Facts Found

The United States Coal Commission, headed by John Hays Hammond, made public its preliminary report on the Anthracite Coal situation.

Although it is only a preliminary report it consists of some 27,000 words and is the result of eight months' investigation of six men and a corps of expert assistants.

In its fact finding capacity, the Commission did not confine itself merely to gathering statistics, but also drew general conclusions. The more important points of the report follow: P:Existing property rights in anthracite mines should not be abolished either by Government purchase or by expropriation. P:The Government should exercise control of the industry and also, if at any time the supply of anthracite is cut off by labor troubles or otherwise, the President should be empowered to declare an emergency, take over the mines temporarily, fix wages, mine, transport and distribute coal. P:The retail price of anthracite has practically doubled in ten years. P:About 50 cents of the consumer's dollar goes to pay for coal at the mine, the remainder paying for transportation, distribution, retailers' and jobbers' profits. P:Of this same dollar about eleven cents, altogether, goes as profit, divided between the producer, jobber, it' any, and retailer. P:In times of shortage, however, jobbers often buy and sell the same coal several times so that a whole series of extra profits is pyramided on the retail price. P:Freight charges consume from 16 to 30 cents of the consumer's dollar (depending on his distance from the mine) so that a material reduction in the cost of coal could be brought about by lower freight rates. P:I The average cost of mining a ton of coal increased from $2.23 in 1913 to $5.75 in 1923. P:In 1923 labor cost constituted 71.7% of the total $5.75 ton cost. In 1913 labor cost 70% of the $2.23 ton cost. P:There were 147,456 anthracite mine workers, according to 1920 returns. P:Those miners who work all year earn from $1,500 to $2,000 a year. P:The Government should get and publish regular reports on the entire anthracite business. --costs and production. P:There is no standard method of valuing coal mines which can be applied to determine what is a fair profit. P:For 20 years preceding 1913, anthracite production increased in proportion to population. Since 1913 anthracite production on the average has remained the same every year in spite of increasing population. P:As for labor, neither union nor non-union advocates can show " absolutely clean hands in keeping and helping to enforce the civil rights of American citizens." P:There should be a "continuing umpire" to sit on the Conciliation Board between operators and miners. P:"There has been too much epithet, too little argument" between the operators and the miners. P:The Commission will recommend no "punitive measures" unless the outcome of the present conference at Atlantic City seems to call for such action.