Year: 1875




Philadelphia Press.


1t is not improbable that we are on the
eve Of a great conflict between labor and
capital in the cOal-prOducing regions. The
stock Of coal on hand is very large and the
time for fixing the annual rate or basis of
wages is at hand. The Philade phia and
Reading Coal and Iron Company, which is BY
far the largest miner Of coal in the Schuyl-
kill region, is disposed to reduce the work.
ingmen's wages, and at a recent meeting Of
the operators Of the Lehigh it was declared
that the basis Of 1874 must be reduced. If
the operators and companies are resOlute in
their purpose and the men re-
sist as they are sure to do, a
strike is Inevitable, and strike
at this time in this great industry will be
a very serious matter. TIE ''basis," be it
understood, is a rate of wages proportion
ate to the price Of coal at Port Carbon, the
great shipping depot Of Schuylkill county.
A minimum price Of coal is fixed-S2.5O
has been for the last few years, for in
stance-upOn which the miners Teceise so
much per week. For every increase over
this minimum the men receive a proper
tiOnate share. On the basis Of tUe last
three years, which it is now proposed to re-
duce. the miners get Sl4 a week, and the
laborers SO and Sl1, but as the selling
price Of coal has averaged higher than the
minimum fixed, their wages have been
slightly higher. But. as on an av-
erage, and from one cause OF another, not
Of their own volition, they work but eight
or ten months a year, the annual total
Of their wages is but slightly in ex-
cess, if any, Of that paid common and less
hazardous labor in the cities. The average
profit to the mine operator on a ton Of coal
delivered at Port Carbon is estimated at
35 cents, 8, 40 being the cost Of the coal at
that point where it is sold or delivered to
the railroad company for shipment 20 tide
water. The price at Port Carbon for the
past month averaged about S2.Tj. The
reader can compare the price there with
that in Philadelphia. The heaviest item
in he cost Of coal is transportation. Port
Carbon is 90 miles from Philadelphia, and
the charge Of the railroad company for
Transporting a ton is ! 5+100 cents per
mile.


The question Of a strike in the anthra-
cite region has several important aspects
for consumers. The suspension Of the col
lieries will throw between 10000 and 40
600 men out Of work, who buy largely in
this market, thus adding to the prevailing
business depression, and it viii very prob
ably increase the cost Of coal temporarily,
and that, too, at time when il can be least
afforded. A still more important question
is, whether a reduction in the wages Of the
miners will effect in the end a perma-
nent reduction in the cost Of fuel. This is
a phase Of the case which concerns
the irOD-rnasfnrs and manufacturers of the
State, as Well'as the hoUsehOlders. The
WOrkiHgmOl, the organ Of the miners,
claims not. Labor is but One-fOurth Of the
cost of mining coal, and the proposed re-
ductiOn Of wages would only effect a saving
OF fourteen and a half cents per ton. The
question is, whether this would 90 into the
pockets Of the people or into those Of the
mining and transportation companies? We
have stated the case plainly, and exposed
its every side.