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WIDESPREAD EFFECT OF COAL STRIKE. Attention has been focused on the coal situation by the strike in the anthracite field. The best obtainable statistics show that the number of mine employees in the United States is about 467,000. This includes soft coal and anthracite mining employees in the whole United States. No one expects the present strike, however, to extend to the bituminous fields. The soft coal operators are satisfied that their men are content and none of them are anticipating trouble. It is interesting at this time to inquire into the coal producing capacity of the United States. It is as follows based upon the latest statistics: : Production Men in tons. employed. Pennsylvania (anthracite) ............. 67,418,000 150,437 Pennsylvania (bituminous) ............ 88,500,000 96,800 Peppis 8b Ges Le 2a ee. 26,618,000 39,500 Pe VU ey sn oe ea 22,759,900 29,365 OC A Na ak eke ead 20,111,000 28,136 PION 37 555 TE rk i ead Ges Oe 6,939,000 11,980 DOW. 55 ees 2 pa nn wisies Go aan 5,463,000 18,275 TOPE 5 oi os so 6s ss ek es 4,820,000 8,620 Maryland i: «sie 603 eadaun gy nevus ada « 4,978,400 10,560 DGSSOUTE. Be Oe. Hos ST. vy ok 3,697,000 5,300 ARE es aac os sos same 9,226,000 14,680 CSSES Sad, Ss cae nn 4,396,000 8,500 OlOTAGO sth otis a veins iis wheeees 5,978,000 7,829 AY SrA. OTT eS er eas Ee. 2,788,500 3,860 DY YOUU eo eo Gs ek oe eck ee 4,393,000 5,283 ROS 0s os a ns 6s yo big + See a 1,256,000 2,960 dda crease. iS. AbersG ben lala vd tO 1,382,000 1,780 Potat, Whited States. i4..055..2014.- 298,811,100 466,873 _.. Coal strikes are, of course, the most ruinous of strikes, because their influence is so widespread. Railways and mills are the chief interests involved. The quickest way to paralyze industry is to cripple transporta- tion and iron making. Statistics of the effect of strikes on coal output and the earnings of the companies concerned are not available in satisfactory form. Taking the statistics as reported by the anthracite coal producing companies during the period of the strike of 1900 interesting figures bearing on this point may be given. That strike began on Sept. 17 and ended on Oct. 29. How the strike affected output may be seen from the following statement of anthracite coal shipments by months for the last three years, begin- ning with July: 1901. 1900. *~ 1899. ay 8k. Ty SR SS Gree ee 3,698,814 3,599,729 4,189,250 POISE ek ec ete 4,710,517 4,951,166 4,319,031 Heprember? by k OA 4,379,157 2,972,948 4,502,880 Cel i kee iat 4,988,132 834,786 4,899,303 November a. 4.540 i.6s5.0. 4,697,443 4,994,799 4,688,859 Perera 0. tng eo es 3,623,423 5,075,189 4,502,832 mi Months oer ek 26,097,486 22,419,617 27,102,155 Lwelve. months .. cs e.aeuss 53,657,601 45,107,484 47,665,203 In 1900, up to Aug. 31, anthracite coal shipments were 2,500,000 tong more than in the same months of 1899. In September and October the production fell off 5,595,000 tons, or 63 per cent., and increasing tonnage in the next few months could not overcome this loss. The summaries of earnings and expenses by the principal railways reporting follow: Gross earnings. Net earnings. 1900. 1899, 1900. 1899. Bay 26 5. i $ 9,918,725 $ 10,172,510 $ 1,652,129 $ 2,315,414 NSE me. vic ss 11,493,720 11,034,789 2,607,778 2,384,635 eptember i ..... 10,855,312 11,229,350 1,892,931 2,715,210 Mctober °..44 0.x. 7,099,643 14,057,517 211,607 3210271 November ...... 7,073,130 7,240,043 2,018,894 2,045,110 Porember ...,«-. 10,589,705 9,505,108 1,997,893 1,854,306 Six months to June 30: 58,809,800 53,684,700 12,243,400 11,377,000 Six months to December 31: 98,097,800 104,399,300 22,689,200 29,098,300 Twelve months to December 31: : 156,907,600 158,084,000 34,932,600 40,475,300 Thus in the six months to June 30, 1900, gross earnings of the anthra- cite railways increased by over $5,200,000, or over 10 per cent., and net earnings increased by $866,000, or 72/3 per cent. For the year, however, the gain in gross was lost and $2,000,000 more. The loss in net, through increased expenses, was almost as great in actual figures, running up to $5,543,000, or 13 2/3 per cent. APPROPRIATIONS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS. The following statement of appropriations for river and harbor im- provements, made by the United States government since 1879, was pre- pared recently by Hon. T. E, Burton, chairman of the committee on rivers and harbors of the house of representatives: APPROPRIATIONS FOR RIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS. ee ere $ .8.201,700.00 | 18927204... Ae $ 2,951,200.00 is sbi peex a $545,000.00: | 1893... 21 968,218.00 rr 8 951:500.00 | 1894. Hani habe 14,166,153.00 ree aS. BOR. $1441.300.00 | 1805 ©. tots. es 20,043,180.00 nc 18, 738,875.00) | 189G2.5.a15 a Aen 11,462,115.00 en panne os 10) i 16,244,147.00 ee... cs... 13,949,200.00 | 1898 e272) 2eA a8 20,832,412.91 | NEE re ae ee eee 189 sascen AcoTa 14,627,449.56 Ms tae 14,473,900.00 | 1900 ......,...-.8. 25,110,038.94 eT ee. BRE ASS," FORGES |, FODOOW WOT 405 280,000, (9 ie See 6 It) |. OF S00. GS G01 2008 oe Cy i bBo sls 7,046,623.00 ee 0... ek oe . oe eens 25,136,395.00 Total 4s... $301,874, 130.06 1902.) MARINE REVIEW. 