Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-11-04 | Page 6 | Palmer's Reply

the officers of the mine workers' union. ' ' The president of the New York coal association has his answer. "With others oth-ers interested in the matter he. can di-. gest it to advantage. PALMER'S REPLY. Attorney General Palmer's answer to the suggestion of the president of the 'Wholesale Coal Trade association of New York that the government should not fix a maximum price for coal or interfere with the "normal course of supply and demand" during the coal strike was a vigorous assertion that he would take the same action against persons enhancing the price of coal as was taken against the officials of the mine workers' union. Expressing his amazement that the suggestion should have been made, Mr. Palmer declares that tho proposal amounts in effect to a declaration that tho coal dealers "should be permitted to take advantage of abnormal conditions con-ditions and base their prices on the law of supply and demand, another way of saying that they should bo permitted to charge tho public what they please." Continuing, tho attorney general says that "tho demand for coal will be constantly con-stantly increasing and the supply decreasing de-creasing as a probable result of tine 9 strike, and unless thcro is governmental regulation prices will bo outrageous and accruing profits unconscionable. The action of the government in restraining the mine workers' union from furthering further-ing a strike was taken solely in the interest of the general public and I shalj not permit it to be used directly di-rectly or indirectly for tho benefit of the employera' side of tbe controversy. contro-versy. ' ' Finally: "ff any ndvuntago shall be taken of present conditions by any or rangement or agreement of two or more persons to restrict either production or distribution in order to enhanie the price of fuel, I shall Without hMitattos take precisely the MOM aclion against such persons v has bffffl taken again