The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1906-05-17
COAL CONSUMERS
SAVED s25,0OO,OOO
John Mitchell Discovered Op.
orators Had 100000
Tons Stored.
PART OF 6AER STRATEGY
line Owners Kept Secret the Amount
Of Soai on Hsnd-csliina on
Striks Means Much to
the Country.

Philadelphia. May is.-whlt hav.
The PEOPLE OF America saved through
John Mitcheils action In preventing an
Rnthracite strike:
Eliminating the cost In human lives
and injuries. the wages OF the mine
workers and the loss to the wage earn
srs and capitalists In the host OF In
iustriai establishments which would
Dc affected by "A prolonged suspension.
and calculating only the extra price
the consumers would be obliged To- pay
Tor the reserve stocks ~ coal held by
the operators. the saving which has
been accomplished IL tremendous
Al no time during the suspension did
The railroad operators and the inie-
pendents give anything approaching a
detailed estimate OF their reserve
stocks. This was kept secret from the
public and the miners ms n bit OF the
Bacr strategy with which the battle
was To have been fought.
Eighteen Million Tons Stored.
John Mitchell sought the informa-
ton. and when he could not find IL di-
rectly from the companies obtained IL
In his way. His investigation satisfied
him that the stocks would have lasted
well into the winter. and. ut the high
rates which would have been extorted
mer. the mountains OF coal would have
yielded enormous profits To their hold
crs.
This knowledge was potent In infiu-
encing Mitchclls advice To the mine
workers. He found that within 100
miles OF New York city more than
5000. 900 tons, mostly domestic sizes
were heaped. and that as much more
could be counted upon In the storage
yards ut Bridgeport. Port Richmond,
81. Nicholas and other points In Penn
sylvania. and In the output OF the OPP
Grated washeries and collieries like the
cayusa. Oxford and Bellevue. In Scran-
ton.
Reduction Comes Quickly.
From these $1,000. 900 tons 20 cents
per ton has been cut by one brief SEN
tcncr from the anthracite trusts head
quarters In the Reading terminal. the
very day the anthracite miners voted
against a strike.
This announced deduction In from the
list prices OF anthracite. and In far low
er than the real gain TO the people.
Calculations upon the 40-cent basis
shows that the people saved nt least
s. .sO0. 900 on the is.O00.OoO tons which
the operators had or would produce.
hut the real saving To the people. as
has been said. In the price OF coal II
much greater than 20 cents. The retail
price OF domestic sizes fell s. cents. and
OF steam sizes IS cents. n ton. Cnlcu-
lating this saving of 20 cents upon the
total OF 1905. 900 tons shows "A grand
total OF 1000. 900.
Consumers Save s2syooo,oo0.
II must be remembered that this was
only the beginning Of the struggle be-
fore "a strike was even declared. Moth
Ing u more certain than that the av-
eraRc uf 20 cents a ton over last weeks
prices would have been more than dou-
bled within two months II n strike had
been declared. The people. Ia that event.
would have been mulcted To the tune OF
NOR. than IS. 900. 900 over and above the
normal cost OF coal.
II IL "A fact that independent operators
and owners OF washeries were already
getting advances ranging from 81 To 81
"A ton for their steam sizes.
This estimate makes no count OF tho
millions OF dollars which Mitchelfs ac-
ton has saved to the business men of
the anthracite region. nor those other
millions which would have been sheared
from the investments In all manner OF
securities IL u only a glance nj one
corner OF the picture. n corner which
affects every household and factory M
which anthracite coal In a necessity.