful argu-
ment to miners to join the union.
Mr.. Lewis doesn't think the nom
union miners are much threat to the
UNIV, for these reasons:
/. Where they are concentrated, as
in some counties of Kentucky, the
union is putting up a big fight to
organize them-punctuated by shoot
ings and million dollar damage suits
against non-union companies and
some Sheriffs.
2. Coal from non-union mines
often is of an inferior grade and con,t