The New York herald., 1871-02-28
TIE GOAL EXCITEMENT.
WHO is at Fault, the Miners the Corpora
lions e-WaGes Of Miners.


week past nave been largely occupied with state
ments made and with proceedings Of public meet.
thracite coal trade. AS has already been stated in
these columns, the coal operators and the
coal carrying companes have united in Ge
trade, as against what they allege to be
the damaging effects OF the "strikesn OF the
up TO this time Is deadlock In the trade. Coal
production has almost entirely ceased. and.
the limited stocks OF coal on hand, the
retailers, with the aid OF the more sensational
writers OF the press, are running the prices
strained to believe unnecessarily. The best IN
formed In the trade, and those who have had the
the opinion that resumption OF work at the mines
VIII not be many days delayed and that the stocks
q cea at ne great centres are especially
necessary to recaptulate what from day to day has
been done in reference to this matter Suffice to
tween the wOrkmen Of which aud the operators
there is little to ADJUST, the difference OF wages has,
In substance resolved itself into the comparatively
unlmD0rtant point or whether the minimum basis
for the adjustment OF wages shall be two dollars or
two dollars and tty cents per ton for coal at Port
Carbon. The operators offer two dollars and
fifty cents per ton scaling up at a liked rate
per cent however nlgn the prlco OF coal
rate per cent until the price touches two dollars be-
low which IL snail cease to be operative as basis.
ton." There Is mixed up with the negotiations on
this vexed question an avowal on the part Of the
operators aud the carrying companies that for the
future they = can to control and direct their bus-
ness, irrespective OF the pleasure of the comblna-
tions OF the wcrkingmen's associations. In short,
to say that they VIII determine the question OF sup
ply aud demand. This Is very important matter,
that has been expeence In the trade for the last
Two or three years; and yet, strange as it may
seem, we nave not seen direct reply to 1t from the
aimed. The president Of one Of the assocla-
tons has made statement In detail on this
point. This, however, Is q question which has two
sides as we will show from reliable figures taken
irom the pay roll OF one OF the largest firms OF ope-
racter OF the onica paper alluded to- and correct
the msapprehenslon OF the press and the public On
this matter It Is but necessary 10 state tnat the
prices are set forth as the weekly wages, or the
average full wages OF MINER when the TACT is that
hardly one miner In 1ifty works by the day or week,
the work of mining coal being virtually all done BY
contract or piece work, at which the wages earned
are twice or thrice the price fixed as standard by
which 70 pay for the small amount Of work done oy
ment the following list OF wages paid during tire
season Of 1870 at several colleries in the Lehigh
vale, colliery, forty miners, being all who
worked the whole year, during which the
average Of lsS TO- or an average per day Of 81 60;
the highest on the List being $l,S2i ana The lowest
$e12 AT Minesylle coery, thirty miners, under the
or at an average OF S. % per daythe highest the
list being sl,553 and the lowest s72s. AT the Laltl.
cclllery, working 25T days during the season of
1870, the highest on the list stands a32 Al, the
next highest s904 S the lowest at $el4 o3 ana the
next lowest S624 TO- An average OF fourteen miners,
taken unfortunately, shows an average o. wages
OF 81 - per day. Az Tie Hazeton colliery the aver
age Is about the samethe highest being over 800
and the lowest between 5000 and 500. When the
highest wages were made the coliiery was worked
252 days, and when the lowest was realized but Z22
days. at the Jeddo cOeries, thirty-twO miners,
during the months from May to December inclusive
earned average OF S5 5S per day. TIE cOllleries
named represent production OF about 1900, 0o0
tons during the season OF 1870. We could follow
this investigation through all the collees in all the
several coal regions with about the result. In
the face Of facts ana figures such as these, and With
out any question at issue between the operators and
miners, work was stopped on the 10Th OF January
last by order Of the Grand Council In secret session.
We leave these facts With the reader without COM
ment. The miners, just now, are said to be Pc
cuniarily in poor condition stand out In idleness.
and, besides, great dissatisfaction Is represented to
exist on the part OF the wOrkmen towards the
leaders. These Two facts favor early resumption OF
sa ao the 70 nSh e q
basis. Will tend materially TO stimulate them. The
only uniavOrabe feature OF the difference, as 1t now
the cenurs On the other Rns naturally @
food Tor the newspapers, and these IN turn form op
posing opinions that are inconsderately taken up
and discussed with more or less denuncIation, to
the delay OF resumption and to the prejudice OF all
M e re Wen n Te s seH hnc
representatives OF the w. b. A. and committee oil
the Anthracite Board OF Trade met to consider the
propositions OF operators and carrying companies
Us expressed In their resolutions adopted at the
Philadelphia meeting on Thursday the first tele-
gram was tuht tllc1 dCCcptcu, re.
port cOntradicted, and the matter In dfferen
is now, seemingly, as wide open Is ever. lhe New
York papers have worked up quite panic there
and at the surrounding towns and coal by small
retail Is quoted at exOrbitantly nigh prices But
there is as yet no panic at Boston nor In the New
England markets. prices there having advanced
very little. In the yards or this city and at the
Reading Railroad wharves at Port nichmOnd there
Is no doubt coal TO meet the local demand for
two months or more and there Is certainly no
reason, in present want OF supply, to put up the
price OF coal now. The coal tonnage ior the week
ending On the 18th inst was 80 light that we do not
think 1t necessary TO 20 at all into detail The total
OF anthracite reported BY the carrying companies
for the week was 49, TONS and for the year. from
the lst Of December, 1,2e2 t92 tons-showing de-
mage to the corresponding time last year. The
bitumlnous tonnage for the week was II, ,021 tons,
and for the year TONS against 50, 666 tons 10
corresponding date last year-an increase OF s3S2
TONS In this city the retail price Of coal good
deal unsettled with very general desire 10 sell.
The LehiRh Navigation Company have not advanced
prices at all, continuing TO sell In limited amounts
to their housekeeping customers at 81 50 per ton;
other dealers, we notice, are selling at egnt nine
nd ten dollars per tOn II cannot be 0enied, now
YER. that the situation OF tue trade Is the cause OF
much anxiety, end thas the development ot tue pre-
sent deadlock Is watched with much solicitude.
The Paterson Goal Famine.
The coal famine excitement still continues IN Pat
erson, although some coal has arrived, whlch, de
relief Several OF the local dealers and benevolent
ciiizens. have made some noble contributions OF
coal tCfamllies who suffering for want OF iue
althf tha the good ucOpe OF Patcrb u