The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-11-02
MINE, MILL AND RAILROAD.

The steady speculative drive in coal
ers recently has given birth to large
variety of rumors, some serious and
some amusing. One that combines a
little of both characteristics is thus out
lined in a trade journal: Mrs. Charles
Cummings, once Mary Packer, young
est daughter of the late Judge Asa
Packer has retained legal counsel to
look after her interests in the Lehigh
Valley Railroad company. No idea Is
conveyed as to her intentions in the
premises, nor does the rumor state the
cause of her dissatisfaction with the
Wilbur management, especially notable
as she has been regularly paid the IN
come agreed upon several years ago
with the company So far as has been
learned the company has not defaulted
upon any payments to her; still. 1t is
well known she is not in sympathy with
the present management. In fact, her
hostility to it, as well as the antagonism
of her husband, is so great that neither
of them will ride in Lehigh Valley cars
except in extreme cases. They both
use the Jersey Central whenever feasi-
BILE and pay their fares. One well-in-
formed person expresses the belief that
whatever action has been taken by Mrs
Cummings has been upon the sugges-
tion or at the dictation of her husband,
and that he, in turn, is acting in accord
with some greater power. 1t is even
asserted that the Vanderbilts have
hand in the matter, and that among
the immediate future possibilities IS
the control of Lehigh Valley either by
the Vanderbilts or the Lackawanna in
terests-one and the same thing.
Last Saturday the Central broke its
New Philadelphia record. COY
ernor Mckinley, of Ohio, was to speak
in Philadelphia. He had come through
New York state and down the Hudson
Valley on specials, and the Central had
heard doubtless that these specials had
made astounding records. So the Cen
trail people settled down to business
Governor Mckinley stepped on to their
station at Jersey City at 4.35 p. M, and
just 92 minutes later he alighted from
Pullman at the terminal station, Phlla-
delphia 1t took but four minutes for
the governor and his party to get
aboard the train, and it started without
delay, with a rush. 1t was making
thirty miles an hour when the Pullman
cleared the big car shed at Jersey City,
and it passed Bound Brook with
record better than a mile minute from
Jersey City. The distance is ninety
miles, and the time is the fastest ever
made between the two points.
In the reports of the Pennsylvania
Railroad company the Pittsburg, Gin
cinnati, Chicago and st. Louis, the
New York, Lake Erie and Western and
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern,
whose reports are filed in the depart
ment Of internal affairs, as compiled by
Deputy Secretary Isaac B. Brown, it Is
found that in a single year-the fiscal
year just closed-there has been fall
ing off in the number of men employed
of 14,19S. Looking further into the re-
ports of these four companies, which
are verified by the oaths of the officers
of the companies, it Is found that in a
single year there has been falling off
in compensation paid to employees of
$40, 7SS, 1851. These returns show that
theseroads have carried 1886 900 tons of
freight less this year than the pre-
ceding year, and that the revenues
from freight transportation alone have
been decreased 16,OS3 5S0.13.
w. p, Holbert, of Binghamton, N. Y,
is the owner of a tract of land at a
place called Thornbottom, in Wayne
county, under which he thinks there
is plenty of workable COAL Borers are
at work there now and have gone down
a distance of 300 feet. A vein of coal
was struck near the surface which was
eight inches in thickness, and another
vein has been found which is thirty
inches thick. The borers will go down
another hundred feet and the indica-
tions are good for the finding of a work.
able and paying vein of anthracite.
Further evidence that the anthracite
coal companies are producing on the
go-as-you-please theory is found in the
statement of shipments for the week
ended Oct. 27, as prepared by the bureau
of anthracite coal statistics. 1t shows
total shipments to have been no less
than 1,0O6, ,107 tons, or within 34,0O3 tons
of the total for the corresponding week
of last year. The result, however, shows
that the production has steadily in
creased from week to week since the.b
ginning of the month. For the first week
shipments aggregated 754,7O7 tons, for
the second week S06, 1S1 tons, for the
Sc, Io
shown, 1,006 107 tons, making total of
3,536,67S tons for the first twenty-seven
days of October. AS there are four days
yet to be accounted for, indications are
the months total will equal, If it does
not exceed, 100000 tons.
The committee Of the Schuylkill coal
exchange has fixed the rate of wages to
be paid the miners in that region for the
last half of October and the first half
of November at 1926, which is s per cent
below the $3.50 basis, the same as last
month. The output of anthracite coal
by the Reading Coal and Iron company
for the month Of November will amount
to nearly 100000 tons. There are but
twenty-three working days in Novem-
ber for the collieries. There are four
Sundays, Nov. was holiday, and elec-
ton day and Thanksgiving Day will
also be observed as such, making
seven days these mines cannot work,
but. notwithstanding that fact, If no ac-
cident occurs, the company will ship
100000 tons of coal to tide water at
Philadelphia and New York. There are
a number of individual operators in
Schuylkill county, it is said, who will
swell the output 250,0Oo tons more
which will make an aggregate of the