the coal stocks at the end of each month for some months preceding the strike.

As a result of these activities the country entered the strike with by far the largest stock of coal ever known, and the fact that we were able to maintain all commerce and industry throughout the longest strike in history was in no small degree due to this effort.

The strike began on the 1st of April, and at the middle of May a buying panic within a few days raised the price of spot coal to about $3.60 a ton at the mine. As the price of spot bituminous had risen to $12 per ton at the mine in 1920, when production was at the rate of 12,000,000 tons a week, it was evident that some action must be taken if a worse situation were not to arise, with production limited to 4,200,000 tons a week from the nonunion mines.

In the absence of any legislation or any constitutional basis for controlling profiteering, a conference of the producing operators was called at this department, and as a result of these conferences it was agreed that coal prices should not be advanced beyond the Garfield prices plus a reasonable allowance in each district for the differences in wage scale and costs which had ensued since the war. These agreed maximum prices varied from $2.25 to $3.50 for spot run-of-mine coal at the mine. Approximately 85 per cent of the producing districts voluntarily undertook this arrangement, and the price of spot coal in these areas was restrained to an average of under $3.25, whereas in the districts which had refused to enter the agreement prices rose to as high as $10 per ton at the mines. An agreement with the majority of wholesalers and retailers secured that there should be no increases in stocks of coal.

At the end of July some districts withdrew from the agreement, although some 65 per cent of the nonunion operators held to it until August 15, when the strike was settled and the agreement automatically expired.

Despite the districts which refused to cooperate and the occasional bootleggers in coal, the average price of spot, coal for the entire period of the strike, as shown by the Coal Age, was $3.70, while the average price of contract coal was about $2.60. During the same period of 1920, even with three times the volume of production but without any attempt at restraint, the price of spot coal averaged $6.20.

During the latter part of the strike stocks began to be exhausted, and it became necessary to establish a voluntary coal distribution through an appeal to the governors to appoint coal

11569°-22

commissions in the different States. A Federal service in this department to coordinate this effort through priorities to public utilities designated to the Interstate Commerce Commission assured that the whole of the essential services of the country were kept going. The resumption of the union mines was accompanied by some overcharging for coal, and after the fiscal year under review legislation by Congress established fuel distribution upon an official footing, and through this organization the situation has been rapidly restored to normal in prices and distribution.

Russian Relief.

Failure of the 1921 harvest in large sections of Russia promptly brought a moving appeal from Russia to the world for assistance. With your approval the matter was taken up by this department in cooperation with the American Relief Administration, of which I am also the chairman. Ultimately Congress was moved to make an appropriation of $24,000,000 in cash and medical supplies for assistance in food and seed to the Russian people. In addition to this, the American Relief Administration provided from charitable and other sources supplies to the value of approximately $36,000,000, making a total of about $60,000,000. The appointment of a buying commission and the necessary organization for the purchase, shipment, and distribution of nearly 800,000 tons, or about 130 shiploads, of supplies was carried out in cooperation between the department and the American Relief Administration. American supplies and ships were exclusively employed. The Relief Administration through the sale of packages to individuals in America to be delivered to their relatives in Russia earned sufficient margin to cover all overhead expenses. All internal transportation in Russia and all other internal expenses, including Russian staff, were paid by the Soviet authorities. the most acute period of the famine the relief work extended to 17,500 distributing kitchens, employing 84,000 Russians, and furnishing the bare margin of food necessary for maintenance of life to 10,500,000 people.

In

The large amount of seed which was furnished enabled the planting of large areas and greatly improved the situation for the forthcoming year.

Colorado River Commission.

On December 17, 1921, at your request I undertook, as chairman, to represent the Federal Government upon a commission set up by the seven States in the Colorado River Basin, the purpose of which is to formulate a treaty between these States,

subject to ratification by Congress, to settle the conflict of water rights and a program of systematic development for that great national asset. Meetings of this commission were held in Washington in January, 1922; in Phoenix, March 15; in Los Angeles, March 20; in Salt Lake City, March 27; in Denver, March 31; and in Cheyenne, April 2, at which public hearings were held and necessary information recruited for the forthcoming final sessions of the commission.

Washington Arms Conference.

On November 3, 1921, I was appointed by you to serve upon the advisory committee of the Washington Arms Conference, and the department had previously been called upon to recruit a large amount of economic information from abroad and to furnish the service of its various experts in the formulation of the policies of our Government.

Mineral-Oil Supplies.

