The following counties in Virginia: Montgomery, Pulaski, Wythe, Giles, Craig. Tazewell County, that portion served by the Dry Fork branch to Cedar Bluff and from Bluestone Junction to Boissevain branch of the Norfolk and Western Railroad and Richlands-Jewell Ridge branch of the Norfolk and Western Railroad. Buchanan County, that portion served by the Richmond-Jewell Ridge branch of the Norfolk and Western Railroad and that portion of said county on the headwaters of Dismal Creek, east of Lynn Camp Creek (a tributary of Dismal Creek). SOUTHERN NUMBERED 2 District 8. The following counties in West Virginia: Boone, Clay, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Putnam, Wayne, Cabell. - Fayette County, west of, but not including mines of the Gauley River branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. McDowell County, that portion not served by and lying west of the Dry Fork branch of the Norfolk and Western Railroad. Raleigh County, all mines on the Coal River branch of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and north thereof. Nicholas County, that part south of and not served by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Wyoming County, that portion served by Gilbert branch of the Virginian Railway lying west of the mouth of Skin Fork of Guyandot River. The following counties in Virginia: Dickinson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Wise. All of Buchanan County, except that portion on the headwaters of Dismal Creek, east of Lynn Camp Creek (tributary of Dismal Creek) and that portion served by the Richlands-Jewell Ridge branch of the Norfolk and Western Railroad. Tazewell County, except portions served by the Dry Fork branch of Norfolk and Western Railroad and branch from Bluestone Junction to Boissevain of Norfolk and Western Railroad and Richlands-Jewell Ridge branch of the Norfolk and Western Railroad. The following counties in Kentucky: Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Greenup, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, McCreary, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Rockcastle, Wayne, Whitney. The following counties in Tennessee: Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Cumberland, Fentress, Morgan, Overton, Roane, Scott. The following counties in North Carolina: Lee, Chatham, Moore. WEST KENTUCKY District 9. The following counties in Kentucky: Butler, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, Hopkins, Logan, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Simpson, Todd, Union, Warren, Webster. ILLINOIS District 10. All coal-producing counties in Illinois. INDIANA District 11. All coal-producing counties in Indiana. IOWA District 12. All coal-producing counties in Iowa. SOUTHEASTERN District 13. All coal-producing counties in Alabama. The following counties in Tennessee: Marion, Grundy, Hamilton, Bledsoe, Sequatchie, White, Van Buren, Warren, McMinn, Rhea. ARKANSAS-OKLAHOMA District 14. The following counties in Arkansas: All counties in the State. The following counties in Oklahoma: Haskell, Le Flore, Sequoyah. SOUTH WESTERN District 15. All coal-producing counties in Kansas. All coal-producing counties in Texas. All coal-producing counties in Missouri. The following counties in Oklahoma: Coal, Craig, Latimer, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Pittsburg, Rogers, Tulsa, Wagoner. NORTHERN COLORADO District 16. The following counties in Colorado: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Jackson, Jefferson, Larimer, Weld. SOUTHERN COLORADO District 17. The following counties in Colorado: All counties not included in northern Colorado district. The following counties in New Mexico: All coal-producing counties in the State of New Mexico, except those included in the New Mexico district. NEW MEXICO District 18. The following counties in New Mexico: Grant, Lincoln, McKinley, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Socorro. The following counties in Arizona: Pinal, Navajo, Graham, Apache, Coconino. WYOMING District 19. All coal-producing counties in Wyoming. The following counties in Idaho: Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, Teton, Bonneville, Bingham, Bannock, Power, Caribou, Oneida, Franklin, Bear Lake. UTAH District 20. All coal-producing counties in Utah. NORTH DAKOTA-SOUTH DAKOTA District 21. All coal-producing counties in North Dakota. All coal-producing counties in South Dakota. MONTANA District 22. All coal-producing counties in Montana. WASHINGTON District 23. All coal-producing counties in Washington. All coal-producing counties in Oregon. The territory of Alaska. (Whereupon, at 4:10 p. m., the subcommittee adjourned until Monday, Mar. 8, 1937, at 2:30 p. m.) 134705-37-4 TO REGULATE INTERSTATE COMMERCE IN BITUMINOUS COAL MONDAY, MARCH 8, 1937 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE COMMERCE, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to adjournment on Tuesday, March 2, 1937, at 2:30 p. m., in the Capitol, Senator