Rationalizing Coal The Coal Mines Reorganization Commission, acting with studied
deliberation, has decided finally to use its powers of compulsion to secure an amalgamation of the mines in Fife and in Cannock Chase. Compulsion is not resorted to till the owners have been appealed to in vain to prepare voluntary schemes. A majority of owners in the two areas named have refused to do that, so the Commission has brought its last weapon into play. In Leicestershire and South Derbyshire, the penultimate step—the owners being called on to draft a voluntary scheme—is being taken, and certain preliminary investi- gations are being made in three minor areas, the Lothians, Forest of Dean, and the St. Helens district. These are signs of an activity that is far from premature. Amalga- mation has abundantly justified itself in the case of the railways of this country, and the process may go further yet. The need in the case of mines is just as urgent, and the Reorganization Commission can well afford to use its powers with more vigour than it has displayed yet.
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