The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-07-11
STRIKE MAY
BENEFIT WEST
Possibility Of Big Demand For
Bituminous Coal.
DEALERS LOOKING THIS WAY
ALL MINES IN THE EAST MAY BE
SHUT DOWN.


TT is AN ILL WIND that blows no.
/ body good. and the west may yet
reap the benefit of the coal strike
in the east if it assumes the proper
! tions which some are pessimistic
enough TO anticipate. 1t is a fact that
in the history of Pennsylvania coal
strikes no previous battle of this kind
watched with feelings of greater
alarm
a railroad man yesterday ventured
the assertion that a crisis is feared in
that stubborn contest which will leave
its mark upon the Industrial and COM
mercial world. Up to the present time.
he said, the strike has amounted sim
ply to a question of endurance on both
/ sides, Neither side has yet resorted
to the worst. Both parties to the con-
/ troversy are displaying a mild activity
in the hope that something will turn
up and end the trouble before further
mischief is done. This something"
has not turned UP yet. and it is not
/ likely to before cold weather.
Until now the industrial east has
managed to get along with the prod
+ ucts of the bituminous mines and is
using soft coal almost exclusively.
/ Some of the manufacturers viii prob
! ably never return to the higher priced
I anthracite coal and this loss the oper-
ators must fear unless they can make
! it UP in some other way. 1t is, how
ever, the intention, if the strike con-
4 tinues. to tie up the bituminous coal
mines in the east if it is found that
! satisfactory settlement of the difficulty
/ can be reached in no other way
Look to the West.
Here is where the danger threatens,
and the industrial world trembles in
! anticipation of the result. The eyes
of the commercial world in the east
are already turned upon the mines of
! the west to which they look for relief
| if the worst happens
! The present strike was not, as many
suppose, Matched out this spring 1t
is really a continuation of last Win
ter's strike, which was forced to a
/ temporary close by reason of the cold
weather, which necessarily brought
! discomfort to the miners as well as to
i the small consumers of coal.
Public sentiment also had its enect
upon the strikers and operators alike
But people living in the coal regions
/ knew that the strike was not over. IL
smoldered all winter and it was an
| open secret that it would be renewed
| in the spring
The Immediate cause of the strike,
saws the railroad man referred to was
| understood to be not so much for the
| increase of wages demanded, as for the
! reorganization of the strikers OrganlZd-
/ tions. which have been considered very
| strong in the coal regions In fact,
| the unions have been so strong that
| they Lave been next TO unbearable for
81 he TOWNS
and secretly they you'd like to see
| the organizations knocked out
Fate of Unions at Stake.
If the strikers win and the organi-
cation is recognized II is the general
sentiment tina better wages and a bet
| ter condition of the striker will neces-
| sarily follow 1t is generally admit
ted that whichever way the strike
! gees it will be the last one for several
/ wears to come as it will be a knock
out blow for the organization of the
/ strikers. in case of failure
Dealers in the east are parting with
coal very sparingly to even their reg
| uIar customers. as they do not know
when they will get any more Only the
! larger dealers had capital enough to
nut in a supply sufficient to meet such
| an emergency as the present enc.
/ Dealers were also Handicapped in put
ting in a large supply by reason of
the fact that a full seasons order Is
never filed at one time by the com
! pany.
1 This is to prevent the dealer from
taking advantage of the market end
! making too much. If a dealer buys in
! January, part of the order is shipped
at the prices prevailing at that time,
The rest of the order is shipped n in
| stallmentS at the convenience of the
operator and the dealer has to pay the
price prevailing at the time each in
| stallment of his order is filed, ~egard-
less of the prices prevailing when he
placed the order
The dealer receives 81 per ton fol
the coal he sells and there is now a
movement on the part of the EASTERN
operators to get the lions share of this
profit by wiping out the small deal
ers in cities like New York, Buffalo
and Chicago. and selling the coal di-
rect from one central agency in every
one of the larger cities
Delightful bathing at Saltair.