The sun., 1902-10-20
THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.

| money by the Secretary of the Treasury.
| As for the business community. it was at
| no time greatly troubled either by the coal
| strike or the money stringency in Wall
| Street; and hence while il il nightly glad
| that the difficulty with the miners has been
! arranged-realizing that tho matter was
becoming serious--it Is going about its
! affairs steadily and without undue exhile-
! ration as before. Every one rejoices
! naturally. that tho miners are going TO
work again and that the suffering and
| financial losses which would have followed
| aprolongation Of the strike In cold west her
| have been averted. or nearly so. 1t is
| cause for congratulation. too, that the
| recognition of the miners union was not
admitted and that nothing was conceded
by the GOAL operators in the settlement
| that violated moral justice. self-respect
or property right. Nevert heless there is
| certain class Of people-old fogies. Of
course-who feel that after all that may
be said has been said in praise of the way
this difficulty was adjusted. peace has
yet been purchased az a pretty costly price
and a precedent has been erected that
| may assume some day an ugly form. II
is the precedent of settling disagreements
between employers Of labor and their men
by political interference. IL is the prece-
dent that lawlessness and anarchy. backed
up by ignorant and milksop mediation"
and the personal ambitions of those high in
office. may win in struggle with law and
order. Hereafter every leader of striking
workmen as Is clearly seen from the
mockng and exutant letter that the leader
of the coal strikers sent TO President Roose-
welt after the close of negotiations last
week-wil undoubtedly appeal TO he Presi-
dent of the United States for assistance
whenever violence and murder have failed
him and his cause is desperate; and hereafter
every President Of the United States. and
especially every President who desires
second term, will feel tha, he may clasp
and fawn upon the blood-stained hand that
is thrust, half defantly. in his face.
The financial and industrial influences
OF the long pause In operations in the
anthracite country will be widespread
The first thought taken of the matter by
those close 10 the stock market is that of
the great money losses that the coal rail-
roads have sustained. Estimates run all
the way from one year 70 five years of the
time that must elapse before the dana ge
will be repaired. The miners. too, have
min" owners-perhaps more; and dimnu-
tion Of general purchasing power in the
coal regions will be experienced for long
time. There are those who maintain
that the railroads will recoup them
selves quicker than may be supposed by
reason Of tn" high prices which they will
get for coal for months to come Indeed
ono of th" men most largely Interested In
nj bragitn r,,i, ,l,
that he did not believe the p ice Of anthra.
cite would ever in future 60 "a low by 81 50
ton "a il had done in the past The
prophecy seems a rash one, but il illus
'rates tho strong belief Of the anthracite
p"opl" in the permanence and growth Of
IN" value Of their property. On the other
hand, the opinion il general among
large former Users of anthracite that soft
coal will hereafter dispace the old fuel to a
great extent 4 great manufacturer Of
New England who uses ordinarily 100 900
tons of anthracite in his business each
year, but who has been using soft coal
Of necessity since the strike, said in private
recently that he doubted very much if
his furnaces continued TO burn anthracite
IN future. Bituminous coal was much
cheaper and the various devices for using
II economically and in ceanly shape had
obyiated nearly all the old disadvanta apes
attaching TO il. II il the belief in the in
creased u-" Of soft coal that underlies the
upward movement in the stock mar.
kot in tho stocks of the soft coal rail-
roads. On" other matter relating TO the
coal question must be mentioned. Il
j. the universal judgment Of intelli-
gent and dispassiona'e students of con-
ditions in the coal regions that the root
Of the trouble in the anthracite mining
industry lies in the overplus of labor
there, the fact that thero are more men
seeking work and getting it in desul-
tory fashion than there il work to do
l. needless to discuss here how
all this happened and who l. to blame
for il. Probably operators and men,
thoS" of former years a. we'll as of to-day,
are both AZ fault But no settlement Of
the coal trouble will he abiding that does
not mitigate if it does not abolish, this
fundamental evil.
At the moment affairs in Wall Street and
the security markets seem to rest i'm this
wise. With the coal strike thing of the
past and tight money unloo,cd by the
Secretary of the Treasury, the two great
weights Keeping the market down have
been removed. l. the bull fever" then.
which was drenched in cold water a month
ago, 20 be renewed? The activity of gem
cral business has been going on famouslv
while Wall Street was dcSponding IL
was not hurt in the least 10y the storm
that passed and was at no time
in need of shelter or succor; of that
there Is not the slightest doubt Prices
Of securities hav" had only normal re-
action of ten points after an advance Of
much more, due To the usual stringency of
money in IN" autumn. Why should not
thos" prices return 10 tho levels reached
in th" eager midsummer day-, and even
ri~" To higher attitudes? Here stands the
Secretary Of the Treasury ready to "re-
ll"Vr th" tension" at any time Such
j. tho argument of operators for he rise,
Il must b" admitted that the Secretary of
the Treasury has shown himself kconly
alive to the high responsibilities of his
place. He has put at the disposal of tho
money market within a month. actually
and potentially, nearly 500 ,OoO, 900. As tho
amount of money absorbed into the Treas
urv 10y reason of the excess of Government
rrcripiS over expenditures has been only