The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-10-23
NINE, MILL AND RAILROAD.

NINE, MILL AND RAILROAD.
Pittsburg advices from a source evil
IDENTIFY hostile to the Carnegies assert
that steel rails have been sold for
months by members of the steel rail
pool at prices considerably below the $24
a ton rate. According to this source Of
information It has been an open secret
that the $24 rate has been frequently
cut in the Southern and Western mar
kets. Conclusive evidence was found
this week showing that the pool has
lowered prices. Some weeks ago the
Carnegie Steel company placed bid
for the delivery of $1,000 tons of steel
rails in Indian Territory. The Choc-
taw Coal and Railroad company is
about to build line of railroad there.
The Colorado Iron & Coal company,
which has small rail mill at Pueblo,
placed bid against that of the Car
negie Steel Company and was able to
beat the big Pittsburg concern by a
margin of cents, owing to the railroad
freight rates. The Carnegie company's
bid was $2S.70 for rails delivered at Ok
lahoma City. The freight rate from
Pittsburg to Oklahoma quoted to the
Carnegie Steel company was $500 per
ton. This would make the Carnegie
rails in Pittsburg $21.60. This figure
is almost 81 lower than the rate offlc-
tally proclaimed by the pool. The Col
orado Iron and Coal company will be
forced to make some alterations and
enlargements inits mill to carry out the
contract 1t obtained. Heretofore this
company had not been regarded as a
competitor of the Steel Rail Trust, but
its success in bidding against the Car
negie company in this instance, it Is
argued, raises a competitor against the
Carnegie company in the west.
The rate cutting of the steel rail pool
has been confined principally to the
west and southwest. In the market
along the eastern seaboard and in the
northeast the $24 rate of the pool has
been pretty well maintained. The cut.
ting that has taken place in the south.
west began because the pool was forced
to protect itself from foreign rails,
which are brought to New Orleans by
water. The lowered tariff on the rails
in the new tariff law gave the foreign
manufacturers further opportunity to
compete with the American rails. This
is also true on the Pacific coast, where
European rails are being brought in
greater numbers than ever. 1t now
seems certain that the American manu-.
facturers will continue the pooling ar.
rangement of this year. 1t is said that
several meetings have already been
held with this object in view. Chair
man Fl. c. Frick and Vice-Chairman
John q. A. Leishman, of the Carnegie
Steel company, were in the east last
week and 1t is reported that they have
been attending a meeting of the steel
rail magnates. A gentleman compe-
tent to speak authoritatively stated
some days ago that the pool would GER
tainly be continued next year. He in
timated that 1t would be with the $24
rate prevailing"
In the opinion of John H. Martin, an
observant eX-railroader who now trav-
els at the head of leading theatrical
organization, the most serious thing
the passenger departments Of the rail-
ways have now to contend with Is
the trolley systems, which promise to
make serious inroads into their short
travel and suburban business. He cites
Allentown, where there is a group Of
five large cities all connected by troll
ley roads and carrying the people at
one-third the rates which the steam
roads have been charging on short trav-
el, and not taking much more time than
do the steam lines, when it Is consid-
cred that, eight times out of ten, the
trolley line takes the passengers to the
door of the place at which he wishes to
stop. On inquiry, Mr.. Martin found
that the Lehigh Valley, the Reading
and the Pennsylvania lines were feel
ing this competition very much in their
passenger earrings. Another instance
hn ntfoc In fha Tn1ia pnlic Tn1lrnn |
is between st. Paul and Min
neapolis. Between those cities are
four tracks of steam roads, and
in years past the travel be-
tween the two points has been large
and yielded large revenue to the
steam roads. Now there are several
trolley lines. The steam roads make the
run few minutes quicker, but charge
three timesas much, and the advantages
between the two, all things considered,
are quite equal, yet Mr.. Martin was told
by railway official of one of the st.
Paul steam lines that 1t would cut into
their revenue between those two points
at least 100000 year. Just at present,
Mr.. Martin says, the electric trolley lines
are making the most serious lnrUad5 on
passenger earnings of Pennsylvania
and New England roads, but there Is
no telling where this competition Will
end. In 1880 the first important electric
line was constructed, and little more
was done for five years, but in the last
three years rapid strides have been
made. Today there are at least $1,000
miles Of electric railways in the coun-
try, over which are run at least 10000
electric cars, and it is evident that cleo
trio lines have come to stay.
The official report of anthracite ton
mage for September, as prepared by w.
w. Ruley, gives the output 3,270,612 tons,
q decrease Of 343,S 1888 tons, as compared
with last year. For the year to date
the tonnage is 29,636,692 tons, decrease
of 1,5S5,2SS tons. Stocks of coal at tide
Tests recently made at the Luke FL
dler mine near Shamokin have proved
disappointing. 1t was found that 1t
would be absolutely impossible to open
up the water level tunnel for some
time. The gas escaping from all the
mine openings is very strong and ex-
tinguished the lights in all of the tests
made. 1t will now be necessary to
wait until the workings of No. 2 slope
have been filled with water before en-
tering the water level tunnel can be
thought of and it will require fifteen or
twenty days to accomplish this. The
-