The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1925-11-10
.IDLENESS OF MINERS
BRINGS A HEAVY Loss
COAL DIGGERS AND RAILROAD
EMPLOYEES DROP 100000
DOLLARS IN WAGES.
THE OPERATORS ALSO SUFFER
Number of Men Out of Work Is 1885,
900, and Production Represents a
Loss of S1,68O,OOO Week. Carriers
Losing 100000 a Week.

Losing S3,OOO,OOO week.
The strike of the anthracite mine
workers of Pennsylvania, which be-
gan Sept. /, already has cost the an
+bracte industry and the anthracite
carving railroads about $185, 100000,
aside from the inconvenience it has
caused the public.
OF this sum about 100000 rep
resents wages which railroad and coal
mine employees might have earned had
there been no enforced idleness.
In addition there is the loss to mer-
chants in the hard coal region OF
Pennsylvania. Based on the lost earn
i0gs OF anthracite and railroad EN-
ployes this loss, too, must be quite
Production Has Ceased.
About 10000 men are out OF work
Is direct result OF the strike. The
production OF anthracite coal has ceas-
ed.
The United Mine Workers have a
membership Of $4,000 men in the an
thracite region, according to their own
statements. With the exception OF
about $500, who are Kept at work by
agreement between the miners union
and the operators to prevent the mines
from flooding, all OF these men are on
strike.
The operators figure their labor bill,
not including office salaries, at 81 ,20O,-
coo a day The total loss to the min
e-s. therefore, for the working days
which have elapsed since the strike
began is about S62. 100000
The anthracite mines produce an
average OF 100000 gross tons OF So
called commercial coal-that is, coal
which is not needed f6r mine fuel
each week Reduced to net tons OF p
coo pounds the average weekly pro-
ducton is 100000 tons.
During the two months which have
elapsed since the beginning OF the
strike. therefore, there has been lost
a total commercial production OF about
15120.0O0 net tons which, OF course,
cannot be made up when mining IS
resumed
Operators Lose Heavily.
The financial loss to the operators
through this lost production cannot
accurately be estimated, but based on
a recent statement of Samuel d. War
riner. president of the Lehigh Coal
and Navigation Company, one OF the
largest producers, that his company S
average gross selling price at the
mines was $5.6S a gross ton reason
able guess would be that the coal
which might have been produced
would have represented a total gross
realization OF $77,702, 400.
Added to this approximate loss the
operators estimate that it costs them
about S6,000000 a month for mainte-
nance of the idle mines. Their ex-
pense for this item since the strike
started has therefore been at least
$l2000,000.
Since the strike the anthracite-car-
rying railroads have laid off about IS
coo men directly or indirectly con
nected with the work OF transporting
coal, according to r. S. Blnkerd, wee
chairman Of the committee on pubic
relations OF the eastern railroads.
Miners Well Fortified.
OF these about 5000 are skilled
shopmen, the remainder being tram
and engine crews, yardmen and COM
mon laborers. The average annual
wage of each of these men is eshmat-
ed at $500 EACH and, on this basis,
the employees affected are losing pay
at the rate OF about S95,O0O a week;
or a total loss for the nine weeks OF
the strike of $8,550000.
The railroads directly affected are
the Lehigh Valley. the Delaware
Lackawanna, and Western; the Penn
sylvania, the New York Central, the
Reading, the Jersey Central, the Ere
the Delaware and Hudson and the
Ontario and Western.
As result OF the strike, Mr.: Blnk-
erd says, these carriers are loading an
average of $4,000 fewer cars week
He estimates the loss in revenue to the
roads at $3,000,000 weekly, or total
OF $27,000,000 for the nine weeks