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Show 1950 August 10 THE 19! Role of Coal & f. tressed In Report ta Committee Looks Into Fuel Problem Jtive to Imported Residual Oil Duties , The increasing seriousness of the problem of unemployment by and reduced production in the July coSttee on Labor coal industry is therefore of the which re- - greatest concern to the nation. c Welfare of The welfare of the wage earners a f - imported residual and the industry affected as well as that of the nation requires that ;!fiswmpetiUve with com- - a prompt solution be found. and which the for in- ' The seriousness of the situation Unemployment in the brought about the impact of oil industries imports on the domestic fuel economy was developed by the committee, which reported that Matthew in the bituminous conducted the a- employment f) eration, had voted for coal industry dropped from a post immediate increase war peak of 435,000 in September $1.05 1943 to an average of 391,000 in ITthe most probable the second half of 1949. Even this senate com- - decline in the number of miners but the full to does not measure the full extent revised this proposal of the reduction in coal mining by study further for In its operations because, it was point Tmtf Commission. ed out, there was in addition a 34 committee recom-aaofln, the per cent drop in man hours of therefore, read: coal employment for that same period the of Representatives between 1947 and 1949 bitumin estk oil industries and of recom- - ous coal tonnage produced droplave joined in the increase in the ped 31 per cent, the committee datum of an said. I- - an imported oil. Therefore, record After pointing out that the de oa the basis of the recom- - velopment of a mine usually reit, the committee tariff quires from two to three years of a i on imported oil. The com-"e- e and a large amount of capital be fore efficient production is achbelieves that congressional await the recom--jatio- n ieved, the committee observed ,i should of the Tariff Commis- - that because of increased residual oil imports the incentive for in this matter. analysis of the opening new mines or making Re committees presented by the UMW capital additions to present mines is entirely wanting. It then deaid by management interests sustained the contention that clared: The result is that coal mine of residual large shipments abroad in production is shrinking. An insto the U. S. from caused serious sufficiency of coal production in at years have oil the event of another war could to the coal, domestic 'railroad industries. The conceivably cause a greater disrarttee, furthermore, took aster than the nation has ever known. up exception to the state defense of these im-- 3 Analyzing the testimony beas necessary to promote fore it, the committee said that that the importation of foreign oil ga trade, observing in harm to has had a substantially injurious imports result American people it becomes effect on the coal, oil and railthose road industries of the nation and ssary to a policies" and weigh the evi- -: the evidence dispels every doubt harm against the assumed and every shadow of a doubt that :i5t" oil imports have played a major b.is comment on the coal 7, role in increasing unemployment the committee had this to among miners, petroleum workers and railroad employees. lie great industrial achieverTurning to the state departs ol this country could not ment arguments, the committee - been possible except for the countered by saying: Major isant supplies of fuel sues with reraised have been energy ble to our production ma- -' spect to reciprocal trade agreei and transportation system, ments and the broad policy of enabundance of these supplies couraging imports to pay for exmade possible an enormous ports and to close the dollar gap. in the quantity of goods Your committee is of the opinion wd. It has made possible that if these policies result in subhigh standard of living ach'- stantial unemployment of specid by the American alized workers in coal mining, people. J this process, coal has play-- n petroleum and railroad industries essential role. Without coal, in the United States, they direct: achievements could not have ly come into conflict with our : made. Without coal, general policy of maintaining full cannot continue employment of the toilers of the togb level Coal is thus nation. Regardless of what othto the American er factors may have contributed amy. A healthy coal indu-- s to the unemployment existing in of vital importance to the the industries under considera;'rcan people. tion, there can be no reasonable '1 ff do-?ta- els ?$ss 5?;r IS 2S .i II) V m, E! t age de-ne- ats r e NWIt in-r.- 0. Ameri-producti- NOW! Windsor 5 Passenger Coupe. Heater, new seat covers. Low mileage. Like new. Chiysler radio, t Ford V8 9 Super DeLuxe 4 Door. tires. Guaranted. Chevrolet Heater, very low mileage. new. See this one. Olds (6) Returning to the detailed testigiven by the UMW of A and coal mining interests, the committee cited the statement by Vice President Thomas Kennedy of the UMW of A which told of the importation of 100,000.000 barrels of residual oil during 1949 which displaced 25,000 mine workers. It said that evidence of the desperate situation confronting many coal mining communities is found in the May 31, 1950, report of the Bureau of Employment Security designating 12 coal mining areas as critical areas of unemployment. The report commented: The unemployment problem in the bituminous industry is especially acute because of the concentration of the industry in areas where mining provides a major source of jobs. Little opportunity exists for alternate employment in case of mine s. This not only aggravates the problem of caring for the unemployed miner but also gives rise to serious problems to the entire community because of the special relationship of the