The New York herald., 1870-12-10
THE COAL MINERS STRIKE.
Twenty Thousand Men. ON Strike
in Schuylkill County.
Statistios Of Coal Production, Wages and
Freights-Ths Redundant Supply Of
Anthracite -Extortion Of Rail-
road Companies.

PorrsvrLLE, PA, Dec Q, 1870.
Having arrived at this great coal centre, after
leaving Msuch Chunk last aight, and having passed
through all the different coal counties Of Pennsylva
nia down to this one-schuylkill county, the most
southern of the tier OF sx-I hnd that out OF twen
ty-one thousand miners usually employed In this
county, noted district for producing COAL there
are at present not over twenty i've hundred
working In the mines, over 100 out Of l25 miners
having suspended work; and this is caused not by
the men having struck for higher rates. but because
there Is demand for coal at present, the market
being overstocked Four million and a half
tons OF anthracite coal, produced In Schuyl-
Kill county, are transported 10 Philadelphia every
year by the Philadelphia and Reading railroad,
at q cost to the coal operators OF 81 Is ton. and
100000 tons north from Port Carbon, In the
same county, every year. by the Lehigh Valley Ral-
road. The freight to Boston on n ton OF coal Ii
three dollars-an excessive charge and the different
coal operators in Schuyikl county state that
they cannot work their mines and pay high
rates OF labor to their hands and transport
coal &C these exorbitant tolls, besides paying
clerk hire, yard expenses and all other expenses
without actual and ruin0us loss to themselves. In
fact, there was necessity for the miners In
Scnuyikill county, 10000 OF whom belong TO the
Miners Union. TO strike. as all the companies In
this county have found 1t more profitable cease
operations than to mine the coal ut the present
rates which II brings In the market.
Alter the great strike year ago In Scnuykil,
county an agreement made, called the ..Gowan
Compromise, !" which gave the miners basis to
work upon satisfactory 10 themselves When coal
cOud at the point oil shipment, sell for four dollars
s,oL ton wholesale then .t the miners miners were
be soli as low as two dollars per ton
only 50 3S week for his labor. Here the profits 1t
| Will be seen, were shared between the working
Companies Could not eet two dollars ton Tor for the
| coal then they withdrew all supplies from the mar
ket aud thus necesstated the sroppage OF all work
Lately the average rates paid for labor In the
| coal mines was as folows:-Per week, miners,
$40 35; inside aborers. $9 outside laborers. s. 2s
Every one viii excalm, on looking at these figures,
THAT is very small wages fer working man."
miners and coal hands who would only
be be-, TOO n glad to get ,, work at similar
are thrown out Of work by the forced suspension OF
| the coal operators. BY the way, may state that
there are In schuylkill county no railroad com
panies who control coal mines. as some OF the rail
| road corporations do IN Luzerne, and Carbon and
| Lehigh counties.
! ing 800 to 1000 miners, closed work, caused by
| the glut OF coal IN the market. IL must be said
that The rallr0ad companies are principally In fault
for the sudden increase IN coal as their rates OF freight
are really outrageous, compelling private coal
rators 70 pay almost much for the transportation
| OF ton OF coal as passenger pays per nile on the
| railroads To give some idea or the capital and
laDor interests OF the anthracite region VIII
that In 1920 but 366 tons Of coal were produced in
the anthracite region In that year: in 1880 the result
OF working the mines was 157,470 tons; IN 1Si0
$4,000 tons were mined; In 1885, 1858, ,o00
| In 1860, p.O26 6s2 tons and for the year
1869 there l8 3os 3l6tons produced In the anhra
cite region. In 1920 the Importation Of foreign coal
amounted to % l22 TONS and in 1869 had increased
10 423, tons. On October 26, Scranton coal sold
for So 02 per ton At the monthly auction sale,
and November 30 IL for 81 so pcr
ton, and has been falling steadily since. Lehign was
delivered ut s5 % on December at Hoboken, and
N WQn hn vEan uvr.U
date for 81 s0 1t costs 81 ton to transport coal
Elizabethport N. j., TO Troy, N. r.; 60 cents tor
So 25 ton; 81 so TO Hartfsrd TO Boston, 81 10. tt
New London, 81 25; TO Petersburg, Va, 81; 10 Ban
ger Me- 81 so ton, and to Providence, X. l., 81 A
The citizens Of Philadelphia will suffer most this
the tolls are really extrayagant Oh the
Philadelphia and Reading road, which s
which So Is ton IL charged. 1t is the fant
OF Phlladelphans alone that this is So as they are
really too mean to build railroad which would
charge reasonable rates, although there are wealthy
capitalists enough In that city who do nothing with
their millions but merely shave notes for living.
be this winter unusually high priced at
New York cy at least there are millions OF tons OF
| depots; and In this part OF the State there
| Is 80 much coal above ground that 1t can
not be sent to market owing to high tolls and
low prices. In my first statement ! said
there were 10000 10000 miners OF the six coal
| counties. find that have moderated these num-
/
| tbracite coal regions east OF the Alleghanes a.
| many as 100000 VINO derive subsistence from the
| coal mines, directly and indirectly and their an
nual earning amounts TO about 8o,00o,oOo
| The Situation in Northumberland Countryside
Strike Yet.
PoTrsvILLE, Pa. Dec. a-Midnight.
The workmen In the Shamokln district as IL
| is called, comprising all the miners in
| Northumberland county, are ~ yet unde-
cided. This Is because rne railroad com
| panies do not control the shipping OF coal
| In this county. There are In Nor thumberland
county 49, 900 miners and laborers and the average
wages OF these each Is, for the miners 50 95 day,
and for the laDorers 81 6S, for nine hours work.
There Is q very bitter feeling growing up be.
| tween some OF the counties, at different times
| the miners have not acted in union when strike
! is contemplated. Down on the line OF the Batl-
| more and OHIO Railroad, which carries
| all the coal OF Cumberland county some
slight disturbances have arisen between the miners
| who wanted TO strike and those who were waiting
for events. The Cumberland miners are very
steady going race, and will not allow themselves to
| be Influenced Dv any outside pressure ! believe
that the great strength Of the strike ls In Luzerne
| aud Carbon counties.
| The Strike in the Wyoming Valley.
SCRANTON Pa, Dec. o, 1870.