The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1888-01-14
JOIN THE IDLE ARMY.
Seventy Thousand Pennsylvania
Miners Now Out of Work.
SPREAD OF THE READING STRIKE.
Every Colliery Owned by the Company
NOW Closed Dowu-Shortage in the
Coal Supply in Manufacturing
Cities Advance in
Prices.

READING, Pa, Jan. 4-The fact that
there is a coal miners strike in the
Schuylkill regions is already perceptibe
all along the main line and branches OF
the Reading railroad. There is fearful
stagnatIon in the coal traffic. During
the twenty-four hours ending with noon
to-day but 1000 cars of coal
were sent through this city
IN place of the accustomed 5000 and
o,UOO cars IN that time. The discharge
OF 400 men employed in the coal traffic
on the Reading Railroad last night, it is
believed will be followed by many 9TH
ers III few days. The company en-
ploys 500 men, made up into 400
crews, In hauling coal TO tideWater and
interior points and not one fourth Of
these viii be required if the individual
operators alone continue working. 1t is
learned at the office of the company
IN this city that it will furnish
individual collieries for the present all
the empty cars they need and haul their
coal, although no contract has been
MADE with them. The company is nm
Ing hardly enough coal for its own pur-
poses and all that is now sent down
comes from collieries operated by pri-
Vate parties, but their output will not
near supply the cities and towns and
numerous industrial establishments in
the Schuylkill Valley alone. Many
persons are hopeful that the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company may relieve the
urgent necessities of this section. The
uperlntendent of the PENNSYLVANIA
road says that company IS now hauling
l,6JO tons Of coal day and that this ca
paclty could be increased to 1000 tons.
Inc general impression in this city Is
that the miners employed in individual
coilierles Will also strike when they find
that 1t Is being handled by non-union
tralnmen.
All the Reading Compauy's fortv-fve
mines are stopped and 10000 miners at
least are idle. Some place the number
OF idle men as high as $4,000 in the
Schuylkill basin alone, which, with 90
900 IN the Lehigh, makes the number Of
men idle fully 10000.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Jan. 4.-The strike
of the miners in the employ ofthe Phil
adelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Com
pany, and OF individual operators in the
Schuylkill region, has barely begun, but
the cry cfa scarcity OF coal is already
heard here. The protracted strike of
the Lehigh operatives and tbe cutting etf
OF the supply from that region had
tendency to tax the output of the
rest of the anthracite field severely, so
that the supplies on hand in this state
have, In many instances fallen far below
the requirements of dealers. 1t has
been known for some time past
that the Reading Railroad Company
has lately been unable to meet
the demands of its line and the city
trade, and the suspicion has been
freely expressed that coal for customers
on It's route has been diverted by the
company to its own use. Inquiries in
all parts of the city show that the retail
coal dealers are comparatively bare of
coal CT their supply is generally below
that usually carried at this sea-
son. Many dealers announce that
they will not sell more than
one ton of coal on each order and that
the price has advanced 81 to 75 cents
per ton. Should the strike in the Schuvl-
Kill be an extended one, it will not be
long before thousands of iron workers
will be thrown out of employment for
want OF coal.