New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-01-30
ON THE TYNE.

sTRIKE-FIGHTlNG AMERI-
CANS WITH THEIR
OWN WEAPONS.
Newcastle. January 10.
n this busy English town. foulei by the
...,dse ~ coal traffic and the breath Of ma
chine factories there are two chief topics OF
,rblic discussion-the effect or foreign compeu-
i,a &, the iron trade and the disastrous con-
..oueoces 81 the engineering strike Newcastle
~, from being one of the largest coal-export-
-, norris IN the world. and one OF the great
.a-.rss OF ship building. is city Of iron foun-
s,ee ordnance factories. locomotive works ana
.,,e shons Whatever affects the iron and
,-oar,rr trades Of the United Kingdom IL
-. -e,t IN the manufacturing industries CEN
80 ., the banks OF the Tyne and on the out
,,,S coast Of Northumberland and durham
- counting-roOm, factory and commercial
.x.bange rises a loud and sharply accen'ua'eu
,r,,laint that England's iron industries are
,rerinz from foreign competition ana iaoo'
,siots and that much profitable business -
oo,,c abroad which ought to be kept al nome
~. ,e-ive burr OF the Northumorlan dlaiec' Is
.h,clest and most rasping when these topics
seo,,ssod. and little else is talked about on
the Tyne -, ,xo,o, oo-n
i,chont ENGLAND and Scotland. Nearly all
A. ,-ovincial cities are now in the maiNe' VIZ"
s..L,rgs for the extension Of tramWay ser
-. CONSTITUTION Of electric for horse trac-
49, -. enlargement IL facilities Tor eleC''lo
80 and other schemes q municipal III
o. The revolution in street-rah"AS
!-..,,or long deferred in England and seo'@"u
.a.,,g n municipal conservatism Is 10" III
s,rg after It has been successiuiE d0'o'''
$50 g., the United States Germany ana o'"e'
I..r,es one town council after ah"'"e'
..y,,q practical measures to dispense
10 trar1ways and to introduce an IN
-o,.ed system az electric traction -'o' -.
-. has there been vast an amount
.... work from municipalities IN the maj
I'd the town councillors are shre"o e0o"
twists. who insist upon honorlns '"e
bids tho nrartical
what startles the iron trade Is Inv 20. :,
w. IN. much Of this municipal "ork Is
awarded 10 foreign contractors. ~ ol.r T.. ,r-
-,a &c extending about So.uooVV III III
eAa"'i'e' . -io-o,ng the tramway service, and
49, Contract for rails has been placeu III
&c" 1,,.,,o,,th in introducing electric trao-
~ s.~ae, railways has awarded Il iai -
~, - ., American firm The Aorks"IiV
IN having a contract to make 4V'
''' ..r,.ice received bids from freno"'
German and English manufacturers
rs The lowest was the French O'u' ""O -
....-.ea Two American and TWO "si -''
w.. I've close behind It. but the hhsIs"
80 entirely out Of the running "'aS7
ue'S w. 49,. o4o entered into contract VII"
.u.~i,ar house for large supply %
g.. -o,,. threatening % make afldise'"e
.or electric traction either III Oeii''@''
United States s.. the trar,vay ser-
tvan IN Manchester where the "N''- -.
,oa & as good as it can be with nor So ,~o
49,. oars there is now prospect OF inc nv ~.
so.t,, Of electric power. and TINS VIII '
i.-ge expendiSures for plant Inc -.
,,-s.,on has recently purchased inc .,
l;rh, royer and fixtures OF prNo'e -.
"s.' ~, areatlv enlarge the service Giasso"
ana wiz ,a~-. UNDERTAKINGS on hand. Nor
~, plactnool. Oldham, Halifax b!achoui"
"ic"' - are introducing municipal i'm
--...s-,en.s on large scale. ana prepd''"s
.,s;derahle expenditures. WORK OF 'h'S
49, r,ersb and Scotch contractors na'uid"'
~ - sacure without serious conpeli'o"
~, -. .re o4artened vh-n they nHu NV
- go, America or Germany lower than 'hef
- - ~..,s - electric mechanism MIN 0H0
. ,,s~ufacturers attribute their own Io-'
- o., ,eA0 the cost of Qroouctoh Oh
nt.h foreign competition 70 the evil 'e"ue"0''
p. rrg,ish t~ades-union;sm, 10y Wnich 'H7 ~
,-od,,,,on e labor-savins nachii'e!' II {.
and the oheapening Of mechanical
,revanted Many Of them assert 'ha' oo'''p
IT, ,,r he jnrracticable unless they regain
eornrlete control of their business
TRADE LOSSES IN ENGLAND
-,.,. es IN other ship-bunding centres
Affected by the engineering strike 'he'e u"
is-ce amount Of retarded work Inc 'oi'""e
- ,,-aa~ construction exceeds 10000, and at
Sunderland there IS over 153.0oD and al marc
no., e,a on the Tees there IS additional
-. p. AZ 600 At each point there is an
,,o-eaee. .ornage under construction In com
,a-ieo, with the record at the opening OF the
--.,.,o,,s YEAR Much of IL is work which would
bave hem nn,shed last year If the engineering
.rsse b.d NOT been partly disabled by the labor
STRUGGLE The shipping trade Itself has pros
nered during The last eighteen months OWING
largely - heavy shipments OF wheat from
America When there was an active ifeith''"s
business SIX months ago. every vessel tha'
could Hoat was pressed into service, ana the
merchant feet was not large enough LOT '"e
,~,de cbi,,,.,o-s were benefited by the en-
cheering strike. which prevented the coiIP'e
,io- o. vessels under Construction and the lower
INC ,, frAf~hts There was renunerative
business IN ocean freights Tor many shPs anu
steamers which had narrowly escaped condem-
nation as unseaworthy and out-ofTdate
The effect of this Married revival OF the
,reghtlng business during two seasons mas peeh
an increased demand for new vessels "h''1
the strike was IN progress and work was re-
tarded In English shipyards, many ORDERS We're
diverted - German and French shlpya'uS'
large as Is the tonnage now under cohs'ruo-
ton. much Of It being belated work. II IS al
open secret that many contracts have peeh ios'