342 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. February 16, 1917. Llanelly. COAL. The position of the local market is very disappointitg to both buyers and sellers. Order books are in a very favour- able position, and there is a strong demand ruling, but the shortage of tonnage is holding up everything. Stocks are very heavy, and owing to the shortage of vessels collieries are forced to have several play days each week through lack of empty wagons. The anthracite section is particu- larly weak, and large sorts are to be had at lower figures for prompt shipment. Machine-made qualities, too, are also unsatisfactory and values fluctuate. Culm and duff are in poor demand. The enquiry from inland is unchanged, but delays in the execution of orders are frequent and unavoidable. The steam coal section of the market has also a weak tone, and idle days are frequent at the collieries. Throughs and smalls are obtainable at lower figures, but large qualities keep steady. The inland demand for the better grades of large steams is strong, but deliveries uncertain. Manufacturing coals and house fuels are strong, with all supplies quickly taken up. Approximate closing quotations: — Prices f.o.b. Anthracite:— Best malting large ...... Secondary do. ....... Big Vein large........ Red Vein do........... Machine-made cobbles... Stove nuts.......______ French do............ Paris do............. Machine-made beans ... Do. peas...... Culm ................ Duff____................. Other sorts:— Large steam coal...... Through-and-through... Small______............... Bituminous small coal... Current prices. 28/ -30/ 26/6-27/6 22/6-24/6 22/ -23/6 34/ -36/ 33/ -35/ 33/6-35/6 33/ -35/ 23/6-24/6 20/ -22/ i 9/6-10/6 ' 6/ - 6/6 5 26/ -27/ ! 18/ -20/ I 11/6-15/ 17/ -19/6 L'st week's prices. 28/ -30/ 26/6-27/6 22/6-24/6 22/ -23/6 34/ -36/ 33/ -35/ 33/6-35/6 33/ -35/ 23/6-24/6 20/ -22/ 10/ -10/6 6/ - 6/6 Last year’s prices. 24/ -25/ 21/ -23/ 18/ -20/ 18/ -20/ 32/ -34/ 30/ -32/ 32/ -34/ 31/6-32/6 32/ -34/ 20/ -22/ 8/ - 8/6 3/6- 4/ 27/ -28/ 32/ -34/ 18/ -20/ 23/ -25/ 11/6-15/ ; 14/ -16/ 17/ —19/6 | 20/ -22/ __________________ THE BY-PRODUCTS TRADE. Tar Products.-—The market is firm, more particularly in the case of pitch -and tar. The latter is dearer, .and in London prices are quoted up to 24s. Pitch at most ports is the same, though some Liverpool quotations range from 17s. to 18s. Nearest values are :— Benzols, 90’s ....................... ,, 90’s North ................ ,, 50’s North ................ Toluol ............................... Carbolic acid, crude (60 per cent.)... ,, crystals (40 per cent.) Solvent naphtha, south (90% at 160 degs.), as in quality and package... Solvent naphtha, north (90% at 160 degs.), as in quality and package... Crude naphtha, north (in bulk) .... Creosote (for ordinary qualities) .... Pitch (f.o.b. east coast) __............. ,, (f.a.s. west coast) ............. Tar (per ton ex works) ....................... 1/Oi Rise ( + ) or fall (-) on the week. /101-/111 1/3—1/4 2/3 3/4 1/3 2/ 1/8—1/9 /6l—/6| /3J-/31 16/6—17/ 16/—17/ 20/—21/ [Benzols, toluol creosote, solvent naphtha, carbolic acids, usually casks included unless otherwise stated, free on rails at makers' works or usual United Kingdom ports, net. Pitch, f.o.b. net.} Sulphate of Ammonia.—Practically, the market is at a standstill, as all exports, even to British Possessions, have been stopped; but nominally quotations are maintained at their former level. The price for home consumption having been officially fixed at £16 net cash for usual 24|- per cent., in makers’ bags, delivered any station in the United Kingdom, local quotations are void. For January-February or at the works for delivery, otherwise than by rail, the price remains at £15 10s. Nitrate is still dearer than at last report, 22s. 6d. (+3d.). ____________________________ THE TIN-PLATE TRADE. Liverpool. Business is very slow just now; of course, only class A and B orders can be entered, and the former are now being rather keenly competed for by some of the works, who are evidently running short of specifications. “ A ” orders have been booked at 27s. basis, and “ B ” at 27s. 6d. to 28s. f.o.b. Wales. Wasters continue very unsettled. Some permits have been granted, and on these 26s. 6d. basis has been paid, but, as a general thing, prices for the time being are merely nominal. Charcoals stand at about 31s. basis and upwards, according to tinning, f.o.b. Wales. ____________________________ It is reported that a new coal deposit has been discovered in the vicinity of Nantes, at a depth of about 8 ft. from the surface. The deposit is to be examined by the French Government mining engineers, with a view to its utilisa- tion as an accession to the fuel supplies of the country. Mr. J. Drummond Paton, of 25, Market-street, Man- chester, has been appointed the agent of the Coppee Com- pany (Great Britain) Limited in the Lancashire and North- West district in connection with the company’s business as by-product coke oven and coal washery builders. Licences for Raw Fuel Suggested.