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Show COAL SHORTAGE ELAMEIiiAB'S Producers Cause of Prevailing High Prices Plenty of Coal in Ground. WASHINGTON, May 21. The bituminous bi-tuminous coal shortage Is blamed on the railroads, In a report today by the federal trade commission. Producers, by Liking advantage of tho lack of cars, are charged with responsibility, however, for provailing high prices. "There is no scarcity of coal In tho ground," the report says. "There Is sufficient coal in the bituminous coal mines now being operated not only to supply tho present demand, but also to supply a greatly increased demand. de-mand. The unprecedented demand for this fuel in the past six months, together with tho difficulties of rail and water transportation, not only havo absorbed the coal as fast it could be shipped from tho mines, but havo led also to almost completo exhaustion exhaus-tion of the coal stores at tidewater points and at tho docks on the Great Lakes. Faclna Serious Condition. "The country faces a serious state of affairs in obtaining a commodity which Is basic to practically every form of Its military and Industrial activity." ac-tivity." "Under war time conditions," says the report, "It may become the duty of the government to tako steps similar sim-ilar to those found necessary by belligerent bel-ligerent European countries and not only to regulate tho distribution of coal from thu mouth of tho mine to the ultimate consumer by allotting the quantity of the produot which the different dif-ferent classes of consumers shall be allowed to purchase, but also to establish es-tablish the prices to bo paid by different dif-ferent classes of consumors. At a time like tho present excessive profits pro-fits should not bo permitted to be ox-torted ox-torted from tho public by producers and distributors of any prime necessity neces-sity of life." Of prices now charged for coal, the roport says: "Figures submitted to tho commission commis-sion show that most of tho present prices now charged aro far in cxccsb of the cost as shown by tho operators' books. Many of tho operators frankly frank-ly tako the position that they aro trying try-ing to got for tholr coal tho highoBt prlceB possible under tho present demand de-mand and are refraining, oven at prices pric-es greatly Increased over last year, from contracting tholr output to the extent of their usual custom. They defend this action by claiming that under un-der the operations of tho law of supply sup-ply of doman,d they havo for many years past boen getting little more for their coal than tho baro cost of production; pro-duction; that the mining of bituminous coal during that period has been a most unprofitable industry. Accordingly, Accord-ingly, they aro domanding prices at tho mine today which run from 60 per cent to several hundred per cent over tho coBt of their output "As a result of thlB policy much of tho bituminous coal output haB been auctioned off to the highest bidder. This has resulted in great profits to cortaln operators and special hardship to municipal public utilities, hospitals and other public and private charlta-blo charlta-blo institutions, and to domestic consumers, con-sumers, especially in the west and south, whoro relatively little anthra-clto anthra-clto Is used." |