economy of the community to the prosperity of mony shut-down- the coal industry. It pointed to West Virginia, largest producer of bituminous coal in the U. S., as an example of the gravity of the situation. There, it said, in excess of 10,000 mine workers have been unemployed in the past year as coal production fell. Total wages paid by the coal industry in West Virginia declined in the post war period from 33.7 per cent to all wages paid in the state in 1947 to 21.9 per cent in 1949. This has been reflected in a substantial drop in the state's tax income. The situation, the committee reported, is equally serious in Pennsylvania, the second largest bituminous producing state in the nation, and the largest coal producer if both bituminous and anthracite are considered. There, it said, a reduction of 43,059,000 tons represents complete loss of employment to 10,750 miners and a daily wage loss of $161,250. The committee also heard from representatives of the oil industry who sought to defend the importation of oil. The committee said there was no disagreement among the witnesses as to the fact that the importation of foreign oil has had an adverse effect on the nations coal industry, although there was disagreement as to the extent of the effect. It analyzed in considerable detail the testimony of an oil witness representing me of the big importing oil companies and concluded that even on the basis of his figures, which it challenged, the imports had had a serious injurious effect. It reported the oil witness admitted that if the oil imports were shut off their place would likely be taken over by coal in the domestic fuel economy. Turning to the railroad industry, the committee commented that the decline in the market for coal had had a concurrent harmful effect on the railroads since coal traffic in 1943 represented 44.6 per cent of the total carload freight traffic in the eastern dis- tricts and Pocahontas region. The revenue from coal traffic represented 29 1 per cent of total revenue for all carload freight. The The committee added: greater part of the bituminous coal output is hauled by the railroads but residual oil imported from abroad furnishes almost no revenue to the railroads because it is transported by tank steamers to points of consumption and except for negligible amounts is carried from the coastal ports to inland points through pipelines. In 1949, the committee estimated, the gross revenue loss in coal freight was approximately This meant also, it $75,000,000. said, loss in annual wages of about $36,675,000. The loss of Employment has been greatest on roads serving eastern and New England states where competition of foreign oil has been most severe, the committee reported. After citing statistics relating to different railroads, the committee concluded: It is obvious that a continuation of the preset trend of coal displacement by cheap foreign oil will have the ultimate effect of jeopardizing the ability of the railroads to carry their share of the nation's transportation burdens either in peace or in war. d Any policy resulting in the continued loss in revenue to the railroads with a consequent decrease in railroad jobs and railroad facilities due to loss of tonnage will necessarily be detrimental not only to the railroads but also to the general wel short-sighte- fare of the nation." I Another angle of the situation is the effect on coal retailers which the committee described as an important economic activity. Stating that there are over 40,000 retail coal dealers in the U. S., some of whom have as many as 300 employees, it said that these retailers market about 20 per cent of the entire bituminous output of the nation. Explaining that they generally handle the better quality of bituminous coal and that their customers require coals which are sized and cleaned, the committee said: An inevitable result of the preparation of sized coal for the retail market is an accumulation of slack for which a market must As foreign oil has be found. taken over the eastern seaboard and new England markets for slack coal, many producers of coals have found it necessary to curtail production of prepared sizes. The retail dealer, therefore, may soon find it impossible to obtain sufficient quantities of the particular grades and sizes of coal which he has normally marketed unless the producing industry is given a chance to regain the slack markets which it has lost to foreign oil. Again commenting on the situation in the light of the defense emergency confronting the nation, the committee said: Witnesses point out that oil imports would not be a dependable source of fuel supply in a war emergency and that a curtailed domestic coal industry would be unable to supply war time demands. We would have fewer coal miners than in the last war, when the national Interest required soldiers to be furloughed and returned to the mines. Coal operators stressed the fact that high-quali- ty coal mines cannot be kept in storage and that it takes from one to two years to restore a closed mine to full production. Coal can be stored by various users up to a 180-dsupply. The storage facilities for residual oil are severely limited and the cutting off of the imports of oil supplies even for a few days might be ay EX-CEL-C- Special AUGUST ONLY! Face Powder I as. ka. 5 Passenger Club Coupe. new (Special) t 94! CW d S6a PeradUe-for-Tw- o 940 P 2 bottles for $1.50 No-O-D- or 940 V8. 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Although effective relief could e provided by the executive branch of the government, without legislative action, under the escape clause of the reciprocal ra e agreements, the committee said the attitude of the state department affords little ground for hope that such action will be tak- SUN-ADVOCA- DEALERS Nrth Carbon Ave. PRICE, UTAH Phone 751 P'Uce 7nad6uy Shoe, 'Defat. |