The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-09
(PRICE SO A YEAR
1 5 CENTS A COPY. !
COAL CARS LYING IDLE.
NOT A TWELFTH OF THE USUAL
RUN PASSES READING.

About 10000 Jimmies owned by the
Road-No Break in the Strike and the
Miners as Determined as Ever
Shamokin the Hot-Bed Of the Strike.
READING, PA, Jan. s.-Sunday is
usually very quiet dayin the coal regions,
and this was exceptionally So The run OF
coal down the road since midnight was but
500 cars, while to-day three weeks
ago there were shipped through this city
the enormous number of $500 cars. When
these figures are compared, the terrible stag
nation in the coal trade can be fully appre-
ciated. At the car shops in this city the
books show that the number of coal cars
in active service on the road is about
10000. Nearly all of these are now lying
on sidings in the coal regions. Navigation
closed on the Schuylkil canal on Dec. 10,
and about two dozen boats, containing
| several hundred tons of coal became ice
| bou md here. Every pound of this coal has
been bought up The Reading Iron Works
purchased several boat loads and were hap
PLY relieved from closing down.
Information received at the company's
office in this city tonight is that a meeting
| of strikers to-day showed that there is no
| break in the miners strike. ShamOkin ap-
pears to be the hotbed of the present strike
and where the most feeling is shown against
non-union men.
TO FIGHT TO FINISH
NEW York, Jan. s.-A conference was
held Saturday night in Jersey City between
representatives of the various trades in
volved in the Reading strike, and IL was de-
cided that the men would be ordered out OF
the Wyoming mines This action, it was
said, would practically stop work in the
anthracite coal region. A prominent mem-
Der of District Assembly No. 40 said yester-
day that the knights had fully made up
their minds to fight this strike to the end,
and would make no attempt now to secure
arbitration. Closing the Wyoming mines,
he added, would result in thousands Of men
| being thrown out of work from want of fuel
to run factories and mills.
READING DENOUNCED.
New York, Jan, S.--A meeting of the
Central Labor Union was held to-day, at
| which Bernard Davis presided The coal
| boatmen announced that they are about to
distribute their union cards among the coal
dealers employing none but union men, and
they asked that all organized work.
men should buy their coal only from
such dealers as have the union card
displayed in their offices. Upon motion OF
the representatives of the mixed trades sec
ton, a resolution was adopted denouncing
the Reading Railroad Company for causing
the great strike of coal miners, by which
the welfare OF the entire population has
been affected in raising the price of coal at
such season as this
COAL GOING HIGHER
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. S.--The Ledger, in
its financial article tomorrow, will say:
"The anthracite coal trade is taking, adj
vantage of the strike in the Schuylkil dis
trict TO further advance prices for coal and
lrel..
the breakers from 30c. to 75c. pr ton.
Local retail dealers have in turn increased
their prices from So % aud S6 50 per ton to
81 80, with the tendency of prices toward
still higher figures. During the past week
shippers have been refusing to quote prices
for anthracite, except from day to day, and
then only subject to delay in delivery"
The following special from New York to
the Press will be printed in the Ledger to-
morrow: George w. Chlds stood in the
corridor of the Fifth Avenue Hotel
this morning with President Roberts,
of the Pennsylvania road, discussing
the Reading coal strike incidentally and
labor problems in general. Mr.. Childs saids
Il believe the laborer is worthy Of his hire
and have no hesitation in saying that the
advance Of 8 per cent. asked for by the
miners should be granted and added to the
price of coal if there is no other way for the
| companies to meet il. The Reading has been
paying the advance for four months past. L
am told that it would make difference Of
| $3.50 900 in the miners wages. Still
| am Of the opinion that the
Reading and most of the other
companies are ready to pay higher wages if
/ they could feel assured that other companies
| not subject to this increase would not step,
| in and undersel them in this city. They
could not compete on such a basis. II be-
leve in organized labor" continued Mr..
Childs, ''and in paying the higheS price TO
| the wage-earner that is possible and leave q
| fair margin of profit to the employer.
There should be good feeling and co-opera-
tion between the two. There is one thing
that the army of workers in this country
ought to remember he continued This
nation is the most prosperous in the world
The working classes are better clothed and
better fed than in any other country on the
face of the globe.
ATTRIBUTED TO PROTECTION.
"Why2 Because the tariff has protected
them against competition from abroad. IL
has built up industries which would other
wise never have been planted here and
fostered others that could only have had a
| feeble existence under free trade. / am
heartily in favor of protecting everything
| that we can produce or manufacture here.
Free trade in any line would mean its ulti-
mate extinction so far production
in this country is concerned. No
practical business man doubts this.
A day or two ago l asked the
head of the largest retail clothing house in
Philadelphia what effect free trade would
have on him. He replied that he would go
to Europe at once, establish factories for
making his supplies over there and import
every suit of clothes that he sold. Now that
firm employs hundreds Of tailors and hands
in Philadelphia, and il it should go abroad
for its stock others would have to follow in
order to compete with its prices.
Even under the present conditions the
gentleman OF whom | speak stated
that he goes to Europe twice a year, i'm
ports clothing. pays duty of 80 per cent.
ON it, and undersells home product. Two
thirds of the difference in price represents
labor His question of protection appeals
therefore as strongly to the wage Garner as
to the employer, for if the latter has nothing
for man TO do, he is not going to hire
him and pay him. Doctrinalres seem to be
getting numerous down in Washington, but
the sentiment of the country, am firmly
convinced, is against free trade. Tariff re-
duction as an agency for reducing the sur
plus would not be success. On the con-
trary it would increase it by many mil
lions. That is so evident that l cannot well
see how any one can doubt it."