CONTROL OF COAL MINES.1 It has been decided that the board of trade should take possession of all the coal mines in the United Kingdom for the period of the war, in addition to those in South Wales which have already been taken over under the defense of the realm act. The president of the board of trade has decided to set up a new department which will control the coal mines and will also exercise the other powers and duties of the board of trade with regard to coal. The chairman and directors of the London & North Western Railway Co. have kindly placed the services of their general manager, Mr. Guy Calthrop, at the disposal of the president of the board of trade to take charge of the new department. Mr. Calthrop's official designation will be controller of coal mines, and his office will be No. 8 Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, S. W. By arrangement with the home secretary, Sir Richard Redmayne, K. C. B. (chief inspector of mines), will assist the controller. The department will also be assisted by an advisory committee of persons selected to represent coal owners and coal miners. 7. COAL MINES DEPARTMENT 2-ADVISORY BOARD APPOINTED. The following appointments have been made in the department of the controller of coal mines: An advisory board representative of the coal owners and the miners in the various districts has been attached to the controller, and consists of the following gentlemen : For the coal owners.-Mr. Adam Nimmo, Mr. Arthur Pease, Mr. C. E. Rhodes, Sir. I. Ratcliffe-Ills, and Mr. Bramwell. For the miners.-Mr. Robert Smillie, Mr. W. Straker, Mr. Herbert Smith, Mr. Stephen Walsh, M. P., and Mr. Vernon Hartshorn. The controller will be assisted in the financial administration by a board of financial advisers, consisting of Mr. A. H. Gibson, F. C. A., president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants; Sir Woodburn Kirby, F. C. A.; and Mr. A. Lowes Dickinson, F. C. A. Sir Richard Redmayne, K. C. B., chief inspector of mines, will assist the controller in matters relating to the production of coal, and Mr. S. H. Hunt, of the London & North Western Railway, in those relating to distribution. Mr. H. F. Carlill, of the Board of Trade, is acting as secretary to the department, the offices of which are at No. 8, Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, S. W. 1. 8. COAL CONTRACTS. NOTICE TO COAL OWNERS, FACTORS, AND MERCHANTS. In view of existing circumstances, the controller of coal mines points out the necessity for coal owners, factors, and merchants refraining at the present time from making forward contracts for longer periods than three months. It is becoming urgently necessary that special efforts should be made to relieve the congestion of transport on the railways, and with this in view the need for limiting the scope of future commitments will be obvious to all concerned. The controller takes the opportunity of reminding coal owners, factors, and merchants that in the national interest great benefit would result from sustained effort to insure that all descriptions of coal be purchased from collieries situated as near as possible to the consuming points, thus securing the minimum of haulage and resultant economy in the use of both wagons and locomotives. While it is recognized that this may prevent some consumers obtaining the class of coal usually sought for, it is suggested that in many cases the effect of such changes would not necessarily act adversely on the operations for which the coal is required. The controller feels assured that all concerned will appreciate the need for carefully weighing the conditions imposed upon the trade by reason of the war, 1 B. T. Jo., Feb. 22, 1917, p. 550. 2 The B. of T. Journal, Mar. 8, 1917, p. 675. and that he may rely upon the whole problem being approached by traders rather from the point of view of the national interest than that of adherence to commercial methods governing procedure in times of peace. REGULATION OF COAL PRICES IN GREAT BRITAIN. 1. REGULATIONS AS TO PRICE FIXING. 2B.1 It shall be unlawful for the admiralty or army council or the minister of munitions to take possession of any war material, food, forage, and stores of any description and of any articles required for or in connection with the production thereof. Where any goods, possession of which has been so taken, are acquired by the admiralty or army council or the minister of munitions, the price to be paid in respect thereof shall, in default of agreement, be determined by the tribunal by which claims for compensation under these regulations are, in the absence of any express provision to the contrary, determined. In the determining of such prices regard need not be had to the market price, but shall be had (a) If the goods are acquired from the grower or producer thereof, to the cost of production and to the rate of profit usually earned by him in respect of similar goods before the war and to whether such rate of profit was unreasonable or excessive, and to any other circumstances of the case; (b) If the goods are acquired from any person other than the grower or producer thereof, to the price paid by such person for the goods, and to whether such price was unreasonable or excessive, and to the rate of profit usually earned in respect