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Show LAWMAKERS CULLED j FOR EXTRA SESSION 30VERNOR PINCHOT SAYS MEET IS IMPERATIVE; SAFETY OF INSTITUTIONS REASON Regulation of The Coal Industry and the Enforcement of the Dry Law Will Also be Considered Says Governor of Eastern State Harrisburg, Pa. Governor Pinchot called an extra session of the Pennsylvania general assembly for January 13. Two of the subjects to be considered are regulation of the coal mining industry and prohibition enforcement. en-forcement. The official proclamation, summoning summon-ing the legislature was undre date of December 14. It will be signed by the governor shortly, but was made public before his signature was attached, at-tached, together with a statement , of the governor's reasons for calling the session. "I have called the general assembly of Pennsylvania in extra session because be-cause the safety of our institutions and the prosperity of our people imperatively im-peratively demand it,": the governor said. "Abuses have arisen in this commonwealth com-monwealth so dangerous to our form of government and so threatening to the welfare of the people that they must he taken in hand with vigor and without delay." Later in his statement he asserted the session "will not cost the taxpayers taxpay-ers a single dollar, if the legislature will enact the legislation I shall recommend." rec-ommend." Although the section in the proclamation procla-mation dealing with anthracite asked only consideration of measures to regulate reg-ulate the industry through a proper state agency and authorization of compacts with other states for the same purpose, Governor Pinchot's statement indicated his intention of asking that hard coal mining be declared de-clared a public utility. He outlined his own efforts to bring about a settlement set-tlement of the anthracite controversy through the submission of proposals which were accepted by the miners, but rejected by the operators. "The operators from first to last," he said, "have refused to yield one jot or little of their original position." The future of the industry, he asserted, assert-ed, "is threatened by popular resent-Iment resent-Iment and the use of substitutes," and, he said, the public, "must either suffer in silence or it must take measures mea-sures to protect itself." The governor termed the industry "a monopily" and said the attorney general had advised him in that case it may be declared to be affected with a public interest and therefore subject to regulation as a public utility." util-ity." "Action by the legislature declaring the anthracite monopoly to be a public pub-lic utility," he said, "will supply some degree of public conrol where none exists today; wTill furnish information never before revealed, and will exert the most powerful influence the public pub-lic can apply toward the settlement of the strike." The governor proposed in his proclamation proc-lamation only "assistional means" for enforcing the prohibition enforcement and in his statement he said he regarded re-garded this question "as of fundamental fundamen-tal moral importance." |