The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1874-02-21
COAL.
The Programme Of the Penn
sylSania Companies.
Plan for Ghs GOrernsae1af OF the
s4mertc0 % Coal Trade.
The Product to be 10000 .oOo Tons.

From the Engineering ami Mining JounAi, Feb 7
We publish below q cUDy Of wha is
probably the most important contracts ever
made, affecting the coal and allied interests
of tins country. IL o. IN form Of an ex-
ceedlngly carefully drawn arrangement be.
tween the SIX great corporations which own
Or control our anthracite cJal mines, regu-
lating the production and pncs Of com
modify which Is as absolute an essential to
our national existence as the supply Of our
bread stutfs. According To this programme
the price which we are to pay for this COM
modify is not to be dependent on the law
Of supply and demand, but is to be deter
mined beforehand by combination, or
monopoly, whIsh may give us-as It does
now and proposes doing during this year
coal at a moderate and far price, or may
make the charge exorbltant and oppressive.
1t has the power-what Is to prevent IL
The heads Of these corporations, who are
among the abiest men engaged III the busl
ness In this country, are not going to pre-
cipitate matters, and their first care will be
u treat the public 90 fairly that the oppo-
sItIOn their course Of action must bring
from the middle men, will be answered
by q direct and tangible benefit to the
Consumers. But supp, sing that this com
bIEatIon continues 70 MAINTAIN itself 80
long, what will be the price Of anthracite
i've OF ten years from nov
We have hal ample opportunity for
studying the coal trade for the past seven
Or eight years, and appreciate the evils re-
sultIng from the violent fluctuations In
prices, and from the strikes and lOck-outs
which have during that period injured,
directly or indirectly, 50 large a part Of
our people. There can be no doubt that
the stability which this agreement among
the compsries has given to the trade during
the past year has been Of very great
I hcneht to every interest affected, the con-
sumer no less than the producer. The
prices at which coal has been sold, and at
which it is proposed to sell it this year,
are such that they can give no reasonable
cause for complaint, but We would not be
a faithful organ Of the great industries We
represent did We not call attention, at this
early day, to the fact that We have here the
germ Of gigantic monopoly, which will
have the power, if 1t pleases its directors to
WELD it, to oppress the industries which
use this commodity.
The programme Of the combination indi-
Gates clearly that, for the present at least,
we are 70 be supplied with cheap coal ; for
the present prices may fairly be termed
moderate
Not the least important part Of this re-
marksble document IS that which tells Us
the producers and consumers are TO be
brought together and no ''middlemen" or
wholesale dealers shall be allowed to 60
between them. Theoretically this should
reduce the cost Of coal to the consumer by
at least a portion Of the profits hitherto
absorbed by the middleman, but practically
il will probably result in the large compa-
MES making that much more on their coal,
and the consumers will continue to pay at
least as much as at present
This programme will, Of course, excite a
large amount Of opposition from the mid
dlenen, and doubtless the daily news
papers will be loud In their denunciatlOn
Of monopOlles, and will, as is their custom,
discuss this subject in the most prof nm q
ignorance of its merits or bearings.
We shall revert to the subject again. AT
present We merely invite The attention and
opinions Of thoss Interested in the matter,
and shall b. glad 70 have X discussed in
our columns. The information which we
snve can be relied on a. corr ret.
The following Ia the document which We
have received from Philadelphia it wal
read at the recent meeting Of the Lehigt
operators at Mauch Chunk
tCoHfdes,tiai.J
New YoRK, Jan. 2l, lS75.-To ARIC
PARDEE The undersigned committee re-
port the following plan Tor the govern
ment Of the anthracite coal trade to com
petltlve points IOr the year 1874
, l. Tonnage 10 competitive points for tel
months, from Feb. 10 Nov. 80, 1873, in
elusive, TO be t5n million tons, and to b,
distributed among the six interests in TIA,
same proportion as chat adopted in Febru
, airy, 1873, for the business Of last years
: viz;