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28 PHI: COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
President Baer's recent address to the Reading
employes at Pottsville. Pa., has stirred up a hor­
net's nest among the newspapers. Violent ex­
ception is taken to his expressed belief that coal
operators know more aoout how to run their busi­
ness than the newspapers do, and to his assertion
that the law of necessity is no more binding on
the coal producer than on others handling natural
products. How some of the editors must regret
that Mr. Baer's heresies are not punishable by
burning at the stake!
* * *
With all its bluffing and four-flushing the Penn­
sylvania legislature passed no mining measures
of importance. Of the bills put through, one
increases the number of state mine inspectors and
another limits the age of boys emp'oyed in the
mines to 16 years. A measure similar to the
latter one passed two years ago and was killed by
the supreme court. The whip and spur were not
spared but no horse, however goaded, can leap the
sky-high wall of public opinion.
RETAIL COAL DEALERS TO MEET.
A meeting of retail coal dealers from all parts
of the country will be held in New York May 10.
to form a defensive alliance against the mine
owners and coal distributers. The announced
purpose of the movement is to devise methods for
the quicker delivery of coal by the operators and
its better preparation for shipment. According
to some of those interested the retailers assert
that they have not received fair treatment of late
at the hands of the shippers, because of which
many small dealers and a few large ones have
been forced out of business.
It is announced that the new association will
not attempt to regulate prices beyond trying to
secure lower freight rate concessions.
The Ohio River Inspection.
The inspection tour of the Ohio river to be
taken by the river and harbors committee of Con­
gress has been planned out and provided for by the
Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce and other
bodies interested in the matter. The party will
leave Pittsburgh on May 10, on the steamer Queen
City. The boat will run to Wheeling the first
day, making a stop at East Liverpool, 0. At
Wheelirg a banquet will be served. Parkersburg
will be visited May 11. Portsmouth May 12, Cin­
cinnati May 13, Louisville May 14, and Cairo May
17. Many of the congressmen will be accom­
panied by their wives, and arrangements are now
being made for their entertainment upon the ar­
rival of the committee in Pittsburgh. A fund of
$10,000 has been provided to cover the expenses of
the trip.
Operators Blamed For Mine Disaster.
The coroner's jury which investigated the Vir
ginia, Ala., mine disaster of February 20, in which
111 persons lost their lives, returned a verdict
charging four mine operators with wilful and
criminal negligence. The jury returned a separate
verdict in the case of each man killed. The
verdict says: "The explosion was caused by the
collection of dust that was allowed to accumulate
in the mines of the Alabama Steel & Wire Co.. by
their agents, although the state mine inspector and
his assistants had repeatedly warned them of the
dangerous condition of the mines for more than
a year prior to the explosion. The men came to
their death in an unlawful manner by the wilful
and criminal negligence of Everett T. Schuler,
George E. Schuler, Amos W. Reed and Samuel
Hartly. operators, managers and mine foremen of
the said mine."
Neat Sum Awarded For Salvage.
The Monongahela River Consolidated Coal &
Coke Co. earned a neat sum by saving the Ellis,
the new fruit steamer of the United Fruit Co.,
when in collision on her maiden voyage. Judge
Parlange, in the United States district court at
New Orleans, has affirmed the report of Frank H.
Mortimer, the commissioner appointed to arrange
the salvage awards. The total amount of the
award is $15,000, $5.SOO being divided among the
company's tugs, as follows: W. G. Wilmot, $2,300;
Varguard, $1,250; R. W. Wilmot, $650; W. H.
Wood, $400; pumpboat Ricardo, $200.
Experiments With Safety Lamps.
Among the important conclusions reached by
Mr. Watteyne, who has just completed a series
of tests under standardized conditions at the Bel­
gian government's experimental station, is that
coal dust in mine air has no effect on the protec­
tion given by a safety lamp. He holds that an
oil-burning Davy or a benzine-burning Wolf is
just as safe in an atmosphere of fire-damp charged
with coal dust as in firedamp without dust.
Several opinions regarding different types of
lamps are shown to be valueless by Mr. Watteyne.
He demonstrated that benzine, burnt in a proper
lamp, is just as safe as oil, that the use of friction
igniting devices does not in the least impair a
lamp's value, but increases it.