—Dr. Chas. Carpenter, at the shareholders’ meeting of the South Metropolitan Gas Company, said that a position had arisen when the use of raw fuel should be subject to licence, as was the case with petrol. What was wanted in London was a coal controller, who would put the supply on a war emergency basis, and who would be independent of the importunities, not only of the user, but of the merchants and distributors. — Prof. Armstrong warned the company that great changes would be forced upon the industry in the near future. There was reason to suppose that at no distant date the supply of elec- tricity for London would be re-organised, and a compre- hensive scheme introduced. The methods of making gas used by that and other companies could only be described as barbarous, and great changes must be made in the whole system of manufacture ere long. STATE CONTROL OF COAL MINES. An official announcement has been issued to the effect that the Board of Trade will take possession of all the coal mines in the United Kingdom for the period of the war, in addi- tion to those in South Wales which have already been taken over under the Defence of the Realm Act. The President of the Board of Trade has decided to set up a new depart- ment which will control the coal mines, and will also exer- cise the other powers and duties of the Board of Trade with regard to coal. The chairman and directors of the London and North-Western Railway Company have placed the ser- vices 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-terr ace, Whitehall, S.W. By arrangement with the Home Secretary, Sir Richard Redmayne, *K.C.B. (H.M. Chief. Inspector of Mines), will assist the Controller. The department will also be assisted by an advisory committee consisting of persons selected to represent coal owners and coal miners. It is understood that the new department will cover the whole field, and will deal with production, output, distri- bution, finance, wages, and price of coal. The Inter- Departmental Committee in control of the South Wales coal field has been superseded by the Controller, who will now discharge all its functions. The staff of the Board of Trade which has hitherto dealt with coal questions will be trans- ferred to the new department. The Coal Mines Organisation Committee and the organisations charged with the main- tenance of output will also be taken over. The committees governing the export of coal to France and similar organi- sations will continue, and will work in co-operation with the new department. As regards the basis of compensation, it is understood that the Controller will consult the Mining Association of Great Britain before coming to a decision. The inspection of mines will remain with the Home Office, Mr. Walker, the Deputy Chief Inspector of Mines, acting as chief inspector until the end of the war. Trade Opinions. (From Our Mining Correspondent.) The decision of the Government to take possession of all coal mines in the United Kingdom for the period of the war has not come as a surprise to those engaged in the trade, whether as colliery owners, managers, or workmen. The main proposals of the Government scheme will- meet with general public approval, though they may be disliked by individual owners. Lord Rhondda, whose concerns control the largest output of the South Wales coal field, has publicly declared that there ought not to be such a thing as war profits in the coal trade. That is the financial basis on which the State is to take control. Yet the purchases of other colliery concerns made by Lord Rhondda during the war have included the capitalisation of war profits which were being earned by those concerns. However, the country will regard the decision of the State “ to pay colliery pro- prietors their pre-war dividends ” as an equitable bargain; and it will rule out the argument which has been repeatedly used in applications for wage advances in the South Wales and Scottish coal fields that if the public were to be plun- dered by high prices, the men were determined to have their, share of the plunder. The trouble in the South Wales coal field in December had its origin in the additional 2s. 6d. per ton allowed by Mr. Runciman to the South Wales coal owners to meet the previous increase of wages given to the men. .Under the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act, the colliery prices are limited to 4s. per ton