The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-04-28
WHAT THE STRIKE MEANS
Its Widespread Effects Shown in the
Trade Review.
THE TROUBLE CALLED A RESULT
OF INSANE COMPETITION.

The Miners on Strike Number 147,00o-But
in Addition Thousands Of Men Are Los
ing Work Because There is No Coal for
Factories and Furnaces and Consequent
ly No Business for the Railroads Which
GARRY It.
New York, April ~. Bradstreet's to-
morrow will says The general business
situation throughout the United States
is less favorable, as shown by reports
from more than so Important distrlbu-
ting centres. The especially depressing
influence Is the strike of 147, 600 bitumin-
GUS coal and coke operatives in twelve
states. The accumulated stocks Of Bit
luminous are about the average for the
season, and are not likely to last be-
You'd the middle Of May. Already the
record Of furnaces banking their fires,
factories closing their doors. lake YES
sells lying up. and mills throughout the
central and central western states shut
ting down in eenseq uenee of the lack or
prospective slaek Of fuel, is attracting
attention. This, apparently the largest
single industrial strike taking place IN
this country, is reported to be caused
by the efforts of operators to recoup
themselves from the results Of insane
competition" by repeated scuttingof min.
ers' wages. Buffalo, Cleveland. Chicago
and Duluth are feeling the strike, and
the effect on the vessel interests at these
and other lake ports is very discourage
ing. Duluth ore shipments are delayed
for want of return coal cargoes. The
railroad companies have begun to dis
charge coal and special train employees.
Complaining the situation is an effort
OF about $4,000 miners who will not
strike, to supply the demand for coal.
The total NUMBER of industrial and 9TH
er employees on strike now. with those
idle by reason of strikes, is 200 900, of
which nearly rs per cent are coal min
ers and coke operatives, 10,400 textile
workers, 1000 in pottery and Kindred in
dustries. $3.50 among the building trades
and 5000 railroad employees.
Only two cities of 35 reporting in the
central, western and northwestern
states report material improvement iii
general trade this week. These are In
dianapo1s and Kansas City, and even at
those points the gain Is slight. Bank
elearines throughout the United States
aggregate $3.50, 100000 his week. a de-
crease of about. 55. per cent from tt e
week DoIOFts ana a Idllfil9 OH. VI ~ pCr
cent compared with the fourth week in
April last year. The decrease for the
week from TIE corresponding week of
last year of d fifth compared With de-
creases in the preceding weeks from
third to nearly 40 per cent from the
weeks of year ago, is explained as due
to smaller totals of bank clearings a
year ago, rather than to material i'm
provement in the clearings during re-
cent weeks. In the South the business
dizziness, an exception being noted iii
at New Orleans. Drought in the vegeta
BE regions rearJack ponville has checked
shipments, and affectedthe local. money
market. Atlanta furniture factories
have shut down for six weeks, and 9TH
er industrial establishments are work
ing on short time. At Providence. the
manufacturing jewelry industry remains
dull, without prospect of Improvement
before July. The tendency of prices of
leading staples to advance during the
past fortnight has been offset by an OPP
posite movement Eastern cotton mills
have been selling certain lines of prod
ucts at concessions in prices, and at
tempting to reduce the wages of opera
tives with strikes as the result
There have been 2.727,000 bushels of
wheat flour included) exported from the
United State this week, against 2, 507,
900 III the week a year ago. Wheat ex-
ports from San Francisco have nearly
ceased Two bundled and one failures
are reported during the United States
this week, against 1856 in the week a