The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1874-11-06
OR ASSOCIATED PRESS LETTER.
rLlladalphIa, oetober 50, Isg4.

OJR ASSOClAlED PRESS LII leh'
PLiladelphia, october so, 1s74.
ENo1AND's HOLD ON OUR COAL LANDS.
The Reading Coal and Iron Com
pany own $4,000 acres of coal lands
in Pennsylvania, valued at S54, ,000,-
0G0. This company recently mort
gagged their collieries, houses, e:c., },
to the Philadelphia and Reading r.
R. Co., in the sum Of $4,000, ,O00.-
The capitalists of England own u
large majority of the stock Of the
Reading company, and also hold
first mortgage of SIS, 100000 upon
the Reading Railroad and its appur-
tenances. In view of the fact that
there is existing a well defined fear
that the coal supply of England will
become exhausted within the next l5
years, the English mortgages and
owners of the stock have, through
their agents here, caused the pur-
chase of coal lands as above; have
had built a number Of iron steam
ships and wooden vessels for ocean
service in the transportation Of coal
have purchased wharfage on the Del
eware river, in this city, extending
more than half mile in length, and
to those wharves the coal is brought
directly from the collieries by cars and
loaded into ocean steamers for trans
lortation to England, when necessa-
ry, and to Boston for the present.
In the meantime, until coal is act
ually in demand by English manu-
faeturers, the corporation has been
instructed to advance the price upon
American consumers as rapidly as
they will stand it. Acting Under
these instructions the Reading com
| pany have advanced the price of coal
Is cents o ton, a month; and dur
ling July and August they REDUCED
their carrying capacity 33 per cent,
and for the month Of September, 40
per cent. This advance in the price
of coal, reducing the hours OF en-
ploment of their workmen, and the
adCance of Is cents a ton for each ton
of coal carried in 1873 over the
prices Of the year previous, have had
the effect to make the years business
one of the most prosperous ever done
by the company. .... .s
ask, is it entirely satisfactory to
the iron producers of Pennsylvania
that the coal mines of the Common
wealth are monopolzed by capitalists
of England? Are the unemployed
miners Of Dauphin, Northumberland,
Columbia and SChuylkill counties
g1atifed to know, that economy in
mining coal, and combination in car
rying It to market, added $523, ,395
60 to The reserve fund OF the Read
ing company during the year, after
paying larger interest account than
ever before paid, and dividends Of
S4, 291 ,394. 26, and carrying, l don t
know what amount, to the sinking
fund account; .t.O .d.u
THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE EXHIBITION. ''
This exhibition of skilled labor
which opened here the carly part OF
this month has been largely attended.
Mr.. Childs, Public Ledger,, seldom
exalts men or things, yet it is extrav.
agant in its commendation of this
exhibition, and properly terms 1t the
"High Change Of General Industry,
The Ledger says: Very few intelli-
gent observing persons have gone
there without learning many things
of interest, and some Of immediate
value for present use. 1t is II liberal
education to study the principles up
on which the machines are construct
ed and the manner in which they
work" .oQ. .atl.
To write of each particular piece
of handicraft on exhibition as its
meritoriousness would seem to war
rant, would occupy every line OF
these letters from now until the 4th
Of July next, therefore, | will pass
the various sewing machines, butter
workers, dough kneaders, patent
mixers, chur1s. etc, over to their
respective inventors for descriptive
accounts, and mtntion only those
things which strike my eye as most
deserving. From Clearfeld county
this State, is a mammoth chunk ol
coal from the Excelsior vein--whel.
ever that is-weighing 5,27O pounds
considerably more than two and O
half tons. I noticed a number o.
gentlemen looking at TINT "blacl
diamond as though they Thought il
would appear to much better advan.
, taoe in tGeir coal cellar, and | quitt
J aaree with them. except perhaps, az
to the cellar.
/