Show COAL AT THE YEARS END As the year n V neared eared its end the coal supply was running low some major coal users including several railroads yere were concerned about their future needs worry was expressed by retail coal merchants in in many communities who yere were facing with uncertainty the cold weather period when demand reaches its peak in the coal mining regions thousands of miners and their families went through a bleek christmas season the reason there had been little work for a long time and their financial resources were at a low ebb the inie owners and operators of the soft coal mines the people whose savings and work made this great basic industry pos possible sibIe also looked ahead with uncertainty due to high costs and periodic shutdowns shut downs coals competitive position in regard to other fuels had worsened coal users and especially the big users naturally turn to the fuel which offers i the most certain supply at the most reasonable cost why had all this occurred at a time when the country at large bre was running in high gear there was relatively little general unemployment and most industries were doing well the answer is simple coal labor is an ironclad iron clad monopoly under the control of one man john L lewis sir mr lewis had decided that not a ton of coal should be mined without his consent and then only under tinder terms to be dictated by him without honest arbitration as we have always understood it during the year there had been shutdown shut down after shutdown shut down dislocation after dislocation strike after strike the losses t to the miners the owners and to other industries have been incalculable and here is what congress must consider this condition will continue so long as we allow nationwide nation wide labor monopolies to be completely free of the antitrust antimonopoly laws that apply to all other business |