The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-02-03

these additional reforms in coal trade
policy. the presidents agreement Will
amount to little. How utterly absurd
has been the recent status of the trade
may be judged from the fact that, with
all it's increase in percentage of total
anthracite production from 20.02 In 1894
to 2l.F in 1895. the Reading Coal and
Iron company lost on its mining opera
tions In 1895 no less than $6S9. 500. against
profit of $26S. 553 i'm 1894. These are the
net income figures reckoned before al
lowance of any interest payment or 9TH
er charge on capital. They prove plain
ly enough that the Reading was prob
ably all the worse off last year for its
l1a per cent. increase in percentage of
coal mined. This may explain the COM
pany's eventual consent to q reduction
in its newly arranged percentage" The
Inquirer, however. which has been the
Readings chief organ, Is irreconcilably
disgruntled. 1t says: But one opin-
ion can be held of the result of the an
thracite coal presidents meeting on
Thursday. and that is that II Is a decid-
ed setback for the Reading company.
The issue at stake was moral rather
than material. 1t was whether the
con, ,pany should be an aggressive factor
In the trade or should yield to the de-
mand of its competitors as 1t has in the
pi 81. Since 1879 the Reading has stead
ily lost ground. being forced back from
the control Of 295s per cent. of the out
put until in one year It had less than
~. The whole growth of the trade was
absorbed by competing companies, who
were able 20 carry their point because
OF the pecuniary difficulties OF the
Reading. Two years ago the point was
reached where resistance became neCeS-
sary and Mr.. Harris has Since made q
manful fight for u per cent. of the ton
mage. He has Dersistently refused to
take less. A year ago the managers
stated it would be idle to attempt to re-
organize the company with less. On
April 30. 1895. the receivers after refus-
ing arbitration on the percentage mat
ter declared that the only remaining
questions were those of arithmetical
calculation About u year ago the New
Jersey Central officers made a deter
mined attempt to adjust the percent
ages. and the Reading was virtually Of
fered 2Ol. per cent Had Mr.. Harris ac-
cepted this the whole matter could have
been adjusted. But he determnedly de-
clined. and in this he was sustained by
his co-receivers, his directors and every
large stakeholder. Meanwhile the
Reading was slowly but surely estab-
fishing the fact that ii could mine and
was entitled to mine q per cent This
impression was gaining ground every
where. 1t was becoming recognized that
the Reading had made its point. Only
week ago one of the receivers de-
clared the company would not accept
lass than 81 per cent. Yet on Thursday
it accepted eOla. Why? OF course the
moral strength that Reading has Sc
cured in its long fight is now swept
away. 1t has yielded just as 1t yielded
in all the gloomy period from 1879 to
1893. 1t will evidently not resist an ag-
gressive task. Some potent influence
was evidently brought to bear upon the
Reading managers to induce them to re-
cede from their position. If it was not
the reorganization pool that brought
this pressure to bear 1t would be inter-
esting to know who it was. The pool
expects to make a good round sum by
speculation in the stock market and
to do this 1t would be willing to sacrifice
the interests of the junior security
holders. AS for the material effect of
Thursdays action. 1t is hard to esti-
mate. The Reading refused 2Ola per
cent. year ago. and evidently consid-
cred the extra one-half. per cent of
great importance. At all events, there
can be no better authority on this point
than President Harris. who just three
weeks ago stood up before his stock
holders and read the following para
graph from his annual report: This
detailed statement of the history of the
present contest is made to show that
the position taken and maintained by
Reading during the year 1895. in rela-
tion to It's proper proportion Of the coal
business, was the only way in which it
could secure that share of the anthra-
cite trade to which 1t believed itself
to be fairly entitled, and which it must
obtain if it Is to regain property or
even solvency.'"
49,
The New York World is of the opinion
that under the velvet glove of an
agreement an iron hand has been laid
upon the great anthracite coal business.
and that hand belongs to j. Pierpont
Morgan. From this time on the eleven
giant concerns engaged In mining and
coal from the hard coal regions
will obey the mandate Of their new
leader. There will be no more steady
underselling. no more secret over-pro-
duction. for henceforth, like a gigantic
trust, these companies will operate in
concert. The agreement reached on
Thursday is to run from Feb. l. 1896.
to Jan. 1. 1897, but it will not stop there
unless something unforeseen happens.
The idea of the presidents is to make
an organization on the same basis as
the Trunk Line association. Offices will
be rented. a bureau of statistics will be
formed and exact tonnage returns will
be demanded. A committee. composed
of Presidents Thomas, Maxwell, Will
bur. Harris and Walters, will act as
permanent board of control and arbi
tration and rules and regulations will
be made covering every detail of the
business. The headquarters Of the COM
mittee will be In New York city"
-.-:-
A prospector named Nash organized an
oil company up Tunkhannock Creek last
year, and a site has now been staked
out for a we'll at Carpenter Hollow. 1t
is expected that a test we'll will be put
down this season.
The North Branch Steel works. at
Danville, after an idleness OF two
months. resumed operations last Thurs
day morning, with good prospects for
the balance of the winter. The Dan
vile Stove and Manufacturing COM
pany will also resume work today.
II. S. Mercur. outside foreman for the
Lehigh Valley Coal company, at their
Heidelberg No. 2 colliery, has resigned
his position to accept more lucrative
one near his old home in Philadelphia.
Joseph White, foreman at the Heidel-
berg No. colliery. will take Mr.. Mer-
ours place, and Charles Smith. from
the Henry colliery. Port Bowkley, has
been promoted and will take Mr.. Win
ties position as outside foreman at
Heidelberg No. 1. These changes all
took place Feb. /.
-.-..
The Delaware. Lackawanna and
Western Railroad cOmpanyS statement
for year ending Dec. 81 Is as follows:
1885,. 1894. Increase
Gross .... .$44 2Ol, 1903 $43. .O5S. .SG2 81 l43,0T
Op. expenses. 81 All, ,003 $4,000. 1876 1iSl ,Sll
Fixed charges. 5,lOG239 5.4l2.3o3 "6,Ost
Balance ....... 1,35i.6Gl 1.637.3i4 '2s2. .G3,;
Decrease.
Dividends 1854 900. deficit Si79,3S9.
against a deficit i'm 1894 of $l96,656. The
net profit of company for 1895 was equal
to 5.f7 per cent. on the capital stock,
againSt GA ner cent. in 1892 II 04 per