March 3, 1916. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 421 THE SUPPLY OF COAL IN FRANCE. (Continued from page 362.) Further Measures Needed. Such is the nature of the problem that has had to be faced in France. The causes briefly analysed are seen to be the dualism of prices, uneconomical distribution, the rise in British prices, and uncontrolled speculation. The Commission were also clearly convinced that the expedients hitherto tried had failed to overcome the crisis. It is still believed, however, that the best remedy lies in the execution of what may be called natural and direct methods — either to increase the national production or to secure a reduction in the price of imported fuel. Of the means of expanding the output, enquiries have demonstrated that, owing to natural and social condi- tions, in but few* instances would it be possible to organise a system of double shifts,. Technical objections have been raised by the mine owners, who contend that a first step should be to bring the complement of workers up to the pre-war level. This is especially'the case in the Midi and Centre, and it has been suggested that this end might be attained by engaging workmen from the Nord, or foreigners; the employment of Spaniards, Greeks, Italians, etc., has only given very mediocre results. The methodical working of the mines in these districts entails a special knowledge of local conditions. A much better alternative, in the opinion of the Commission, is to carry out the Dalbiez Act in its entirety, to recall mining territorials from the ranks without delay, simplify the procedure, now extremely complicated, of granting exemptions, and to obviate unjustifiable methods of obstruction. As regards the price of imported coal, the Commis- sion think that something more might be done to ensure the full and regular employment of rolling stock. At the date of the report, it is stated, coal importers at Havre were able to obtain 90 per cent, of the rolling stock necessary for their consignments, and at St. Malo 60 per cent., but at Rouen no more than 29 per cent., at Chantenay-Nantes 23 per cent.; at the latter port, of 12,000 tons ready for delivery, it was possible to clear only 2,500 tons. On the other hand, information had been received of wagons lying idle at certain places, full of war material, for months on end, and that upwards of 2,000 locomotives, after slight repairs, could be placed again in service. Other directions in which relief may be anticipated are the improvement of the system of handling goods at the portsan increase in the number of dockers, an extension of quay areas; to alleviate, in a word, all the causes that lead to the abuse of the demur- rage regulations. Instances are also forthcoming in which vessels chartered by the Government have only made a single voyage in 15 months, and it is urged that the expedition of available tonnage should proceed with the improved utilisation of rolling stock. It is suggested that for this purpose the State should acquire a fleet of steamers to facilitate importation, .and to influence the freight market. A fleet of 200,000 tons making four or five voyages per month would assure the transport of 10,000,000 tons, and go far to solve the grave freight difficulty.* Legislative Action : Government Proposals. The Commission proceed, in the next place, to examine the Bills introduced by the Government and by MM. Leon Perrier and de Wendel. It is pointed out that “ natural and direct ” measures can only hope to provide a partial solution, and that, in order to remove all anxiety, legislative action, in addition, is essential to institute an artificial control of the market. Measures that suggest themselves in this category are the legal limitation of selling prices, ;control of distribution, and. the prohibition of speculation. The Bills .alluded to above attack the question from somewhat different standpoints! The proposition of M. Leon Perrier, introduced in July 1915, sought to levy taxation upon those engaged in the sale of coal, and its1 application is limited to coal produced in France. The text contained a formula of taxation of mines according to area and quality, utilising as a basis the average prices obtained in the five years previous, -and taking into account the conditions of working, the quality, the cost of transport, and a normal rate of trading profit. At the same time, it sought to safeguard the wages of workmen and other employees from the incidence of the tax, so that these should not be reduced below those paid at the date.of the Act. The Government Bill was introduced in October 1915, and was of far wider application. It borrowed from the Perrier Bill the fundamental notion of taxation, but the ruling principle was the equalisation of prices, to place the total available supplies of fuel, whatever its origin, at the service of the consumer at a. fair and average price. The measures proposed were simple :—To fix at the mine or port normal cost prices, taking into account the conditions at each mine, or the price of coal in the .. importing country, freight, demurrage, cost of handling, etc. In either case a fair profit was assigned, and incorporated in the price. As soon as the normal cost price was established for each grade of fuel, an average was to be struck, and this taken as the official selling price. The balance in favour of the mine owner is then transferred to the importer; in other words, the mine would hand over to the Treasury any difference between the “selling price” and “cost price,” the importer * The French Government have since acted upon this sug- gestion, having acquired about the date of the report a fleet of 50 vessels, representing a total tonnage of about 250,000 tons, for the importation of necessities for public consump- tion. likewise receiving