What the Railroads Bear

The anthracite coal strike, costly to all consumers of hard coal, is also expensive to the railroads engaged in loading anthracite. These roads are the Delaware & Hudson, Lehigh Valley, Lackawanna, Reading, Central of New Jersey, Lehigh & Hudson, Lehigh & New England, and Pennsylvania.

Normally these roads load 1000 cars of anthracite a day at this time of year. At present, since only anthracite coal in storage is available for shipment, only about 300 cars a day are being loaded, with a tendency toward decreasing amounts as time goes on. As a result the roads have discharged about 15,000 employes. It is estimated the strike is costing the roads about $3,500,000 a week, exclusive of losses on any hard coal properties which they may hold.

The hard coal strike commenced Sept. 1, and threw out of work 158,000 men. These highly unionized workers are now enjoying an indefinite autumn vacation. Yet small town merchants in the coal region complain of the brake put on their business.

The strike is occasioned purely by wage demands. According to the U. S. Coal Commission, out of 45,678 outside day men at the mines, 43,822 earn less than $2,000 a year.