of the sale of similar goods before the war, and to whether such rate or profit was unreasonable or excessive, and to any other circumstances of the case; so, however, that if the person from whom the goods are acquired, himself acquired the goods otherwise than in the usual course of his business, no allowance, or an allowance at a reduced rate, on account of profit shall be made: Provided, That where by virtue of these regulations, or any order made thereunder, the sale of the goods at a price above any price fixed thereunder is prohibited, the price assessed under this regulation shall not exceed the price so fixed. If, after the admiralty or army council or the minister of munitions have issued a notice that they have taken or intend to take possession of any war material, food, forage, stores, or article in pursuance of this regulation, any person having control of any such material, food, forage, stores, or article (without the consent of the admiralty or army council or the minister of munitions) sells, removes, or secretes it or deals with it in any way contrary to any conditions imposed in any license, permit, or order that may have been granted in respect thereof, he shall be guilty of an offense against these regulations. 2. PRICE OF COAL (LIMITATION) ACT OF JULY 29, 1915. (5 and 6 Geo. 5. ch. 75.) 1. This act provides that price of coal sold at the pit's mouth shall not exceed the price of same quality of coal at the pit's mouth at the same coal mine realized during the 12 months ended the 30th day of June, 1914 (in this act referred to as the corresponding price), by more than the standard amount per ton. The standard amount is set at 4 shillings, but the board of trade may increase that amount for some mines, owing to special circumstances. Offenders against this provision are punishable by a fine of £100, or by treble the amount by which their price exceeds the maximum sum which would have been paid or payable for the coal if there had been no contravention. Agreements and contracts for sale of coal are affected by this act in so far as the sales prices exceed the maximum price which could have been charged for the coal, if there had been no contravention of section 1. 2. Where coal is conveyed from the pit's mouth over any railway in trucks not belonging to a railway company, the seller of such coal may not charge more 1 Defense of the Realm Regulations (monthly edition) consolidated and revised to Mar. 31, 1917, Ed. by Alexander Pulling, C. B., p. 2. than 50 per cent the sum which the railway company conveying the coal was actually charging for the provision of trucks at the commencement of this act. Offenders fined £100. 3. Controversies as to costs are settled by the board of trade. The board of trade may fix prices at mines where adequate data are lacking on the basis of data afforded from sales of coal at other mines. Board of trade empowered to require all information from owners of coal mines. The board of trade arbitration, etc., act of 1874 is applicable to this act. 4. This act does not apply to the sales of export coal and to coal for the manufacture of patent fuel for export and to coal to be used on any ship. It also does not apply to the sale of coal supplied in pursuance of a contract made before the commencement of this act, provided that where any contract has been made on or after the 1st day of April, 1915, and before the commencement of this act, coal delivered under that contract after the expiration of the period fixed under this provision, and shown to be excepted coal within the meaning of this provision, shall, if the other party to the contract within two months after the commencement of this act gives notice in writing to that effect to the owner of the coal at the pit's mouth, be deemed for the purposes of this act to be sold at the time of the delivery thereof. If the price to be paid by any person to whom coal is delivered is reduced by any amount, in consequence of this provision, then the price must be lowered by a similar amount to any person to whom coal is to be delivered in pursuance of any subsidiary contract. Excepted " coal means coal supplied for domestic or household purposes to any person and coal supplied for any purpose to any local authority, or to any undertakers (public utilities or manufacturers) supplying gas, water, or electricity in any locality in pursuance of authority given by an act of Parliament, or by an order confirmed by or having the effect of an act. The period “fixed under this provision" is three months, but the board of trade may extend it for special reasons. This act does not apply to coal mined in Ireland. This act is effective during the present war and for six months thereafter. Statutory rules and orders of the board of trade, isued by way of supplementing the price of coal limitation, act of July 29, 1915: 1. Order No. 908, dated September 17, 1915, setting a standard amount of 5 shillings per ton for the Forest of Dean coal field. 2. Order No. 468, July 13, 1916, setting a standard amount of 6 shillings and 6 pence (6s. 6d.) per ton in respect of the Monmouthshire and South Wales district. 