The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-12-31
INDUSTRIAL TOPICS.

INDUSTRIAL TOPICS.
The recent cold snap has stimulated
the distribution of coal in all quartegs,
and more is moving than for some time.
The city trade has suddenly become
brisk and New England dealers are
calling for deliveries on orders placed
last month. 1t appears that a vast
quantity Of coal is still on the shippers
books at the old low prices, while mid
dlemen have an additional amount to
peddle out % cents below the present
circular prices. Some little business
is reported at the full new circular but
it is trlhing.
In anticipation of an unusually large
turnout of stockholders at the annual
meeting of the Lehigh Valley railroad
on Jam 10, it has been decided that
admission to the New Century club,
of Philadelphia, where the meeting will
be held will be by ticket only. Every
opportunity will be afforded stocllhold-
ers to be present and upon request
to Secretary Fanshawe tickets will be
promptly forwarded. Proxies in sup
port of the present management are
still coming in, and the shares repre-
sented by the proxies already received,
in conjunction with the Packer block,
represent considerably more than a
majority of the stock, The Lehigh Val
ley railroad stockholders committee
announces that a meeting will be held
at Association hall, on Jan. 2 at which
security holders, who are opposed to
the present management Of the COM
pany are invited to attend
The present condition of the anthra-
cite coal trade, so far as prices are
concerned, Is shown by the fact that the
nominal prices at tidewater have stead
lily declined since the first of the year,
says the Stockholder. In January the
quotations were: Broken, $3.75; egg, S4;
stove, &.45; chestnut, &45, The figures
now being quoted are: Broken, $40;
egg, $500; stove $685. chestnut, 1925.
The decrease since January, therefore,
are: Broken, So cents; egg, so cents;
stove, $l10; chestnut, $l20. or an aver
age for the four sizes of 99& cents per
of anthracite have aggregated 1885,
S32 tons, and it is estimated that the
total will be increased to, say, 4l,O0O,OOO
tons by the end Of the year. The loss
20 the several companies, therefore, will
be in the neighborhood of $S90OO,OOO;
and all because the interests involved re-
fuse to allow the only safe business rule
that of keeping the supply down to a
parity with the demand. AS the pro-
duction was the heaviest in the Wyom-
ing region the loss is greater for the
companies in that region, with the
Schuylkill second, and the Lehigh re-
gion last.
1t is claimed by some that at last
weeks meeting, in Philadelphia, of the
presidents of the coal carrying rail-
roads President Harris OF the Reading
company read the riot act" to the
other companies and threw down the
gauntlet by demanding the imposition
Of money penalty for the evasion Of
agreements on the part of any Of the
companies. The Philadelphia Record
contains the following: "The Read
ing company has been distinguished
for its strict adherence to the
observation of all important an
thracite agreements, such as those
relating to the restriction of pro-
duction, whilst other companies have
been negligent. to say the least of IT.,
in their preservation Of freight rates,
their maintenance of anthracite prices
and their positive restrictions in the
matter Of output. The Reading COM
pany now claims that it has suffered
all that it intends to suffer from this
cause, that any further funny busi-
ness on the part of its competitors will
be followed by a wholesale Offering OF
anthracite by the Reading The pro-
position was for the deposit for a heavy
money forfeit as penalty for evasions,
and the meeting adjourned so that the
matter might be arranged in way to
suit every interest involved"
There are some ideas in a recent issue
of the Hazelton Sentinel which are
valuable, even though crudely eX-
pressed, For instance, the Sentinel
says: zone of the deplorable things
of the time is no discussion of any evil
dent intention on the part OF any legis-
lator to bring out legislation OF value
to the coal regions. We do not hear Of
any member who has any matter more
| important than that of securing places
for friends, The legislator who wants
to benefit this region must go beyond
the demangogic measures of company
store bills, semi-monthly pay laws and
kindred bills. These are only minor
! ills, If ills at ALL as in many cases the
company store Is an absolute necessity
and perhaps a direct blessing, while
it Is a mooted question whether in all
or even majority, Of cases the semi
monthly pay law Is a good thing for
the men. The mining region will thrive
better without legislation than with the
kind it has received from the dema-
gogues of both sides Such measures
as a change in the system of mine in
spectors, an Employers Liability bill
modelled after the English but adopted
to this particular state, better system
of factory inspection, the creation of a
state bureau of mining with the head
/ A. A - 4. = 4