Coal, power, & transport - Labour's Scheme for the Mining Industry - Unified Ownership and Operation

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Violet

Belying the need for a national coal and power system, the document outlines Labour’s scheme presented to the Coal Commission in January 1926 for reorganising the mining industry and creating a Power and Transport Commission. It argues that fragmented private ownership of coal, pits, wagons, and middlemen leads to waste, costly distribution, and inefficient operations. It proposes state acquisition and national ownership, with worker representation, and connects coal’s future to power generation, coal utilisation, and integrated treatment of by-products from distillation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

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Labour's Scheme for the Mining Industry

UNIFIED OWNERSHIP AND OPERATION

THE REORGANISED INDUSTRY

97-84071-21 Coal,power,&transport [London] [1926] COLUMBIA UNIVERSITTY LIBRARIESPRESEBVATION DIVISION BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET # ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD Reproductionsmay not be made without permisslon trom Columbia University Libraries. ## RESTRICTIONS ON USE: # TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 35mmREDUCTION RATIO: 10:/ MAGE PLACEMENT:IA DATE FILMED:_ 5-2-97INITIALS: PB 2361l ## TRACKING\#: FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEM,PA. BIBLIOGRAPHIC IRREGULARITIES MAIN ENTRY:………………………………………………………………… … ……………………………………… -- ---- ------------ - --- ---- Coal,power,&transpor … … -- ---- ------…… -------…* Bibliographic Irregularities in the Original Document: List all volumes and pages affected;include name of institution if filming borrowed text. ____Page(s)missing/not available: Volume(s)missing/not available: X IIlegible and/or damaged page(s): pages 1-2 Page(s)or volume(s)misnumbered: ____Bound out of sequence:_ __Page(s)or volume(s)filmed from copy borrowed from: ×_other:_unpaginated-[4]pages __Inserted material: _ COAL,POWER,&TRANSPORT # Labour's Scheme for the Mining Industry z x 192 FAR-REACHING plans for the re-organisation and development ofthe mining industry and the creation of a national Power and Transportsystem were laid before the Cual Commission on January 14th,onbehalf of the Labour Movement. The scheme has been prepared by a Joint Committee representing theMiners'Federation of Great Britain,the General Council of the TradesUnion Congress,the National Executive of the Labour Party,and theExecutive Committee of the Parliamentary Labour Party. It involves the establishment of a Power and Transport Commission toundertake the development of a national system of coal and power productionand transport.Unification of the mining industry,and the integration ofthe coal producing and coal treatment industry,and the national organisationof coal distribution and export coal,under a system of national ownership,with representation for the workers in the administration and control of thesystem,are essential feafures of the scheme. Private ownership of coal by over 3,000 coalowners,and the operation ofsome 3,000 pits by more than i,000 separate concerns,in the opinion of theJoint Committee result in waste and loss of coal and impede eficient layoutand econonical operations in the coalfields.Distribution also is costly anduneconomical,owing to the separate ownership of wagons and the interventionof an unnecessarily large number of middlemen.There is also reason tobelieve,the Joint Committee states,that the present methods of sellingBritish coal abroad are less favourable to the development of the miningindustry than co-ordination of the expotrade by a single authority. # UNIFIED oWNERSHIP AND OPERATION To_overcome existing defects in the organisation of the industry,theJoint Committee proposes as a first condition unification of the ownership ofcoal,the ownership and operation of collieries,the distribution of coal,andthe export of coal. The Joint Committee declares that the powers necessary to bring intoexistence and operatě such a system are too large to be entrusted to any buta public body."We propose,therefore,that the ownership of the mineralsand the collieries should be acquired by the State." Emphasis is laid upon the importance of considering the future of thecoal industry in relation to the closely connected questions of power and ofthe treatment of coal.Dealing with the latter question,it is pointed outthat in the past the basic industry of coal productia

FAQs

What scheme does the document describe for the mining industry?

It describes Labour’s scheme for reorganising the mining industry and creating a national Power and Transport system for developing coal and power production and transport.

Why does the Joint Committee argue for unification and state ownership?

It claims private ownership and fragmented operations cause waste, loss of coal, costly distribution, and inefficient coordination of coal sales, including exports.

What changes does the document propose for the coal industry’s role?

It urges transforming coal from a coal-extracting activity into a coal-utilising industry, including large-scale electrical power production and integrated use of by-products.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Violet