25 NAVAL APPROPRIATION BILL PASSES THE HOUSE. The naval appropriation bill, after a week's consideration, has passed the house. Interest in the measure centered around the proposition recommended by the committee which prepared the bill that one battle- ship be constructed in a government navy yard. Despite opposition the following provision was adopted by an overwhelming vote: The secretary of the navy shall build at least one of the battleships, one of the armored cruisers and one of the gunboats herein authorized in such navy yard as he may designate. And for the purpose of preparing and equipping such navy yard or navy yards as may be so designated for the construction of such ship or ships, the sum of $175,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated for each of the navy a the secretary of the navy may direct any ship or ships to e built. The provision for the establishment of a naval training station on the great lakes was stricken out. An amendment was adopted changing the name of naval cadets to midshipmen. PERSONAL ITEMS. Mr. Clement A. Griscom, president of the International Navigation Co., has purchased the steam yacht Alvina. Messrs, Diericx and Trist, who have been a long time connected with the drafting department of the American Ship Building 'Co., left Cleveland a few days ago to take up new positions with the Risdon Iron Works of San Francisco, Mr. Diericx as general superintendent. Associates of Mr. Diericx in the Cleveland works presented him with a beautiful diamond pin. Mr. Edwin S. Mills, assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh ' Steamship Co., who was seriously ill, has been earnestly congratulated by a great many business friends since his return to Cleveland a few days ago, after a rest of several weeks in California. It is said that a position of more importance than he has as yet occupied in the steel industry has been offered to Mr. Mills at the headquarters of the Steel Corporation in New York. This is only rgimor, but it is certain that Mr. Mills has made friends in the lake region who wish him the best that there is within the wide scope of the big organization. : TRADE NOTES. The Livingstone Manufacturing Co., Rockland, Me., are supplying the wire rigging for two vessels now building at the yards of Arthur Sewall & Co., Bath, Me. . A band saw was recently shipped by the Atlantic Works Incorporated of Philadelphia to Mr. Herbert Garison of Bridgeton, N. Y. The machine will be used in Mr. Garison's boat yard. ; The Nicholson ship log, which is manufactured by the Nicholson Ship Log Co. of Cleveland and is one of the finest. devices of a log kind on the market, is to be used by the big side-wheel steamers Eastern States and Western States, now going into service between Detroit and Buffalo. Mr. J. W. Duntley and Mr. E. N. Hurley of the Chicago Pneumatic Tool 'Co. have just returned from abroad. Both have been. at work in England consolidating business interests and securing contracts from the _ British admiralty and a number of private ship yards for the pneumatic riveting of the steel hulls of ships. Mr. Duntley, who is president. of the Chicago company, said: "'We have succeeded in convincing the admiralty experts of Great Britain that with the increased thickness in the hulls of modern ships pneumatic riveting tools are necessary. I shall return shortly to be present at a series of tests of our pneumatic tools to be given at the Portsmouth dock yard, at which all the leading ship builders of Great Britain will be represented. We have practically purchased the In- ternational Pneumatic Tool Co. of Great Britain and this leaves us with- out serious competitions in this field. The final details are yet to be arranged, but the thing is as good as done. The amount to.be paid for the plant and property of the British company is nothing like that men- tioned. The deal-is really only of secondary importance, and was thought advisable, owing to the present substantial. condition of the ship building industry. The works of the company are at Chippenham, Wiltshire." STEEL CASTING CONSOLIDATION. Promoters of the steel casting consolidation propose to make the capital stock $40,000,000, of which $20,000,000 will be in 7 per cent. cumu- lative preferred, both as regards assets and dividends, and $20,000,000 in common stock. The intention is to issue $7,500,000 of each class at once. Concerns to be taken over by the new company are said to be as follows: American Steel Casting 'Co. of New Jersey, with active plants at Thurlow, Pa., Sharon, Pa., and Alliance, O., and unoperated plants at Norristown, Pa., Syracuse, N. Y., and Pittsburgh; Reliance Steel 'Casting Co., Limited, of Pittsburgh; Leighton & Howard Steel Co. of St. Louis, Mo.; Franklin Steel 'Casting Co. of Franklin, Pa.; Sargent Co. of 'Chicago; American Steel Foundry Co. of St. Louis, Mo. Commissioner of Navigation Chamberlain has not made a-new ruling regarding the penalty to which naphtha launches are liable if navigated without lights. The commissioner does not make laws. That is a power of congress. A dispatch from Toledo, following the loss of several lives through the sinking of a naphtha launch in that harbor, would convey the idea that Mr. Chamberlain immediately sent out an order requiring lights on naphtha launches. Such is not, of course, the case. Mr. Chamberlain simply pointed out to the collector of customs at Toledo the law on the subject. It is a part of the White law (act of Feb. 28, 1895), which is the "rules of the road" for the great lakes. The very first rule in this act requires naphtha launches to show lights just as the largest of the steam vessels show them. This first rule, which is preliminary to numerous re- quirements of the act, says very plainly that the word steam vessel shall include any vessel propelled by machinery. Tt is iow definitely,'said that control of the Cunard line cannot be secured privately, as none of the directors control sufficient stock to sell out the property. If J. P. Morgan accomplishes anything with the Cunard line it will be by means of a company meeting of which the public would certainly know something.