3. Order No. 724, dated October 18, 1916, providing for an increase in respect of the Forest of Dean coal field of the standard amount to 6s. 6d. per ton. MEMORANDUM OF CONDITIONS (AS OF MAY, 1917) REGARDING BRITISH GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF COAL IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. Operation. The British Government controls all the coal mines in the United Kingdom. The owners operate the mines. All dividends paid to stockholders of mining companies and other distribution of profits must be approved by the Government. This has been effective for the past two months. Wage agreements.-All wage agreements entered into between operators and mine workers must be approved by the Government. In the Welsh mines wage scales have been adjusted principally with regard to the selling prices of coal, and to some extent with regard to the cost of food and living expenses. In the northern fields wage agreements have been principally adjusted with respect to the cost of food and living expenses. The cost of food and other necessities of living has advanced 94 per cent since the war began. All wage agreements are based on screen coal or "large" coal. 66 Selling prices.-To arrive at a maximum or "limitation" price for coal, to the average prices for coal which were received by any producing company for its fiscal year ending either December 31, 1913, or June 30, 1914, has been added 4 shillings per ton. No advances in these prices can be made unless the advances are approved by the board of trade. Since the first "limitation" prices were made effective, the board of trade has authorized one advance, amounting to 2 shillings 6 pence per ton. "Limitation" prices are confined to consumption within the British Isles or domestic consumption. Bunker coal and cargo coal is not classed as coal for domestic consumption. The Admiralty is paying, at present, 24 shillings per ton, which is an advance of 4 shillings per ton above the prewar prices. At present the French and Italian Governments are paying 30 shillings per ton for "screened" coal or "large" coal, and 20 shillings per ton for "screenings or "fines." The average freight rate from mines to ports and loading charges total about 2 shillings per ton. The average revenue of the railroads for transporting coal from mines to ports is 1 shilling 3 pence, or about a cent per ton per mile. No extra charge is made for terminal service. All prices given above, except 20 shillings a ton for screenings, are for screened coal or large sizes. All prices given are for Welsh coal. Prices for Midland coal are several shillings less, but the same advances in shillings are made in each field; i. e., the advances are standard for each field of the United Kingdom. The present prices being paid by the British Government for Admiralty coal, f. o. b. mines, is $5.50 per ton, and the present price being paid by the French and Italian Governments for coal is about $7 per ton, f. o. b. mines. Wherever referred to, a ton of coal or a ton of coke contains 2,240 pounds. Distribution of coal.-Army requirements, navy requirements, and all other Government industries, including munition plants and railroads, are given priority in the distribution of coal and in the allotment of coal cars. The railroads are still receiving the best grades of coal, and it is being supplied largely by mines which formerly supplied it to them. Taxation. In order to arrive at the basis for war taxes or excess-profit taxes, each producer of coal was permitted to report profits for any two of the three calendar years 1911, 1912, or 1913. The profits for the two years selected were added together and divided by two. The result so obtained has been deducted for the profits of each coal producer for each year during the war, and any profit earned over and above the figure so arrived at is subject to a 50 per cent excess-profit tax. The years 1912 and 1913 were the two most profitable years in the history of the British coal industry. Every producer of coal is obliged to report to the Government at the end of each quarter of each calendar year the name and the earnings of every employee which exceed 32 pounds 10 shillings, and is required to deduct from the wages of the employee and pay to the Government the income tax of the employee. Rates of wages of mine workers are so high that any English miner can earn in three days what it formerly took him a week to earn. Transfer of labor.-Until recently no attempt has been made to transfer mine workers from one producing coal field to another, although since the submarine warfare became acute the British anthracite-coal field has only been working from two to three days a week. Anthracite produced in Great Britain was sold in France and this market has substantially been lost. Efforts are now being made to transfer mine workers from the anthracite field to the bituminous fields. Enlistment. When the war began, there were about 1,000,000 mine workers in England. Two hundred and forty thousand of them promptly enlisted. Production of coal became so curtailed that the Government tried to return some of the enlisted men to the mines, but only between fifteen and twenty thousand men were sent back. No mine worker in Great Britain can now enlist in the Army or Navy unless his enlistment is certified to by local tribunals which have been formed in each district. These tribunals are composed of mine workers, operators, and Government officials. When it became known that mine workers would not be enlisted, men employed in other trades, in stores, and in various other occupations, sought employment in the mines. This class of men has been largely drafted into the Army and Navy through the district tribunals. Recently the British Government asked the coal operators for 30,000 experienced tunnel men to do mining work at the front in France. Inside of six weeks the various district tribunals furnished the names of 65,000 mine workers, but only 30,000 men were taken. These mine workers are paid miners' wages, and not soldiers' wages. Coke-oven operation.