from the Treasury the sum by which his “ cost price ” exceeded the arbitrary “ selling price.” It will be seen that the scheme did not entail a control by the State either of distribution or the taxation of individual sales. The Commission designates it as “ un projet d’optimisme economique,” as it must depend ultimately upon the good sense and probity of the nation. The proposition of M. de Wendel relied also upon the equalisation of prices, but it differed from the Govern- ment scheme in some important particulars. It was proposed to fix the prices at pit and port once every two months, and the equalisation would be secured by imposing a tax upon the sales of French coal, and allow- ing a bonus to the importer, both of which would remain constant for a period of two months. It would exempt from taxation, however, coal supplied to the workmen at mines, and to. consumers living within a radius of 10 kiloms. from the pit head. The Commission’s Proposals. These projects have been examined in detail by the Commission, who in turn put forward proposals based to a large extent upon the Government Bill; two further principles, however, were embodied : it was considered necessary to institute some form of control over the distribution, and to give certain additional facilities to the small consumer. In the first place, it was proposed to establish at the Ministry of Public Works a national office, with sales bureaux in each coal field and at each port. This office would act as the intermediary in all contracts, and would allocate to the buyer his source of supply. Every two months bureaux would obtain estimates of the domestic consumption, which, after being submitted to local consultative committees, would be transmitted to the central office. Other consumers would be required to inform the bureaux or the central office each fort- night or each month as to the nature of their anticipated needs. This would enable the central office, being in possession of all the information, to satisfy the needs of consumers, with the minimum of delay, effort, and expense. ' Determining Prices. As regards the determination of price, the Commis- sion’s scheme follows the lines of the Government Bill, “ cost prices ” being fixed on the 1st and 15th of each month, with the exception that the lower price—the price at the pit—would be that paid by the small con- sumer. Thus, supposing the average “ cost price ” at the pit were found to be 35 fr., and that at the port 55 fr., the official “ selling price ” would be 45 fr., but the small householder would pay 35 fr. only, and this price would also be paid by municipalities purchasing coal for local distribution. The debit balance on sales will be liquidated by a supplementary tax, which would be added to the 45 fr. in making up the “ selling price.” The differences would be paid to and distributed by the central office. Thus, if the tax referred to worked out at 3 fr. per ton on the unrestricted sales, the mine owner would pay over 13 fr.—the difference between 35 fr. and 48 fr.—to the central office, who in turn would hand over 7 fr. to the importer. The latter would be secured by a State guarantee. In addition to the basis price, of course, would be Customs dues, expense of handling, and merchant’s profit. Objections to the Scheme. It would have been surprising if these proposals had not met with, criticism. These may be classed as objections of principle, objections of fact, and objections of the economic order. The adversaries of “ etatisme ” are, of course, irrecon- cilable; they maintain that such control must involve firstly, the creation of a State monopoly; and secondly, the regulation of prices by taxation. In reply the Commission urge that no scholastic consideration should weigh in the face of such a national calamity as a coal famine, and that, in any case, the authority pro- posed is not monopolistic, being far less drastic than that exerted by the Military Commission in regard, to war supplies, for in this case the property requisitioned is not converted to the use of the requisitioning authority, the central office being neither buyer nor seller. On.the other hand, it would do much to remove the complaints that have been raised as to the arbitrary proceedings of the military authorities. As regards the second objection, the Commission considers this to be too pedantic to have any weight at such a time as the present. They point out that both Germany and England, “ notre chere et liberale alliee,” have been compelled to abandon this attitude, and that the French Government have already yielded in deciding to tax food stuffs. . Once before, in 1793, the National Convention placed a similar tax upon the price of fuel.. Turning next to questions of fact, it is urged that the central office is being burdened < with a task of prodigious complexity, in being called upon to carry out labours now performed by legions of employees. The Commission reply that the central office is only an intermediary, and leaves the wheels of trade to revolve as before. It is further contemplated that once the initial step to direct, distribution is completed,.the latter will become stereotyped and proceed with but little variation- Arguments of the Economists. The last trench is occupied by the economists. They dignify the equalisation of prices as unjust, in that it imposes inordinate charges upon the French consumer, and they quarrel with what they call the “ bounty on imports.” The Commission accede to the reality of the first objection, but not to its validity; for they point out that the buyer of English coal and the buyer of French coal are not separate individuals meriting differential treatment, both being French citizens, and equally responsible for bearing their country’s burden. Generally speaking, the sufferers would