The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-02-15
INDUSTRIAL TOPICS.


The big Illinois Steel company, with
its $50, ,OO0, 900 capitalization, earned only
$50, ,607 for it's stockholders in the year
1894.
Mr., Powderly has written to the min
ers' national convention, advising min
ers to withdraw from the Knights of
Labor and start an association of their
own
General Manager Henderson, of the
Reading Coal and Iron company, says
the coal trade is In IL better condition
than 1t has been for some time, but,
owing to only one track in various
places being open, the movement of coal
is slow.
Report of the Lehigh Valley Railway
company for the quarter ended Dec. 81,
1894, filed with the New York state rail-
road commission. shows: Gross earn
ings from operation, $l,199, ,973; operat-
ing expenses, $7i4 1888; net earnings,
Si25,0i0; fixed charges, $209077; net in
come, S2i5.963. Net income for the cor
responding quarter the year previous
was $lO67iS.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Andrew p.
milk transportation company which
controls the business all along the Le-
high Valley railroad. was at the Girard
house Wednesday, and as he gazed out
of the window from the reading room,
wondered if more billiards. We're in
store TO keep him in harness day and
night for week. Speaking of the diff
Guilty OF bringing milk into the city
during such weather as happened last
week, he told how the Lehigh Valley
officials had helped to prevent a milk
famine in Philadelphia by running in
milk cars on their fast trains. even
taking off Pullman coaches in order to
provide for the transit.
According to ruling of the supreme
court of Pennsylvania recently, it was
decided that coal royalties are princi-
pal, and not interest: in other words,
they are classed in the same category
as fixed value on real estate Under
this decision it is held that such royal
ties can not be classed as income and
can not be taxed under the income tax
law. The commissioner of internal
revenue has decided. however, accord
ing to the general Interpretation in
pamphlet law {, No. Z, that the royal
ties are purely income" and come un-
der the tax provisions. With the Penn
sylvania supreme court holding one
view. and United States official ex-
pressing another directly opposite,
| chances for litigation appear to the
Stockholder to be good.
Slipless wheels for trolley cars form
the problem which Leonard Roll, a
WilkesBarre mechanic, seeks to solve
! by means of a recently issued patent
The rims Of the wheels proposed by
| him have slots in them. These slots
are so tapering that they do not choke
up and they cut through the snow and
ice like a saw. The ordinary wheel is
smooth, and the moment it strikes an
| icy rail or a lot of snow it whirrs
around and the car can proceed no
farther. The slipless wheel grinds
| through this to the rail and throws the
accumulation of snow and ice to the
| side Of the track. Trials made on the
lines of the Wilkes-Ba and Wyoming
| Valley railroad indicate an unexpected
| degree of success in the invention. 1t
| is thought Mr.. Roll will realize hand
some returns on his invention.
Philadelphia Inquirer: The bitumn.
Gus coal trade season has begun under
| circumstances almost as discouraging
as those that prevail in the anthracite
trade. The contract for supplying the
Grand Trunk road with fuel has been
awarded at as low or even lower figure
| than ruled last year. Before any bids
We're put in the principal railroads
| agreed not to cut rates but to get more
| for transportation than they did in 1894
and to support no bidder who did not
| conform to this agreement. Yet the
contract for Portland deliveries has
| been awarded to the Beech Creek inter-
est at price which seems to imply that
the railroad company has cut the
| freight rate 20 cents n ton or more.
The contract for 100000 tons for de-
| livery at Suspension Bridge was
awarded to the Buffalo. Rochester and
| Pittsburg interest at price slightly
| less than ruled last year, when the
| price was considered exceptionally
| low. To say that the Pennsylvania,
Baltimore and Ohio. Norfolk and
Western and other tidewater shippers
are highly incensed at the action OF
the Beech Creek Is to put the case
very mildly. They claim to know per-
feotly well what II costs to mine Beech
Creek coal and what the vessel
freights are from Port Richmond to
Portland and they declare positively
that the Beech Creek has violated It's
| agreement. and has cut rates Just as
1t did last year. The Grand Trunk
contract Is always the first to be
awarded and this unexpected develop
ment may work disaster when the
next contract comes up. Certainly It
has destroyed confidence among all
the soft coal producers who now have
no faith in the honesty of their COM
petltors. Last year was disastrous
one to the soft coal carriers because
of the strike and the low prices that
prevailed and the strain was too much
for the Norfolk and Western, which
was compelled to seek the protection
of the court. But this year opens
worse than last year did and if the
rates fixed by the Beech Creek con-
tract with the Grand Trunk are to
prevail universally then there is q pos.
sibility that one and perhaps two more
bituminous carriers may be forced into
receivers hands this year. The award
of the next important contract will tell
the story.
| - ---------