coals, their enormous
quantity, and their exceedingly diversified ownership had led to
over-development of coal properties. Quoting from Smith and Lesher:[54]

In estimating the aggregate losses incurred by society by
reason of the large number of mines not working at full
capacity, the facts to be considered are that the capital
invested in mine equipment asks a wage based on a year of 365
days of 24 hours, while labor's year averaged last year only
230 days in the anthracite mines and only 203 days in the
bituminous mines, with only five to eight hours to the day.

These conditions prevented in some cases even the most modest
introduction of better methods, or of changes that would enhance the
average profits through a relatively short period of ten or fifteen
years at the expense of the present year. It was necessary to get at the
best of the coal available in the cheapest possible way, regardless of
the losses of coal left in the ground.

To some extent the force of this argument was minimized by war and
post-war conditions, but even yet development of coal mines is ahead of
transportation and distribution.

6. To allow cooperation in the limitation of output, in the avoidance of
cross freights, in gauging the market in advance, and in division of
territory, all of which would allow cheaper mining and thus give larger
leeway to conservational measures. This necessarily would be accompanied
by government regulation. According to Van Hise,[55] who was active
before the war in advocating this conservational measure, such a
procedure

is neither regulated competition, nor regulated monopoly; but
the retention of competition, the prohibition of monopoly,
permission for cooperation and regulation of the latter. In
Chicago there cannot be one selling agency for the different
coal companies which operate in Illinois, but there must be
many selling agencies, and the coal of Pittsburgh must come
into Illinois and the Illinois coal go toward Pittsburgh;
every one of which things makes unnecessary costs, but all of
which are inevitable under the extreme competitive system.
Because of these facts it is necessary to waste the coal. If
at the very same prices the different mines could cooperate in
the limitation of the output, avoidance of cross freights,
gauging the market in advance, and division of territory, they
co