above pre-war prices, with an additional 2s. 6d. per ton to the South Wales owners. In the majority of colliery concerns, this addition to pre- war prices should more than meet the additional cost of production, due to high wages and the higher prices of pit props and other colliery furnishings. Consequently, there is likely to be a substantial profit to the State resulting from the terms of the control order. There are some con- cerns which have not done so well under the new conditions, and which are unlikely to make any additional contribution to State funds. The general basis of the agreement is so equitable that one may reasonably anticipate that it will be interpreted with elasticity. There are old established concerns which were working old pits at low profits, and were developing new pits in which the production had not become profit- earning to any large extent. These concerns are likely to be hard hit by the new Order, unless consideration is given to this factor. Of course, new pits like those of the late Sir Arthur Markham in the Doncaster district had become large profit-earning concerns previous to the war, paying high dividends,’and the shareholders will in no way be prejudi- cially affected by the Order. Given this elastic interpreta- tion, the financial basis is equitable, and should result in considerable profits to the State as a contribution to war expenditure. The new Controller, Mr. Guy Calthrop, has had experi- ence of the working of a similar method of control with the railways, and will bring to his new department all the knowledge which he has acquired in that capacity. The department will have the advice and assistance of repre- sentative coal owners and managers in the various districts. Their co-operation should ensure the smooth and satis- factory working of the new Order. Apparently the new department will leave untouched the distributive side of the coal industry. The recent “ coal famine ” in London and other centres has in no way been caused by any shortage of coal, but has arisen from the inability of retailers to efficiently supply the demands of their customers. While pithead prices have been fixed, little or nothing has been done by the authorities to protect the householder and the small consumer. The additional 4s. per ton at the colliery has often become anything from 15s. to 25s. per ton above pre-war prices to the consumer. It is quite true that the working expenses of the retailer have increased probably in the same proportion as the work- ing costs of the colliery, but there is a very wide margin in retail prices for war profits. There seems to be a clear duty on the new department to fix a standard retail selling price for different classes of coal. It has been done with sugar, and, though it is more difficult, can be done with coal/ Of course, the price will vary in practically every centre of population, by reason of the distance from the colliery to the consumer, both in the matter of railway and cartage transit. But that is not an insuperable obstacle to the fixing of an effective, standard selling price. The miners’ leaders were generally reticent as to the decision of the Government to control the mining industry. Their withers are unwrung by the proposal to pay colliery proprietors their pre-war dividends, though they see that anv hard and fast interpretation of this will act with great unfairness as between concerns which were at full profit- earning capacity previous to the war, and those which were spending money and sinking profits in developments, look- ing to the future to recoup them. They are, however, most emphatic against any monosal for pre-war wages. I believe on several occasions a sort of promise has been made that the men would be satisfied to accept such wages if the profits were going to the State, and not into the pockets of private owners. Of course, there is no sort of substance for this. The men will seek to maintain wages, whoever may be the controlling employer. This has proved to be so with the railways, and it will be even more so with a highly- organised industry such as coal mining. This effect was put very clearly to me by Mr. Geo. Barker, one of the South Wales .and Federation executives. “ Inasmuch as the fundamental basis of our wage agreement,” said Mr. Barker, “ is of a financial character based on the selling price of coal under free and open competition, if the Govern- ment are going to take over the industry and arbitrarily fix the price of coal, it must follow that the miners’ wages must be protected. The miners would not accept any reduc- tion of wages brought about by a manipulation of selling prices. If the cost of living goes on increasing as it is increasing by leaps and bounds, the