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Show SHORTAGE OF COAL AGAINJMMINENT LACK OF CARS AND LABOR TROUBLES TROU-BLES ARE HINDERINQ PRODUCTION. Nationalizing of Mines Favored by Operators' Op-erators' Head, Who Denies Combination Com-bination Exists Among Oper-atora Oper-atora to Fix Price. Washington. Entering on an Investigation Inves-tigation of tho Increased price of coal, u senato Interstate commerce sub-coin-tnlttco on August 20 brought forth testimony tes-timony Hint a shortngo of cars and lobor difficulties wcro hindering coal production, that certain elements In the miners' union wuro Intent on nationalization na-tionalization of the coat mines with adoption of a six-hour duy and a five-day five-day week plus a wogu Increase, and that, unless problems ot production wero solved, tho country would bo brought faco to face with a coal fum-luo fum-luo In tho coming winter. So cmphntlc wero the witnesses that the railroads wcro at tho bottom of UU present low production that Sen ator Frcllnghuyscn, chairman of the committee, Indicated tho committee's Intention of bringing llreetor General of Knllroads Illncs Into thu hearing. After dctnlllng the effects of labor difficulties nnd alleged car shortage on coal production, llnrry N. Tuylor, president of the Nutlouul Coul association, asso-ciation, an organization of operators, d eel n red n bill had been prepared for submission to congress providing for tho nationalization of thu mines. Ho ndded that what the miners' wanted was not only that the government should own the properties, hut that tho mines should bo turned over to them for operation. Denying that n combination among bituminous coal operators to fix prices exists, J, D. A. Morrow, vice-president of tho National Coal association, told n senato coal Investigating commlttco that such a combination would be Impossible Im-possible It attempted. Prices at tho mines, ho. Mild, have declined uuder thu competition which prevails and nro lowor than they wero a year ago. "Thero wcro C000 separate commercial commer-cial producers operating approximately approximate-ly 7000 mines, from which bituminous cool Is. regularly shipped," Mr. Morrow said. "In addition there uru somo two thousand operators with about 3000 mines who begin producing and selling coal whenever tho price goes up n llttlo and offers a profit to them. Moreover thero aro hundreds ot thou-snpds thou-snpds of Acres of conl lands' along railroads on which now mines can readily nnd quickly opened by any ono so disposed. Such a condition obviously ob-viously docs not lend Itself to restrictive restric-tive combinations among producers." |