-In its efforts to secure an increased production of by-products obtained from the operation of by-product-coke ovens, operators of beehive coke ovens in Great Britain have been urged by the Government to replace beehive ovens with by-product ovens, and as an inducement they are permitted to depreciate the value of the abandoned beehive ovens in a period of three years; i. e., the value of the beehive ovens can be included in operating costs covering a three-year period and deducted from earnings. Daylight law. The daylight law which has been made effective in the British Isles is giving universal satisfaction, and Mr. Davies stated he does not think it will ever be abandoned. As a result of its operation coal consumption of electric light and gas companies has been reduced from 20 to 25 per cent. Disposition of slack coal.-Great Britain consumes very little slack coal. It uses screen coal. The slack coal has been exported, either as "fines "mixed at the ports with screen coal, or as "briquets." Before the war England was exporting about a million tons of "briquets" a year, principally to South America. CONTROL OF COAL DISTRIBUTION IN RUSSIA IN 1916. The regulations of July 2 (15), 1916, approved by the minister of commerce and industry' provide for the distribution of all hard mineral fuel (anthracite) produced in the Donetz Basin (South Russia) by a special conference on fuel. The whole Empire was divided into nine districts and all consumers of coal were graded into five classes, in accordance with their importance for national defense. These classes were: (1) Navy and arsenals. (2) Private factories working direct for national defense. (3) Factories working on orders of the quartermaster's corps. (4) Factories working on other urgent orders of the ministry of war, of navy, of communications, of the division of ports, of the grain elevators of the state bank, and those producing agricultural machinery, and similar. (5) All other consumers. Coal for metallurgical works and for steamship companies is considered separately. The representatives of the special conference on fuel made up monthly lists showing the needs of all classes of consumers for the ensuing month. All coal shipments were divided into three categories according to urgency; (a) absolutely urgent, (b) less urgent, (c) third-class shipments. The railroads had to give preference to a and b shipments. Extraordinary needs were covered either from coal reserves or by way of transferring shipments intended for one class of consumers to another. Such transfers always needed the approval of the representative of the special conference. RUSSIAN COAL SITUATION, 1917. [Daily Consular and Trade Reports, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, May 3, 1917. Commercial Attaché William C. Huntington, Petrograd, Feb. 8; translation from explanatory memorandum of Russian minister of finance to the budget of 1917.] The fuel problems of the country necessitated the organization of a special conference on the fuel question, a committee with full powers. On October 8 and 21, 1915, this conference published regulations fixing maximum prices on anthracite at 25 kopecks per pood ($7.13 per short ton, at the normal exchange rate). To relieve the situation existing at the time, steps were taken to increase the use of wood and peat in various industries, especially since wood was used as fuel in only 15 per cent of all the industries in the country. REGULATION OF PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF COAL IN GERMANY DURING THE WAR. The syndicate agreement of the Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate, one of the largest and most powerful combines in Germany, expired on November 30, 1915. For many months prior to this date conferences were being held by the members of the syndicate for the purpose of renewing the syndicate agreement without, however, reaching any satisfactory agreement. Certain large interests (especially the Thyssen interests) held out, it is alleged, because they expected a big boom in the coal industry after the close of the present war, and wanted more leeway than they would have under a syndicate agreement which would allot the output and fix prices. Fearing that the dissolution of the coal syndicate would result in high prices and would seriously affect economic conditions, the Imperial Federal Council on July 12, 1915, issued a decree which provided that "Unless up to September 15, 1915, at least a temporary agreement be made which is to run till the end of March, 1917, the Landeszentralbehörden (State 1 Sobranie Uzakonenii, 1916, part 1, No. 128. |