The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1880-04-10

Tho anthracite coal trade continues to
move forward most successfully. From
week to week the outlook is steadily all the
time better. 1t is the result of one single
cause, and one That this paper has oontinu-
ously, aud almost weekly for the past two
or three years, urged upon the several par
ties in the trade, namely, to act in concert
and in harmony. At last they have now
reached that point, after wasting much capi-
tal by throwing coal into the market in I'D
vance of any adequate demand for it, and at
prices greatly below the cost Of production.
The coal, had it been left in the mines,
would have been worth greatly more 10 the
owners Of the land and greatly more TO con-
the past few years has amounted to millions
OF dollars, and this great amount has advan-
tagged no one The price Of coal is sapproach
| ing a remunerative point,and we have to hear
word Of complaint from consumers-at
least the complainers are no more numer-
Gus now than they were when coal was at
| its lowest, any time within the past two
years. There always are grumblers, though
the prices should be never SO low, but we
| allude to fair-mindel, reasonable men, who
| compare the prices Of fuel with current
business and the amount Of profit returned
from that business To such the coal mar
ket and coal prices are not to be complained
of by either producers or consumers. Four
dollars per ton, which is now about the
average price for the leading grades of coal,
should and will satisfy all for this period OF
the year, and can scarcely fail to make 1850
one of the largest in production that we have
ever had, and one in which the trade will
have less reason 10 complain of fair remun-
Grafton since the years OF the war. The
half-weeldy suspension of coal production
ended with the past week, and to-day
work commences on full time in all the re-
gions. The supply of some sizes of coal is
reported little short of the demand, but,
with full.tme working, this disparity will
soon be lost. Generally, and indeed at
nearly all the coal centres, the orders for
coal are in good supply, and, as the dead
work in the mines has been vigorously prose-
cuted, all demands for coal will be fully and
promptly met The coal companies have
all fixed their prices for the month Of April
and until further notice and, as all circulars
are seemingly in harmony and free from
undertaking and rivalry, business is likely
to move forward successfully. The Reading
Railroad company has withdrawn its crcu-
Lars Of March Both regulating coal freights,
and have issued new schedule under cir
culars Nos. l6 and II, dated April and 2.
The former of these withdraws circular No
! IA, issued the day before and fixes the draw
backs SO as to reduce the tolls on laterals to
a maximum of 25 cents ton on coal ship
ped to IIayre de Grace or Baltimore, or points
beyond the Delaware and Raritan Canal.
| The other, circular No. II, makes charge
of so cents per four wheeled car, and double
that amount for an eight. wheeled car for
every dav's delay in unloading cars at Port
Richmond, and, besides, ,deducting the num-
| Der of cars from the quota to be shipped to
each colliery. The retail trade is still pretty
active. The stock at Port Richmond has
been reduced 5000 tons during the past week,
and, freights having dropped to Boston, the
| shipments, il is expected, will soon be heav
ier. The miners in the Schuylkill region
are, we learn, to be paid the full $3.50 basis
wages for work done in April, figure, we
learn, that has not been paid since Febru-
ary; 1876. In March 1876, the rate had de
clined TO 2 per cent below the basis, and
reached its greatest declenson in July, 1877,
when the rate of wages, by this method of
ascertainment, was 81 per cent below the
basis, though 80 per cent below was the lin
it voluntarily fixed by Mr.. Gowen and paid
that month. Since that period the huctua-
tions have been many, but haye always been
better than they would have been by the rate
ascertained by the process originally fixed
by the Miners Union.-L Ledger, Monday.