The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-07-23
COAL SNEAKED OUT
ACCORDING TO ONE STORY COMING
FROM KANSAS CITY.
1t IL Charged That Roads Running East
Out of That Town are Transferring
Western Coal From Flat to Box Cars,
Running Them Down the Line and Re-
billing. and SO Repeating the Operation
Until the Coal il Where 1t VIII Hurt the
Strikers worst-OmcIals Deny the
Charce-The Strike Outlook.
ChargeJThe Strike Outlook.

Kansas City, July Pin the Hanni
bal railroad yards three long strings o
flat cars. lcsded 10 the brim with sof
coal. stand on tracks beside empty DO.
cars Forty or fifty negroes are a
work shoveling the coal into the long
lines OF box cars. It is believed tina
the coal thus transferred is for secret
SHIPMENT in the closed cars 10 railways
In the fuel famine regions of the east.
What does all this work mean?" ask
Cd A man of one Of the laborers this af-
ternoon.
ut means" replied the man gravely
"the breaking up OF the strike in the
sast''
rs this coal going there?"
you bet it Is, came the answer
quickly.
.of course it is not billed there from
here"
This coal is sent down to Carrollton.
cont.nded the man, ''for instance, and
then re-billed to some point a little fur
Their east. The reason this is done IS TO
gradually make II lose its identity"
The Burlington brought 500 cars OF
coal last week. The coal that is trans
ferred in the company's yards is shovel
ed from Missouri Pacific and Memphis
fat cars 10 burlington and Missouri
River and Chicago, and Burlington and
Quincy box cars. Part OF it comes from
the Rich Hill. No. mines.
Officials of the Hannibal freight de-
partment profess ignorance OF the real
reason for transferring the coal.
Il can't tell you anything about that"
were the short answers OF three officers
who were asked today. One Of them
finally said 1t was put in the company's
cars 10 avoid paying mileage on others.
He said the Hannibal always used box
cars for carrying coal, having none of
the open variety.
1t was not expected that the Burlins-
ton would move a lump Of the 800 cars
Of coal. recently purchased. on its rails
until the strike was ended. 1t seems
now that the fuel was bought for east
ern roads and that it is proposed to
snuggle il through the strike boundaries
in closed cars.
II. l.. Harmon. general southwestern
sgen Of the Burlington, denies absolute
~ that ms company is shipping any coal
into the eastern strike district, and de-
flares that the shipments out of here
IN box cars are not in the least unusual.
In an interview he explained that the
coal was being shipped to the company's
regular supply stations at ST. Joseph,
Brookfield, Quincy and Burlington, as
has been done for months past, and that
the transferring into box cars was sim
ply done to avoid a double haul. Mr..
Harmon added that It would be suicidal
. for the management Of any western rail-
road at the present time. to snip or
Emuggle coal into the eastern strike dis
trict.
T. y. McGregor. national organizer In
the western states for the United Mine
Workers of America. arrived here to-
night In an interview he stated that
should coal be shipped from Kansas or
Missouri into the eastern district it
would result in an immediate strike in
those states. He added. however that
under the present circumstances. he did
not believe in a sympathetic strike in
the west, though he added that Pres
nent Ratchford favored the calling out
81 the miners in this district