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Henry Stimson, I remember, said, “Well, we can do it, Mr. President. The soldier may not himself dig the coal. An experienced miner with a soldier back of him will dig the coal.” But it somehow wasn't a pretty picture, although that was the way it would have been done.

There were those who thought that anybody could dig coal, or learn to. They thought the army knew how to find out anything and the army would get it done.

The President said, “How many regiments will it take in the coal fields? Have you made your plans for housing regiments? Have you ever been in a coal field? Where are you going to put them? There are no houses to commandeer in a coal field. You've got to put them under canvas.”

It was a very difficult thing to conceive of the army taking the mines and digging the coal. The miners in many areas are pretty rough and willing to go to any extremes. They aren't afraid. I thought we would have some pretty bizarre kinds of trouble. I thought it would be a great comfort to our enemies and also would not notably increase the production of coal. We might be well stuck on that. So I couldn't see the army taking over.

All of a sudden, in the middle of one night, I got a brainstorm, which was that we shouldn't have the army take them. If the army seized the coal mines, they should put a civilian agency in charge of it. My only thought was of