t has come through
the combined efforts of the coal companies, the state
inspectors, and the Federal Bureau of Mines necessarily
involves some increase in cost of operation, but the few cents
per ton thus added to the cost is a small price to pay for the
satisfaction of having the stain of blood removed from the
coal we buy. That form of social insurance which is now
enforced through the workmen's compensation laws alone adds
from 2 to 5 cents a ton to the cost of coal.

On the other hand, there can be no doubt that large advances have been
made in welfare movements which were introduced for the purpose of
insuring a steadier, better, and larger supply of labor, and that the
general gain in efficiency of operation thereby obtained has absorbed a
large part of the increased cost.

In general, conservation measures of this class have been developed
cooperatively by private and public efforts, without important
sacrifice of private interest. There is obviously room for much wider
application of such measures, especially in some of the bituminous
fields where conditions are still far from satisfactory.

=(C) Introduction or modification of laws to regulate or to remove
certain restrictions on the coal industry.= It has been proposed:

1. To modify the laws so as to take care of situations where vertically
superposed beds are owned by different parties, preventing the proper
mining of the coal by either party.

2. To modify the laws so as to eliminate conflict in mining practice in
cases where the coal is associated with oil and gas pools.

3. To allow larger ownership by companies utilizing the coal (now only 3
per cent owned by such companies).

4. To place restrictions on over-capitalization, which leads to wasteful
mining in order to secure quick and large returns on large capital.

5. To remove restrictions on concentration of control. This means, as a
corollary proposition, virtual restriction of competition. Concentration
of control into comparatively few hands has undoubtedly favored
conservation. It is easy to see that the stronger financial condition of
the large companies makes it possible for them to take fuller advantage
of modern methods of extraction, distribution, and marketing.

This proposal was especially urged for the bituminous coal industry
before the war in order to avoid over-production and over-development.
The very wide distribution of the bituminous