obviously be the large consumers. During the months of June and August 1915 the deliveries of the collieries were made to the following classes of consumers in the proportions indicated :— June. August. Tons. Tons. Railway companies 310,192 294,541 Gas and electricity works 121,406 102,649 War establishments 326,934 329,007 Public services 97,058 102,556 Coal merchants 356,786 319,854 Various customers 292,572 232,422 Colliery consumption 178,829 179,605 Total 1,683,780 1,560,634 If these figures be examined, it will be realised that the privileged consumers are the railway companies, lighting undertakings, and munition establishments. The Com- mission do not consider that these concerns can . plead for exceptional treatment. . On the other hand, a con- tinuance of the existing conditions, with the dualism of prices, is even more unjust, and to it is added the perpetuation of the arbitrary powers exercised by the military authorities. The last objection that remains is that the proposals of the Commission are tantamount to conferring a bounty on the importation of coal. This really rests on the- ground that the buyer of French coal will thereby be compelled to pay a bonus to the buyer of English coal. The Commission regard this argument as specious in the extreme; for there is, in fact, no bounty on imported coal; the importer of British coal does not, in fact, receive a sum over and above his costs and normal profit, such as would be given possibly to encourage him to import coal from abroad. In reality, the scheme of the Commission means that the importer is paid in two instalments instead of one; for purposes of demonstra- tion, a simple example will suffice. Say the price really due to the importer be fixed at 55 fr. per ton. This coal he is compelled to sell to the consumer at 48 fr. The sum refunded to him by the central office, 7fr., is not a bounty, but exactly corresponds to the loss which he would otherwise suffer. Machinery of the Bill. In a further section of their report the Commission consider their proposals in detail. It is unnecessary to reproduce these here, the main lines of the scheme having already been described. Certain minor points, however, may be briefly referred to. As regards the question of distribution, it is intended that the central office should deal with the needs of domestic consumers, the military authority, railway companies, and gas and electricity undertakings, all other requirements being left to the jurisdiction of the provincial bureaux. The domestic consumption would be dealt with by departments, the preliminary arrange- ments being left largely in the hands of the mayors, local merchants, and prefects. It is provided that in the case of stocks in any zone being inadequate, representations shall be made to the central office, who will designate the sources from which the necessary supplies shall be obtained. In one instance alone the principle of requisition is applied. It is provided that all metallurgical coke made by works in France shall be delivered to the central office, who will allocate it between the different consumers. On the other hand, the following classes of consump- tion are left outside the aegis of the office or its bureaux : (1) Coal required for the working of mines; (2) coals destined for the consumption of workmen and employees of the mine; (3) household consumption in the colliery departments; (4) industrial consumption in the same departments not exceeding 20 tons per month. In the case of large communities in the mining districts, how- ever, it is held to be desirable that the central office should be in possession of the estimates of consumption in order to promote the regular supply of fuel to the population. The Case of the Small Consumer. In regard to the privilege conceded to the house- holder, the price that he will pay, whether he burn. French or British coal, will be based upon the minimum price fixed in the nearest coal field, but to this will be added a sum equivalent to the cost of transport from the centre of the nearest coal field to the capital town of the department. The object of this is to establish equality between the different towns and districts. The Parisian consumer, who would bo attached to the sector of Bruay, will only pay, from whatever source he obtains his coal, the theoretical cost of transport from Bruay to Paris; the real cost of transport would be a charge upon the central office. In the total the differ- ences should balance, with, probably, a slight profit to the State, which would be devoted to the relief of the per equation generate. In addition, the householder will be called upon to pay the actual cost of transport from capital town to commune, the octroi duty, the cost of handling and delivery, and a fixed margin of trading profit. With respect to the supply of coal to industrial con- sumers—coal that will bear the surtax already referred to—the Commission have been able to estimate the amount of this tax. Taking as a basis an annual con- sumption of 40 million tons, of which nine million tons would be reserved for domestic consumption, and sup- posing that of these nine million tons six million tons would be of French and three million tons of British origin, and, further, that the residue of 31 million tons would be subdivided into 16 million tons of British and 15 million tons of French coal, it is calculated that the surtax would amount to 3 fr. 50 c. per ton. As a justification of the exemption of the small indus- trial consumer in the mining districts from the fore- going provision, it is pointed out that many of these small industries have been built up on the advantage of cheap local supplies of fuel, and that to deprive them of it would inevitably ruin many concerns, to the detri- ment of the locality, and of the country as a whole.