i STEAM COAL - Clpdigital.org

40 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
foreign market, due unquestionably to the Ger­ 1. This is the same distribution as last year.
man coal strike. An advance of 96 cents a long Fairmont Coal Co.: Two per cent, regular and
ton is reported from New Castle. Hull, Blyth & 1 per cent, extra on the $12,000,000 of capital stock,
Co., of London and Cardiff, report the market payable February 1. Last year the payment was
firm, with a good demand for all descriptions and 2 per cent. Somerset Coal Co.: No dividend was
a general stiffening of prices, quotations being as declared. The surplus of this company includes
fo.iows: Best Welsh steam coal, $3.60; seconds, $250,000 cash in bank and the dividend could have
$3.42; thirds, $3.24; dry coals, $3.24; best Mon­ been paid out of the surplus, but the management
mouthshire, $3.12; seconds, $3.00; best small steam decided to omit the payment. Last year 2 per
coal. $2.22; seconds, $2.04; other sorts, $1.80. cent, was declared on the $4,000,000 of capital
stock of this company.
Regarding the showing of the Somerset com­
LATE HOCKING QUOTATIONS.
pany, C. W. Watson, the president of the three
The New Pittsburgh Coal Co., Columbus, O., an­ companies, made the following statement:
nounces the following quotations on thick vein "This was due to a strike which began in De­
Hocking coal, effective Feb. 1, the figures being for cember, 1903, and lasted until the middle of the
short tons f. o. 1). mines, with 10 cents per ton summer of 1904. The general conditions that
added for loading in box cars: Domestic lump, were unfavorable to the soft coal trade also af­
$1.35; three-quarter inch screened lump. $1.25; fected the Somerset to some extent. They were
run-of-mine, $1.05; domestic nut, 90c; pea, 60c; felt by the Consolidation and Fairmont companies.
nut, pea and slack, 00c; coarse slack, 40c. We had the extraordinary winter weather which
affected the railroads and handicapped coal shippers.
Then followed the demoralization of the
coal trade from the business depression."
DAMAGES ASKED FROM RAILROAD.
Two suits for damages aggregating almost $2,-
000,000 have been filed against the Pennsylvania
Railroad Co. in the United States circuit court at
Philadelphia by the Pennsylvania Coal & Coke Co.
and the Webster Coal & Coke Co., operating in
Blair, Cambria and Indiana counties. The former
seeks to recover $420,174.24, the latter $1,483,838.
The suits are brought under the interstate commerce
act. They allege that the railroad company
assumed the right to estimate and determine
the capacity to produce coal from the mines of the
plaintiff companies. From this estimate was
fixed the number of cars necessary to carry the
coal from the mines. The actual capacity of the
mines, it is alleged, was far greater than that
estimated by the defendant. A demand was made
for more cars, but the railroad conipany, it is
averred, refused and neglected to furnish them.
Another specification is that the Pennsylvania
railroad allowed, on coal hauled over private mine
roads, and delivered to it, a special drawback of
15 cents a ton to certain companies and refused to
allow the same to the plaintiffs.
MEETINGS OF THE WATSON COMPANIES.
An extraordinary showing for the year 1904 was
made at the recent annual meetings in Baltimore
of the Consolidation, Fairmont and Somerset Coal
Cos. Despite the unfavorable conditions all three
companies produced a surplus well above fixed
charges and other deductions. The Consolidation
Coal Co. declared dividends as follows:
Two per cent, regular and 2 per cent, extra on
the $10,250,^00 of capital stock, payable February
THE NORTH AND EAST RIVER TUNNELS.
W^ork is well under way on the tunnels under
the North and East rivers by which the Pennsylvania
railroad will enter New York Gity. The
driving of these tunnels is the greatest undertaking
in the history of sub-aqueous tunneling and
no effort has been spared to make the method of
procedure up-to-date.
Compressed air is to bear the greater part of
the burden of pushing these great tubes under
the rivers, and the compressor plants by which it
is to be furnished will represent the latest developments
of pneumatic practice. The contracts
for the air power equipments were awarded to the
Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Co. which is now installing
the machinery to make up the completed
plants. The work is to be carried on in two distinct
sections and under two separate contracts.
The East river tunnel will comprise four parallel
tubes 33 feet in diameter. The North river tunnel
will be composed of two 33-foot tubes. The
work in both cases will be pushed from both ends
and the four power plants to be operated will
represent in the aggregate the largest installation
of air compressing machinery ever made for general
power purposes.
The United Coal Co., of Pittsburgh, has ordered
1,000 steel cars for its rail trade, and some of
them have already been delivered. They are of
the most approved pattern and have a capacity of
100,000 pounds each.