Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-21
FAULT OF OPERATORS
Failure to Relieve Anthracite
Coal Famine.
PRODUCT HELD BACK
INDEPENDENT CoMPANY's COAL
GIVEN THE PREFERENCE.
Freight and Flat Cars Stand Idle in
the Yards of Some Com
panies.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
SCRANTON, Pa, January 20 19O5.
A Star correspondent who made jour-
ney through the upper and middle sections
of the anthracite region found more imam
1000 miners who were unable to OBTAIN
work On the railroad sidings between
this city and Forest City, the northern Dor
der of the hard coal fields, propapiy
thousand cars filed with domestic sizes OF
coal were discovered. This coal has oeen
held on these sidings for a month Ihree
feet of snow covered the tops Oh the large
gondola cars which held this coal. Officials
of the coal-carrying roads refused, wnen
questioned, to explain why all this coal
had been held in reserve all this time Wnen
the country was suffering from a coal
famine About 10000 tons of coal are load
ed in these cars
Continuing the same investigations. The
Star correspondent interviewed employees
of every mine in these two sections OF the
anthracite region and found that 10 per
cent of them were unable. to secure more
than three cars day, and that the otner
10 per cent were not allowed more than nFe
and six cars for the same period. IN Some
parts of the region a number OF coliierles
have been closed, during the past week,
two and three days al time because tnere
was scarcity of cars. At other collierles
the miners were not able to get six cars In
three days.
Division of the Coal Region.
The officers Of the United Mine Workers,
the organization of the anthracite miners,
divide the hard coal fields into three sec
tions-the first district, which extends from
Forest City, Pa, to Nanticoke. Pa. dis
lance of fifty-two miles. This district COM
prises the two largest cities OF the anthra-
cite region, Scranton and Wilkesbarre, and
the collleries in this one section produce
two-thirds OF the total output. The other
two districts are No. and No Q. No.
includes the territory between Nanticoke
and HazeIton and No. the southern por-
ton of the anthracite fieidS-Pottsy1lle, Ma
honey City, Lansford. Tamaqua and several
smaller towns. The anthracite field ex-
tends through Pennsylvania for distance
of lao miles. The railroads which operate
in district No. / are the Delaware, Lacka-
wanna and Western. the Delaware and
Hudson, the Central Railroad Of New Jer-
sey the New York, Ontario and Western,
the Lehigh Valley and the Erie. and many
minor coal companies have their output car
ried by these roads.
The output of the Delaware and Hudson
for December was 521. 1913 tons. This road
has about eighteen coliieries and washeries.
At O1yphant, Priceburg Archibald, Jessup
and Cardondaie where the collieries OF this
road are located, The Star correspondent
talked to miners who were at work In these
collieries and found that the men are now
receiving four cars a day one day and three
cars a day the following two days. On the
railroad ''SidingS' at the cOlliereS OF this
road is a large part of the 100000 tons
which has been held in reserve, and as the
Delaware and Hudson seems to have more
coal than 1t can handle there are no very
good possibilities of it's employees being able
to put in a fair days work-a shift OF
eight or ten cars.