miners will be entitled to go to the Government and ask for an increase of wages.” An adjourned meeting of the Coal Conciliation Board for England and North Wales has been fixed for to-day (Friday) to decide the men’s application for an increase of 5 per cent, in the war bonus. It may reasonably be inferred in the changed circumstances created by the new control Order that this application will be referred to the Government. The application is based on the large increase which has taken place in the cost of living, and the much larger advance secured in other mining districts. The executive of the Miners’ Federation considered the Government decision to take over the control of the mines at their meeting at the Imperial Hotel, London, and agreed to ask Sir Albert Stanley to receive a deputation on the subject. The executive are desirous of an understanding as to the position of the workmen under the new control Order, both as to conditions of employment and wages. _______________________ • HOWIE SECRETARY AND INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS. The Home Secretary received a deputation from the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress at the Home Office on Tuesday concerning industrial war problems discussed at the last Trades Union Con- gress in Birmingham. Mr. Ben Tillett, Dockers’ Union, asked for the amendment of the Workmen’s Com- pensation Act regarding transport workers and others who are more liable to injury from bombardment and aircraft than ordinary people, and that all diseases contracted by munition workers, owing to handling T.N.T. or other chemicals, be scheduled as industrial diseases. He said they were anxious that transport workers who were injured either by bombardment or aircraft while following their occupations should receive compensation. Mr. Tillett also mentioned a resolution protesting against any reduction in the number or curtailment of the activities of factory inspectors, medical referees and certifying surgeons. Mr. H. Gosling (Transport Workers), urged that the Work- men’s Compensation Act should be amended so as to give injured workmen the right of claim from their employers. Sir George Cave, in reply, said that a workman was entitled to compensation if he could show that he was subject to more risk of injury than the public at large. That seemed to cover their case, or at any rate give them a very good chance to recover. It would be very difficult to legislate on a matter of that kind. He was hoping to see the employers on a matter which was raised at the War Cabinet the other day on a scale of compensation, and he would raise this point also. So far as he knew, all the diseases were scheduled under the Act. The Home Office had arranged for measures to be taken for the supervision of work where women were em- ployed. But this was war time, and many women were exceedingly anxious to do their part in helping the country. With regard to the attendance of trade union officials at inquests, there was a provision in the Factory Act by which any person appointed by the workmen could attend, and there was also a provision in the Coal Mines Act of 1911 which extended to officials. ______________________________ Future of Kent Coal.—At a meeting of the proprietors of the South-Eastern and London, Chatham and Dover railway companies yesterday, Sir Robert Perks said he hoped that before long they would see the generating power of London coming from the coal fields of Kent, the output of which was now double, in spite of the war.—Mr. Rodocanachi said that Kent coal was now an absolute certainty, one colliery alone producing from 2,600 to 2,800 tons a week. If they could get adequate cottages and capital, that colliery could be getting up 10,000 tons a week. Henley’s Employees’ War Concert.—-In aid of the Henley War Relief Fund, a successful concert was held on Feb. 9 at the Cripplegate Institute, E.C., where members of the staff and other volunteers displayed considerable ability, both from a musical and humorous point of view. Mr. W. J. Potter took the chair, and referred to the good work done by the fund, the contributions to which since the inaug- uration have amounted to over £2,300. The parcels of little luxuries sent once a month to the Henley men at the front, and to those who were unfortunate enough to be prisoners in Germany, have been much appreciated. The number of Henley employees in the Forces had now increased to a total of nearly 800, and some assistance ’was now necessary. He announced that the proceeds of the concert would clear £25, and the company itself had'sent a donation of £25; Mr. George Sutton had contributed £10, and Mr. Sydney Gedge, the chairman of the company, had contributed £5.