Early in the administration consideration was given by the Department of Commerce jointly with the Department of the Interior to the serious situation confronting our country in its supply of oil. As a result of a survey of our own and the world situation, it was concluded that our domestic sources of oil would at the present rate of exhaustion last only a generation, and that foreign nations were rapidly preempting the available foreign oil-bearing territory. Therefore, unless our nationals could reinforce our holdings abroad, we should be dependent upon other nationals for the supply of this vital commodity in a measurable number of years. As a result of these conclusions, conferences were called with the representatives of the oil industry, and voluntary measures were taken by them to extend their holdings of oil-bearing lands abroad. The reports to this department show a rapid expansion of the foreign holdings of our different companies, and they have now reached an extent which should measurably assure to us future supplies under American control. It has developed from these investigations that while our oil-bearing lands are free to the exploitation of foreign corporations, some of the principal countries whose nationals are engaged in such exploitation here at the same time prohibit our nationals from similar free access to their territories.

Revision of Commercial Statistics.

Another direction in which the voluntary cooperation of the commercial community was sought was in the revision of commercial statistics bearing on manufactures, distribution, etc.

Through the manufacturers' associations, committees were created in the principal industries, and upon their advice the work of the Bureau of the Census in this important direction has been reorganized and simplified. Cooperation was also established with various trade associations for the proper publication of current statistics bearing on production and distribution, and the monthly publication entitled "Survey of Current Business" was inaugurated by the department with your approval and has been greatly welcomed by the business community.

Collections of Merchant Debts Abroad.

The general collapse in prices brought great hardship to American exporters, in that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of orders and goods in the course of shipment were repudiated by foreign buyers when the opportunity came for purchase at lower rates. In many instances goods blocked the warehouses of foreign ports, bringing about great difficulties on all sides.. The department brought about the appointment of committees among the exporters and various trade associations interested in certain countries and organized a special service to cooperate with these committees in this matter. The foreign representatives of the department in this cooperative work have participated effectively in securing delivery and settlement in cases amounting to upward of $120,000,000.

There have also been a few cases of repudiation by American merchants of goods purchased abroad. The department has interested itself in these matters informally because of the vital necessity to maintain the high repute of American commerce. These cases were in an almost infinitesimal percentage, and in practically every case representatives of the department have secured the acceptance of the goods.

Scientific Assistance in Industrial Processes and Methods.

Congress authorized the use and support of the great physical laboratories erected under the Bureau of Standards for war purposes in national service. In order that the services of this bureau would be best applied, committees of manufacturers' representatives in different trades have been established and are earnestly cooperating with the bureau on various problems of scientific investigation into methods of manufacture and the elimination of waste. The accomplishments in this direction are set out fully in the director's report. An extension of the bureau's work was undertaken in cooperation with many industries in the establishment of a Son of Simplified Practice. Committees acting in cooper experts of the department during the fiscal year

the simplification of

dimensions in paving brick and certain articles of furniture with preliminary work in lumber, farming implements, automobile parts, paints, hardware, etc. It would be difficult to estimate the annual value to industry and to the public at large of such simplifications, but it would not be an overstatement that their values run into many millions per annum. Scientific and cooperative work of this character, which in no way infringes upon invention or novelty, has become absolutely vital to our Nation, if we are to maintain our high-wage levels and high standards of living in the face of world competition.

Voluntary Establishment of Grades and Qualities.

Agitation has been current for many years for the extension of the Federal laws to the establishment of grades and qualities of different commodities. The lack of such established grades and standards of quality adds very largely to the cost of distribution because of the necessity of buying and selling upon sample or otherwise, and because of the risk of fraud and misrepresentation, and consequently the larger margins in trading. It was considered by the department, however, that it would be infinitely better if such grades and qualities could be established voluntarily in the trades themselves instead of by legislation, and policed by trade associations as is the case in several old established trades. To this end a number of conferences have been held in different branches of the lumber, textile, paper, and other trades. The service of the department has been to bring the different branches of the trade, the manufacturers, wholesalers. retailers, and representatives of larger consumers' associations together and to develop committees of different branches of trades. The plan has been generally welcomed and applications have been received from many trades for such assistance. The expert services of the Bureau of Standards, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, and the other bureaus of the department have been brought into service for technical advice in these matters, and results of important bearing upon the improvement of business ethics and cheapening of distribution have been attained.

Radio.

The sudden increase within a space of 7 months in the use of the radio telephone for broadcasting of from 5 to 320 sending stations and from probably less than 200,000 up to 1,500,000 receiving installations resulted in such "interference" between different sending stations as to threaten destruction to the usefulness of this very important invention. A conference of representatives of the industry, of public bodies, and Government