SIR, —With reference to the gravity of the situation regarding the
shortage of coal, the following table may be of interest. It should be emphasised that the output capacity of the industry in 1938-39 was in the order of 28o million tons per annum and approaches 25o million tons today.
1938 1944
Output (million tons) 227 184 Erpployees (i,000) 740 710
Unemployment ••• 15.5% Nil
Time lost due to want of trade ... a month Nil
Output per man-shift (cwts.) 22.95 20.0
Absenteeism . 6.4% 13.6% *Output machine-cut coal (million tons) 135 132 Number of pits using coal-cutters 927 938
(1925-915)
The loss in output of coal in 1945 due to absenteeism of 16.3 per cent. and decline in output per man-shift of 3 cwts. is some 5o million tons. The .hidden loss under * is equally serious, for, though the number of coal-cutting machines increased by 8 per cent, in the period 1938-45 because of better machine-performance, the actual quantity of coal cut per machine has more than doubled between 1928-38. Out of 1,700 pits, only 938 are using coal-cutting machines.—Yours faithfully,
146 High Street, Harhorne, Birmingham, 17. R. CECIL. SMART.
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