The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1893-11-17
GOAL COMPANIES UNITE.
An Assocl tion of Opo ators Formed t.
Control Prices.

An Assocl tlon of Ope ators Formed to
Control Prices
When the wind begins to whistle around
the house corners and the overcoats come out
Of pawn and the family man begins to think
about the Christmas stockings which are
already yawning for his largess, the coal pro
blem becomes the question of the hour.
Poor folks, who generally have scant time
for the reading of newspapers, devour whole
columns about coal trusts and coal prices aud
transportation rates. People who think they
know say that this is going to be a hard
winter. They say, too and nobody denies it,
that the poor are in bad condition to meet
it.
While the miners, at the one end of the
line, are complaining of the insufficient reward
they are receiving for their perous work of
digging the dusky diamonds from their
natural bed, the consumers-the actual
burners of coal-at the other end of the line,
are complaining of the prices which are now
asked.
1t is quite certain that the great profit in
the coal trade drops somewhere along the line
after the coal leaves the miners and before it
reaches the consumer The following facts
confirm this theory
And now, after summer of such financial
decentralization as hasn't been known in
years, winter prices are being put upon coal.
So are the winter measures. And, in addition
to the usual winter squeeze, there is this
winter a new Richmond in the field. There
was held in this city last week, says the New
York World, a meeting to establish what is
known as the Anthracite Coal Operators As
sociation, the object of which is stated as
follows;
The object of the association shall be to
promote generally the interests of its mem
bers as owners and operators of mines in the
anthracite coal regions of PENNSYLVANIA,
having due regard to the rights of those
employed in the work of mining coal in said
| region and in transporting the same to mar
ket. There is no intention on the part of
this association in any way, shape or form tC
| become a factor in the making up of the
| prices of anthracite coal to an exorbitant OF
| even prOhibitory figure. The fact is that
these individuals and independent shippers
| produce one quarter of the anthracite coal
aud they have never before had a representa-,
ton or voice in the management of the trade
| as such large in crest should have had, but
| they propose hereafter to make their power
| felton, all matters so that coal as coal may bt
paramount to the matter of transportation
their united action is sure to bring abou
satisfactory results.
The main fact in the case is this, that tn,
railroads controlling the outlets by whicl
| coal 10 hrouubt 70 tba saaboorJ or1 ,,-.r.-
where else have been able to dictate, anC
according to good authority have dictated
the price of coal to the consumer. The,
could carry it or not carry it as they pleased
and if producer did not pay their price fo
transportation they could cut him off anC
wind him up in short order. So he came t,
taw every time and paid what the railroad
asked, and charged enough more for the Goa
to make up the difference, and eventually tn,
man who bought coal at retail had to 20 dow
in his pocket for money to pay it. Their
never has been, according to the coal men, al
individual coal Operator that is their tern
for a man who owns or runs mines-wh,
could get his upper lip stiff enough to max,
a face at the railroad combines or had tn,
moral or financial backbone to snap hi
fingers at them.
i The mine operators have decided that ther
is strength in union, hence the new organiza
tion. Taken together they produced during
1892 more than eleven millions of tons @
anthracite coal-a third of the entire output
! William Connell, of Scranton, was mad,
President; L. b. Leisenring of Philadelphia
Vice President, and c. D. Simpson, of Scran
ton, Secretary and Treasurer. The Board o
Managers includes E. B, Leisenring, E. B
Ely, L. A. Riley, W. G. Payne, John Jermyn
O. S. Johnson, VIM. Connell, Q. D. Simpson
Frank T. Patterson, DR.. J. S. Wentz, Dr. A
H. Howe and Charles Parrish.
| One Of the operators is quoted as saying
at is peculiar thing that never until nov
interests. The transporting powers have beel
the dictators of prices, and the men VIII
produce all this coal have had to submit L
this dictation. No one man and no small
body of men is strong enough to oppose sucl
a force. Now, in body, they think there i
an opportunity of doing more. They repre-
sent about one.third of the hard coal product
OF course the strong potential factor on tn
side of the railroads interested-the Lehigh
the Erie and the rest of the roads over whicl
coal is carried out of the anthracite region
is that they have in reserve a vast quantit.
of coal land which has not been operated
while many of the mines now in full opera
ton will in a few years have becom
exhausted. Virtually, the other two.third
of the coal. producing properties are in tn
hands of the railroads"
L. A. Riley & Co., Coke Bros, Silver Brool
Coal Company, Thomas NJ RICHTER & Co
and Lentz, Lilly & Co., are among the mem
bers of the association.
USE DANA's sARsAPARILLA, ITs