The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-09-15
GENERAL NEWS
OF INDUSTRIES

Anthracite trade circles were stirred
yesterday by long article In the finan.
cisl department of the Philadelphia
Press descriptive Of the demoralized
condition OF that branch Of the fuel in.
dustry. The article began as follows:
The anthracite coal trade has not been
in such demoraized state for years at
this season OF the year as it Is at the pres
ent time. Though the fall demand should
be felt and the distribution Of coal active
there is no demand, prices are at lower
point than for long period and there is
little hope of an improvement which will
enable the trade to take advantage of the
fall season. A year ago in the month of
August the average price OF stove coal the
most important size, in New York, was
s4. 10 per ton; in August Of this year the
average price was So AZ per ton. More re-
Gently leading company has sold stove
coal at So 20 in New York, so that the av-
erage price this month is likely to be lower
than in August. Odd cargoes of stove coal
have been sold at SO. The official or circl-
lar price Of stove coal in New York is
S4 Is; so that the cut is 95 cents per ton,
which, IL continued for year, would mean
a loss OF SAC, 100000 to the trade. Tue aver
age price of all coal in New York is lower
than the figures given for stove. In August
1T was S3 per ton, an unprecedentedly
low figure. The cause which has brought
about the lower prices is oyerproduction.
Notwithstanding the low prices the great
companies go on mining coal from month
to month at o greater rate than the mar
ket will take. In this respect the manage
ment Of the trade is as bad as it can be.
1t 10 almost inconceivable that the man.
ayers Of the great producing companies
| and the carriers of coal should continue to
send coal to market without relation
to the demand. There is not an
easier great business problem than
| adjusting the production Of anthracite
coal to the demand, but such is the greed
of some Of the carrying companies and the
necessities Of others that the market Is
constantly overstocked and the profits of
coal mining are narrowed and sometimes
lost. There is, however, pretense of
management Of the trade. Month after
month the representatives Of the leading
companies meet, and after comparing
notes as to the requirements Of the public,
agree on tonnage. But the agreement Is
constantly broken, and not man among
those who make it believes that it will be
kept.
The remainder of the Press article ia
chiefly devoted to minute history OF
the efforts Of q committee Of coal oper.
ators and agents to get the various
producing companies to agree to q new
liable of percentages OF output and to
discussion Of the many difficulties
| Iyryht tOh I, 10 Too haa
There are some inaccuracies in the ar
tiele. but its central point is unfortu-
nately too true. The coal trade today
is in the worst condition that it has
been in during many years; and unless
some decided and earnest ae-
tion shall soon be taken and
liyed-up to by those primarily
interested, the developments of the
next few months are certain to bring
new lessons in disaster Singularly
enough, in all the illusions that have
recently been made to this subject by
the newspapers and trade journals, the
real cause of the trouble has been over
looked. Difficult as it has been to get
the large New York mpanies to agree
to some fair basis of restriction, in Or
der that the trade might not utterly go
to pieces, and so that the work in the
mines might be fairly apportioned in
stead of being monopolizsd in some
sections while other colleries are idle
or on short time, this task has been
easy compared with the effort to
get the Pennsylvania Railroad COM
pany to act in unison with the
other companies. The Pennsylvania
has been willing at all times to profit
by tho restrictions OF the other com
paniss, and has manifested no shrink.
ing modesty in grabbing for the oyster
after the other fellows had opened the
shell; but it has steadily refused to go
into any agreement relative to re-
adjustment of percentages and has, by
its deliberate overproduction in excess
Of market needs, rendered futile the
restrictive efforts Of tho remainder OF
the trade and brought about the pres.
ent unprecedented instability Of mar
ket rulings.