, 1870-03-16

Oeou9 olf-1AI Waste IN lunl1g. .ls,1il.b25ssoo
Which leaves Of marketable coal. lib II, ,s2s 80
Twenty-nine millions Of tons Of an
thracite have been mined between 1920
and 1870, of which Is, 600, 600 have been
mined since 1860.
The present consumption is about ], $780,
600 tons year, and the amount on hand
already discovered is equal to an annual
supply Of 10000, 600 tons for GOO yeara
There is no anthracite coal outside Of the
United States save small supply in Wales,
md, consequently, the American miners
hare an absolute monopoly Of the article
Why do they need protection? .
In the matter al bitunlnous coal, the
supply Of tho United 9tatea Is ine1haus6ble.
To send foreign coal to the United States
ought to be like sending GOALS to Newcas-
tie" and were 1t not for corrupt combina-'
lions at home, never ton would be im-
ported. The coal mines Of Pennsylvania
and Of Maryland are, On an average, $50
miles distant from wafer navigation; hence
its movement is more expensive thnn It
would be ifit could be transported BY water.
Here, then, there is direct means whereby
the mining companies are able to dsfraad
the miner and e1tozt from the public. The
coal mining companies arc in the same
hands that control tbs iron mines and the
iron furnaces; and The same INTEREST also
owns the railways and canals over which
both the coal and the pig iron are moved
to market. They keep the wages Of coal
miners down, by fixing the price of coal at
the znine very low; they thus have cheap
coal for their furnaces. They charge e1-
cessive tolls On the transportation of coal,
and moderate freights On pig iron. In this
way they aim TO secure the monopoly Of
the pig iron production. The coal reaches
market at tide water with its cost
of mining increased 200 Per cent
for transportation. Il there be no other
coal in the market, the public and the
manufacturers have to pay whatever price
is demanded by the coa1-iron-ra1way-can
combination. Every man Eho runs steam
engine has to pay whatever price is de-
manded. The only other coal that can
compete with this is that which is found in
Nova Scotia. This coal cannot be mined
and brought into the United States and sold
for less SUD per ton than Will afford the
Pennsylvania and Maryland producers and
transportation companies large profit
But there is ta1 on this foreign coal Of
Sl.25 per ton in gold, and that has to be
added to its price. The result is that the
coal-i1on-1ailway-canal combination Of
Pennsylvania are unable to e1tort any more
for their coal than price at which the
Nova Scotia coal can be imported and
sold for. II that ta1 were removed,
the Pennsylvania combination would have
to sell their coal at SO much less per ton,
which price would give them large profit
But the greatest boon would be to the
makers of pig iron, in New York and New
England, who arc now compelled to pay
their Pennsylvania rivals an immense price
for transportation Of coal, vhileth pig iron
Of the latter is moved to market at nominal
rates. The Pennsylvania coal men are now
protected by the tariff from competition in
either coal or iron and, by controlling the
price Of transportation, they force all Amer
ican nvals to pay tribute to them On both
coal and irou.
It should be remembered that the proteo~
ton OF American coal does not apply. to
that article If produced west of Pittsburgh.
It is protection for the exclusive benefit
OF the Pennsylvania coal-mining, irop-
making, and railway-transportation inter-
ests. 1t is license to that combination to
rob every other manufacturer in the East