The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1877-04-28
The COal Trade.

There has been no important development in
the anthracite coal trade durng the past week.
The strike of the Reading Rliiroad engineers
has kent up some excitement on the line OF che
road but the Company reports that it has not
much interfered with its business while its
tonnage for the week ending on the 14th inst.
is about the largest for the year The Reading
is now about half a million OF tons ahead Of It's
tonnage to the same time last year, Gnd us coal
business is reported, as compared with that OF
competing companies, better than almost ever
before. Prices are low, it is true, but we pre-.
sumo rule much the same for cOal in market
with all the companies. 1t is known that the
Reading has sold more largely of coal than any
other company, and it is well known that It's
great source of revenue is tonnage But. give
1t as much coal as it can carry, so great are its
facilities, that 1t mas sometimes, in n vein OF hy-
peTbole of couIse, been remarked of It, that IL
might attempt TO pay OF the national deDt. The
opposed combination as to wOrklnE tne sever
al coal regions on an agreed-upOn Dusls mas un'
dergUne no change since the lasG meeCuE OF the
| parlles on Monday OF iast neeK. aud prouaOlY
| none will be made before the date OF tne ud-
| jouTned meeting towards the end OF May.
Prices will remain as at present until June lSt,
and production Will pioDably continue on the
ratio allotted to each Company After Jnefe
| shall DC an advance in cOII prices. then VIII
| come the temptation TO OVer-prOduce ana, III
| the absence OF any effective means 10 prevent
! It the supply may soon run 80 lar ahead OF the
| demand us 10 render production, IN some one or
| more OF all the coal IeglOus, unprOnIaDe. but
| II some one or two Of the coal regions may be
| forced To stop as is quite possible, from local
| dlsagreements, any artificial arrangement for
| lin ung the supp, may Ue unnecessary. There
| may he labor or wages SrlGes at the mines, ana
there may Oe other engineer stIIkes,and against
| companies too that may not feel willing or able
| TO hight them, as the Reading Railroad Com
pany Is dOlng,aud 1Or the additional reason that
the plotiUs OF the trade are not sufficiently
| large TO warrant the cost anu YeXntion. The
companies too may think II their opportunity 20
STOP of all work. 1t is known that the Lenlgb
| Valley KallrOad Company has determined Un II
second reduction Of ~ per cent. III tine wages 70
all employ ees, except to engineers, who are now.
| as Oh the occasion Of the first leducuOn, eXemp.
TED We were informed VI this fact o. Wedues.
day last amt, at the same time, learned that 1t
was then tue purpose OF the officers Oi the com
pany not TO yield TO the demand OF the enpl
neefs that the hremen, brake ,men, &C. shOuid,
with themselves, he exempt from the reduction
dlt eCted to De made. We were not ut liberty ut
tuaJ limo to use Cbls information. out learning
from yesterdays " ew YORK Herald that the
strike Will be made, feel that we may now
stale Wnat was teen the purpose of the com
panY in case tne threat OF strike should be car
ried out, At Tie present moment the coal trade
is nearly At a stIud, as is usual When the III
ture is unKnOwn. The trade Is busy IN hlling
existing contracts, but new contracts are a
httie SOW as lower prices may follow. Fol
doug, and prices al . generally unchanged
Ledger, MOnuay.
1he following table shows the quantity OF Goa
Werk ending April 2l3t, 1877, and Tor the year a'
| Ell W IA m