The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-04-12


capacity, examined witnesses, and the readers
Of the HERALD have been furnished with a
steuographic report of the testimony This
committee is composed of two Senators and
three members of the lower House. all men
above thc average in intelligence, aud who
apparently have an earnest desire to CLEAN all
tho Information possible as to the condition
OF the mine work cri with q view to sub
mitting remedy for the present condition Of
affairs ia this and other sections of the state.
That there is suffering aud want is ad
mitted on all sides. Ii was not necessary for
a Legislative committee to take evidence TO
ascertain this fscr. amy representative from
the coal regions could lave furnished amy
amount Of information of tLis character and
saved to Tie tIxuuyers of the state the cN-
pense attending suci au investigation as the |
one now in progress. We believe that the /
members 1T the committee as at present
constituted. are houc-t and capable and are .
engaged in un effort 10 pl,an ail the in,Or-
nation possible, without fear or favor; they, |.
however, sire not -eopOusi1!e for the ap-
poiutnent of the COMMITTEES, and any failure /
in this Investigation win mot rest with them. F.
1t was nu, lhc ohiettuf the promoters of
this iu e5dgitiou Go relieve the d.stresstd .
miner for the love They bore him, they saw
in the little scheme nice juukctiug trip and
at the same time am opportunity to secure
political buucombc for themselves and
a club to u.e upon the coal compauies-at the
expense of the taxpayers But in this they
failed, for the reason that the prime movers
were not named as members Of the committee.
The expense will be great enough as it is;
but imagine, if you can, what it would have
been had the efforts of some Of tho solons
been successful in having committee of forty
appointed instead of five as at present con-
stituted with champagne and divers other
good things as the chief equipments
As We have previously stated the members
Of the committee are no doubt honest in their
intentions, and should be encouraged rather
than hampored in their efforts to alleviate
the suffering Of the mine workers and those
dependent upon them. That the commission
will apply every means in their power to
remedy the existing state of affairs, is
evident from the tono of interviews had
with members Of the commission by a
representative of the HERALD. They know
very well that the prevailing dullnoss all
over the country i'm every avenue of trade,
is responsible for the hard times in tho coal
regions, where the effect is last felt, and no
legislature, no investigating committee can
take any action that will remedy this evil.
The evidence so far submitted to the COM
mittee, so far as the cause Of the depression
Of the coal trade is concerned tends in one
direction-uamely an overproducton, with
surplus Of labor This fact was we'll known,
and it did not require an investigation to
bring it to tine attention of the Legislature.
The explanation for the slack demand for
anthracite coal is easily furnished by the
statistics Of production. In1S7O the anthra-
cite companies produced l6,1S2, l91 tons of
prepared sizes, Oh which most Of the profit
is secured, and the production Of bituminous
coal in that year was 10, 500 600 tons. In the
ten years to 1880, pea and buckwheat, on
which there is little profit, was sold to the
extent of 2243, ,72l tons, prepared sizes to
$1,000, 900 tons, and bitumiuOus had more
than doubled to 80, OOO 600 tons. In 1895 pea
and buckwheat sizes had nearly doubled, and
in that year 10, ,144, 500 tons we're sold against
2s 125, 500 tons of prepared sizes, while the
ulLAuAluhNh BlhAAtAlDu WAS AbDtbNuioNb louhi
Taking these facts into consideration, the
secret of the depressed condition Of the an
thracite trade upon which our people SO
largely depend for a livelihood, is found in
the increased use of small sizes on which
profit is little or nothing and the enormous
production Of soft coal. The displacing Of
the old prepared sizes by the steam sizes and
soft coal is increased by the use Of gas and
electricity aud this promises to con-
tinue. This is what ails the coal trade, and
what has robbed the anthracite carriers Of
their business
As we predicted at the time the inyestigat-
ing committee was appointed, their inquiry
has elected nothing that was not already
known to the members of the Legislature
from this county, and more especially the
upper districts. They could, if they
so desired have furnished the members Of
the Legislature with all this information,
avoiding the expense Of a trip 20 hissection.
The present session Of the Legislature tends
strongly to investigations-no less than four
now being engaged in their 'arduous"
duties in different parts Of the state,
Investigations I'm the past have borne little
fruit, and we may expect no more from those
now in progress, no matter how conscientious
the members o. the committees may be.
1t is to be hoped that the line Of iuvesti-
CATION will tend in another direction from
that pursued in AIahanoy City, when the in
yestigators come to Shenandoah. Here they
will find any number of witnesses conversant
with the coal trade whose viows upon the
subject may materially assist the members Of
the committee
If the legislators can devise some way in
which 10 induce the companies TO work their
collieries on full time, they viii have reached
the root Of an our trouble, and they will re-
oeiye the thanks of all friends of the work
ingmau. But can they do it? So far nc
remedy has been suggested by those who
have appeared before the committee. The
latter in the words Of Chairman Meredith
cannot make the collieries CO." If the
Legislature can regulate tho law Of demand