M. M. Neely presiding. Present: Senators Neely (chairman of the subcommittee), Minton, Davis, and Austin. Senator NEELY. The subcommittee will be in order. STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES F. HOSFORD, JR., CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL BITUMINOUS COAL COMMISSION-Resumed Senator NEELY. Mr. Hosford, Senator Davis wishes to ask you a question concerning a message he has received. Senator DAVIS. I received a telegram from the Davis Coal & Coke Co. at Baltimore, which reads as follows: If any contracts declared void under Guffey bill all should be. Tax should be lowest possible to keep costs at minimum. What does he mean by the contracts? Mr. HOSFORD. At the last session of your committee, Senator, I called attention to the change made in the companion bill, H. R. 4985, under which it is provided that contracts entered into by producers prior to enactment of this law and which are inconsistent with the law as to their price provisions, that is, inconsistent with the minimum prices established by the Commission, are to be abrogated, insofar as their price provisions are concerned, and I called attention to the change that had been made in the date contained in the clause making an exception to the general rule laid down. In the original bill, S. 1, the subject is referred to on page 40, section 12, which reads as follows: No coal subject to the provisions of this act may be delivered upon any contract at a price below the minimum price in effect at the time of the delivery upon such contract, provided and this is the exception: that the provisions of this section shall not apply to a lawful and bona-fide written contract entered into prior to June 16, 1933. That was the date upon which the National Industrial Recovery Act became law. 49 I called attention to the fact that after lengthy discussion there was a change made in the House committee, and the date January 6, 1937, was inserted in lieu of the date June 16, 1933, that insertion being made in a previous paragraph of section 4 because of the belief that section 12 was merely a duplication of the previous provision. As I said at the last meeting of your committee, there is a wide divergence of opinion in the industry. Some of the operators want to see the 1937 date retained. I believe I am safe in saying that the vast majority of the industry members are desirous of having the June 16, 1933, date used. There are some producers of the beliefand this producer who sends you the telegram is of that belief-that all preexisting contracts which are inconsistent with the prices eventually established by the Commission should be abrogated to the extent of their price provisions. It is simply one of a number of widely divergent views in the industry. Senator DAVIS. Do you think it would be wise to cancel all contracts? Mr. HOSFORD. That is a matter of judgment and of policy, Senator. There may be cases of some of the older long-term contracts that were entered into at a time before legislation for this industry was considered-I say, there may be some of those contracts which served as the basis for the financing and construction of mines. It can well be argued that striking down those contracts would be an unfair policy for Congress to adopt, as it would work a definite hardship to the parties to the contract. Senator DAVIS. Has the Commission power under this bill to relieve any distress that there might be in the form of outstanding contracts? Mr. HOSFORD. There is no discretionary power, as I understand it, to be vested in the Commission. I repeat that it is my belief that the large majority of the producers believe that the date June 16, 1933, would be most equitable, because since that time everyone has been put on notice that there might be governmental regulation of the coal industry. Senator DAVIS. He goes on further to state in the telegram: Tax should be lowest possible to keep costs at minimum, I think you explained that at the last meeting of the committee. Mr. HOSFORD. That is correct, sir. That reduction has already been proposed. Senator DAVIS. I have a communication here which was sent to the subcommittee from Appalachian Coals, Inc. I do not know whether that has been put in the record or not, Mr. Chairman. There is one question I should like to ask. Of course, we are familiar with the organization of that sales corporation. Mr. HOSFORD. I am familiar with it in a general way. Senator DAVIS. I say, in a general way I am rather familiar with it, and I presume you are. I should like to ask you this question: On page 4 of this letter from Appalachian Coals, Inc., there is suggested the following amendment: The code provided for in section 4 hereof shall be applicable to and binding upon all such agencies except insofar as the price-fixing provisions thereof are changed and modified by this section with respect to the coal produced in the district or districts in which is produced the coal sold by such agencies. |