The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1899-03-15
MINES AND MINERS.
Bill Introduced In the New Jersey Legislature to
Prevent the Formation oithe Oh
gantic Coal Trust.


Prevent the Formation oithe Oh
gantic Coal Trust
Assemblyman Abbott mas introduced
In the house OF the New Jersey Assem-
bly,. resolution against the proposed
combination OF the coal-carrying com
panies of the country, asking the at
torney-general II there Is no existing
law In this state under which such a
combination could be prevented; to
draft bill covering the subject. with
penalties. The resolution was tabled
before its character was explained.
Simpson a. Watkins OF Scranton, Pa,
have erected consolidation OF the
eight different coal companies In which
they are interested and disposed of
them to syndicate. Incorporated un-
der the title of the Temple Coal Com
pany and having n capital stock OF
S2,500,0O0. They retain an interest and
Mr.. Watkins becomes president and
general manager.
The Sauntry iron mine. on the Mes
aba range, has Just been sold to the
American Steel and Wire Company.
The price expressed In the deed Of
transfer liz $4,000 and other valuable
considerations, but IL rs said the actual
figure Is 100000 The mine covers FIVE
"forties." and lies one-half mile north
or the Virginia The one Is OF n mixed
character. about the same as the Oliver
mine. The bulk of IL Is non-bessemer.
but there are spots that contain good
bessemer ore.
The deposits Of Camel coal near Hill
Dale, KY, will be investigated during
the coming spring. There is said to be
good coal In the Vicinity, but the seams
are thin and the land is owned by many
small farmers who probably have an
exaggerated idea Of its value.
DR.. Eugene Smith, State geologist,
has estimated the mineral production
of Alabama for the past year as fol-
lows Coal, 6,509,22S short tons; coke.
l.39O254 short tons; iron ore, 2,202. 1853
long tons; pig iron, 1.026,459 long tons:
stone for nux, 499, $50 long TONS beaux-
lite. 1888 long tons; lime, 127,5SS bar
rels.
For the past ten days A. Howard
Fleming of Fairmount, w. va, repre-
senting n number Of Pittsburg and
Western Pennsylvania capitalists. has
been leasing coal rights on lands on the
west side of the Monongahela river di-
rectly opposite Morgantown and ex-
tending back three miles. Three
thousand acres have been leased or Sc
cured by ten-day options. and Mr..
Fleming says that IL will not be many
weeks until one OF the biggest coal and
coke plants in this section Will be
built. The coal Is of fine quality and
the vein sixteen feet thick in many
places.
The steamship Venus arrived in
Delaware Bay recently burning sugar
as fuel. All woodwork which could be
spared had already been consumed and
to reach port Ii was necessary to use n
portion of the cargo. worth $50 ton.
On the same day another vessel
stopped at Lewes for coal. She was en-
route from Maurtius to Boston and
had only 20 tons left in her bunkers.
Senator Cunningham's convict bill,
which passed the Alabama Senate
opens the way for the solution o. the
convict problem. It's most important
provisions are those which require that
from January /, 1900, not more than
one-half the convicts sentenced to
hard labor for the state shall be hired
or leased to mine operators and that no
county convicts shall work in the
mines
a Pennsylvania paper says In regard
to sending Anthracite abroad:-"If the
operators owned their own ocean
freighters we think they could afford
to carry their own coal at $1.00 less
than the present rates and land our
coal In the market at cost of 50 cents
less than the English product. This Is
the important question for them 10 de-
termine and their interests demand
that they investigate IL at once" There
will be little heard OF this scheme after
the leases are renewed.
Naturally Washington operators do
not want any change made in the tariff
on coal and the new Senator from the
Northwest, Mr.. Simon, has been writ
ten to upon the subject OF G. ]. Smith,
general manager OF the Oregon I'm
provement Co. and the Pacific Coast
Co., which controls the principal mines
on the coast. The duty on coal is a
many sided question. The Ohio oper-
ators would like nothing better than re-
ciprocal free trade, but at the extreme
East and West protection Is necessary
II the industry Is to thrive on this side
of the line. New England politicians
are not anxious that the coal trade
should thrive as their people are con-
sumers, not producers. II Senator
Simon pays any attention to the letter
asking for his assistance he will find
that he has entered upon a perplexing
subject.
The expectation Of Pennsylvania
Bituminous coal from Philadelphia to
the West Indies, South America and
Mexico has steadily increased since the
close of the Spanish war. over 81. GAL
tons, representing thirty cargoes,
ranging from 256 to 1000 tons each have
been shipped by local dealers since
January l.