The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-11-06

dealers have seen what was coming, but they
could do nothing but wait and meet the emer-
what do you mean when you say the miners
have been virtually on q strike for six monthsf'
al mean the miners who have worked only
enough to keep soul and body together. The
Indiana miner, IL he hasn't bread and
meat will get along on bread, and IL he has
neither. he will manage to subsist on air.
During the past six months the miners have
seized the slightest pretext TO throw down
their tools and quit work. A baby funeral;
In more than one instance, has been the signal
FOR a thousand men to quit work for two days
10 attend the funeral and extend their sympa-
fhies to the bereavec. Then, again, when the
quail law was up thousands OF them tooK their
shot-guns and went hunting, and many of them
have been chasing the quail ever since. BY
these tactics, thus shrewdly worked, the
supply of mined coal has been reduced to
absolutely nothing right here at the beginning OF
winter"
The alarm articles in these two news
papers created q sudden rush of coal buy
ers that made the dealers smile oil over.
They staid up half the night last night TO
supply the demand.
Then the second step developed, the coal
dealers met yesterday. and as result OF
their confab nearly all kinds of coal will
be quoted at higher prices this morning.
Anthracite. which sold at $3.50 yesterday,
Fssrr ss and at r tGn tSas cy SOLD at az
to-day 1850 will be asked. jackson. Tor
which 81 was asked. will be held at
s425. What on earth the strike can
have to do with raising these prices, the
dealers will find it hard to explain. The
strike would not affect these Goals. and
dealers can get all of them they want:
Block IS advanced from So to $3.50. and
bituminous from So TO $3.25. The alarm
raised by the two organs made the oppor-
tnnity. and the combined dealers were not
slow TO take advantage of 1t.
1t also develops that month or so ago
the operators advanced prices to the deal
ers and large consumers at least as much.
if not more. than the advance the miners
are now asking. The dealers, being In the
combination. ore pledged to secrecy as to
what they pay for coal. but they admit
that the operators are. and have been, en-
joying the fruits of this advance.
"Did the coal-dealers succeed In combin.
ing to raise prices to-dayW was asked of
Mrs. A. i. Meyer last evening.
Il don't know" was the reply. II haven't
attended any meeting to-day"
Who were the dealers that wouldn't
GO inw
Nobody that know of. don't know
of any who will not go in for anything"
After q little further conversation Mr.,
Meyer casually remarked: "There'll be a
howl IN the morning when they see the
prices" and in reply to . question he
quoted the new prices. They were ad-
vanced on US good while ago." he ex-
planned.
Was the advance as much as that asked
for now by the minersf"
Pm not at liberty TO say"
docs this strike affect the coal ordi-
narlly used Dy private consumersf"
Cant steam coal be gotten elsewherep
"Yes. if they pay the price,"
Ford Woods. assistant general freight
agent of the Big Four. dropped into the
Office and congratulated Mr.. Meyer upon
having sixty or more carloads of coal on
the way. As he went ont the reporter asked
him If it was not true that the city could be
flooded with coal from the Ohio fields in a
couple of days.
YES" said he, ''they can get all they
want now. The only thing that would be
likely to tighten up the market would be a
heavy demand from Chicago"