392 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. February 19, 1915. orders ; that is a consequence of the breakdown in the facilities for transporting ordinary commerce, and does not meet the incontrovertible fact that there are also collieries that could produce and dispose of much greater quantities of coal, if only the men were willing. But there are apparently men who are content to let others fight their battles, and even to utilise their absence as a means of adding to their opportunities for increased “ leisure, pleasure, and treasure,” as John Burns once put it; and it is this spirit that moves the council of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association to regard the very reasonable appeal of the Wharncliffe Silkstone Company as a “ slander.” The point we desire to make is that this selfish policy, so disastrous in its effects upon the country’s welfare, is being actively abetted by the leaders. Take this excerpt from one of Mr. William Brace’s weekly contributions in the Western Mail:— But if it is a correct policy for the law of supply and demand to determine what share the respective sections of the nation are to draw out of industry and commerce by way of profits or wages in these abnormal times, then what ground of complaint can be found against the workers if they use the shortage of labour which is acknowledged to exist as a reason for forcing up wages ? Mr. Brace may be horrified at such a suggestion, but he and others are in reality holding a pistol at the head of the employers. The South Wales Miners’ Federation have formulated a new programme, which it is admitted will mean an additional expenditure of £1,000,000 per annum. The agreement arrived at in the Federated area implies an almost incalculable advance in labour costs. The West Yorkshire owners were impelled to concede the demands of the workmen only “with the object of avoiding the disastrous consequences of a coal strike in a national crisis.” At the outset of the war the Scottish mine- owners agreed to postpone their demands for similar reasons. The situation has been deliberately used to squeeze more money out of the owners, and, further, no opportunity is being given them to obtain relief by increased efficiency. Added to the instances already cited, we note that the executive committee of the National Union of Scottish Mine workers has refused to accede to the proposal put forward by the masters that there should be some modification in the working policy in order that the men might work on the idle day in a fortnight during which they had been thrown idle through shortage of railway wagons. In Scotland the miners have declined to relinquish the five-day working policy, even when gasworks and public utilities were clamouring for coal. The miners have powerful allies in the work’ of plunder. The Home Secretary has just declined to suspend the Eight Hours Act, and, reading between the lines, it is obvious that he has come to this conclusion, because it would be unpalatable to the men. He says:— An alteration of hours would involve alterations of organisation and arrangements between owners and men, which it would be useless to embark upon except with general agreement. The difficulty caused by the shortage of labour in mines is already being, to some extent, met in two ways. Advantage is being taken of the provision in the Act which allows one hour’s overtime to be worked on 60 days of the year, and men are working more days than is the custom of the industry in normal times. This simply means that the Government acknowledge their fealty to the Labour interest, for it is obvious that no colliery would extend the hours of working if such a step interfered with working arrangements to the detriment of his business or system of manage- ment. The second statement is not in accordance with fact: the provisions as to overtime do not adequately meet the situation, and, as we have shown, there are many cases in which the men are refusing to work even the customary number of days. According to the Cologne Gazette, the serious shortage of fuel in Germany is being met by the abolition of Sunday rest, and the working of over- time in the mines. Is it that the German is capable of greater sacrifices than the British workman? We do not think so; but the latter sometimes does not see far enough ahead, and sticks to his prejudices up to the last trench. It is not the least serious of dangers that face us as a nation. We are reminded of the words of the late Mr. Emerson Bainbridge, “ The true principle which may, perhaps, some day be evolved out of disaster and misfortune is the principle of co-operation—co-operation which will yield to capital a reasonable return commensurate with the risks and uncertainties of mining, and to the workman as large a proportion of the product of his industry as the condition of trade will afford ” Upon this principle, at all times sound and sane, the very existence of the country now depends. __________________ THE BY-PRODUCTS TRADE. Tar Products.—The market is steady, and for the most part prices ,are well maintained. In benzols there is a slight improvement in the south, but northern values are unaltered. Naphthas steady. If anything, crystal carbolic is the turn easier. Other products are unchanged in either price or position. Nearest values are :— Benzols, 90’s ............................ Do. 90’s North ........................ Do. 50’s do............................. Toluol ................................... Carbolic acid, crude (60 per cent.) ........ Do. Crystals (40 per cent.) ...... Solvent naphtha (as in quality and package)... Crude ditto (in bulk) ...................... Creosote (for ordinary qualities) ............ Pitch (f.o.b.) ............................ Tar (liquid in 1 ton) .................... /10J to /10f /8| to /9 1/3 to 1/4 2/3 to 2/4 3/ 1/2 i/ot /5| /3A 18/ to 20/ 17/ to 18/6 [Benzols, toluol, creosote, solvent naphtha, carbolic acids, usually casks included unless otherwise stated, free on rails at maker's works or usual United Kingdom ports, net. Pitch f.o.b. net.] Sulphate of Ammonia.—The market is justly firm, ,and supplies are well held. Sales have been made for forward delivery up to and beyond April at the current premiums on spot prices. On the west coast as high as £14 2s. 6d. is reported for immediate delivery. Although allowance must be made for the high freightage that has to be borne by foreign buyers, the fact remains that in the face of the further advance of nitrate of soda on unit value of nitrogen contents, sulphate of ammonia might well be at £14 10s. for home users. Closing prompt prices are :— London (ordinary makes) .......... £13/16/3 .......................... Beckton ................................... £13/5 Liverpool ........................ £13/15 to £14 Hull ........................................................ £13/15 to £13/17/6 Middlesbrough .................... £14 Scotch ports ...................... £14/1/3 Nitrate of soda (ordinary) per cwt. ... 11/ [Sulphate of ammonia, f.o.b. in bags, less 2J per cent, discount; 24 per cent, ammonia, good grey quality; allowance for refraction, nothing for excess.] ______ Trade Notes. There is ,a world of meaning and true philosophy in Nazeby’s saying of “ Blessed is he that expects nothing, for when he gets it he cannot be disappointed,” and this was the spirit to look forward to the January trade returns for coal products. Nothing but decreases were to be expected, and certainly the pessimist should at least be satisfied by the drop of £100,000 in the value of pitch exported this last January compared with January 1914. Benzol and toluol also naturally show up badly, with a loss in revenue of £21,000 ,in round figures. Still, there are items that some- what relieve what might well have been unmitigated gloom —for crude, refined tar, and varnish have held their own, and even show a gain of about £250, as does naphthalene, which can account for an additional £1,760; while carbolic acid brightens the picture with an increase of £5,000. Tar oil and creosote have suffered. When it comes to sulphate of ammonia returns, things are not so bad. It is true that there is a gross loss on the month of £103,000, but there are some instructive figures as well as rather surprising advances to be noted. Of course, Germany ,and France are out of the reckoning entirely, and Spain has remained stationary, or almost so, seeing that this total includes the Canaries, but it is impor- tant to note that both Japan and the U.S.A, have dropped off heavily, the respective losses on the month being about £164,000 and £68,700. The Japanese figures should be kept in mind. On the other hand, in spite of the unsettled state of the Mediterranean and war influences generally, we find Italy paying us an increase of getting on for £10,000, or quite three times as much as last year. The surprise packet, however, is provided by the Dutch East Indies, with an increase of £97,500 on the month. Lastly, the gross loss is minimised by the increase in that generic heading of “ other countries,” for which the total is double last year’s, with an increase of about £53,000. When such a heading covers so substantial an increase, the question arises whether it would not be as desirable, as it certainly would be helpful, if the total could be dissected to show who are the new customers or the buyers whose purchasing capacity is increasing. Incidentally it may be mentioned "that the exports of superphosphates increased in value by £31,000, or nearly four times the tonnage for 1914. The imports of nitrate of soda increased by 2,400 tons, the only manurial import not showing a substantial decrease, with the excep- tion of a small increase in guano shipments. Further attention seems likely to be given to the potash from Canadian felspar idea, to which reference was recently made, as the chemist to the Highland Agricultural Society has called attention to the importance of investigating this proposal. Plenty of patents exist, but the thing needed is some purely scientific research to arrive at the “ first principles,” given which the technologist will be able to evolve a practical process of extraction. Here is an excel- lent chance for those who profess to believe in the wisdom of Prof. Crossley’s expose of our national laxity in corre- lating research work with the manufacturing side of our chemical industries. Meantime, experiments are being made upon the possibility of using the raw felsite in a finely- ground state as a potash feeder. Potatoes are big potash feeders, and they are of importance to the aniline industry, and so consequently to the coal tar trade. THE LONDON COAL TRADE. Thursday, February 18. _______________ _________________________________ The London coal trade for the past week has shown very little change as compared with the previous week. The demand is still strong, and the cold weather keeps the market firm and steady. Some improvement has been experienced in the bringing forward of the loaded trucks by the railway companies, and also in many directions a better supply of empties has been forthcoming, but the improvement is very intermittent, and merchants are constantly handicapped by the non-arrival of loaded wagons in transit. Very little new business has been done, as buyers prefer to wait rather than pay the high prices demanded for the small quantities of free coal offering on the market. Many of the colliery representatives are declining to book fresh orders whilst the order books continue so overfull. Only small quantities are bought from time to time and in every case the final destinations must be* given before the coal can be sent away. The relabelling or “wait order” stations are entirely closed. Wagon hire, owing to the shortage of wagons, has become a subject of negotiation, and although the railway charges remain at Is. to London stations, and Is. 3d. beyond, there are many instances where Is. 6d. and even 2s. has been charged for colliery wagons, especially where the selling price has been low. Coke has slightly improved again during the week, and prices have advanced a further Is. per ton for the best qualities. Welsh smokeless steam coals have recovered from the apathy of the previous week, and best Admiralty qualities are now quoted at 22s. to 22s. 6d. f.o.b. Cardiff. South Yorkshire best hards have advanced to 19s. to 19s. 6d. f.o.b. in the Humber ports, and Derbyshire best hards to 18s. 6d. to 19s. f.o.b. Gas coals also are firm, but the quantities available are increasing. The shortage of barges in the river and the increasing difficulty of transport, hamper the London trade considerably. Bakers’ nuts are still in strong demand, and small nuts and nutty slacks are bought up freely. The great electric works in London are often face to face with a complete stoppage for want of fuel and the demand is strong for all kinds of smalls. The tendency in the house coal market is to slacken off a bit since the weather has become somewhat milder. The scarcity of tonnage is, however, holding the market prices firm, and along the southern lines where stations have been absolutely closed for all goods and mineral traffic except for military use, the eagerness to buy is still keen. The shortage at some of these southern stations must have led to con- siderable hardships at times. The carmen and the loaders at the London depots have decided to work on Saturdays until 3 o’clock whilst the pressure for all kinds of coal is so great. The shortage of men is felt very keenly both at the colliery end and also at the various wharves and depots, partly owing to the pressure of work, but principally to enlistments. Employment has been abundant, and wages high since the winter began. The export trade has been severely restricted by the high rates of freights, and the large increase in the insurance premiums on account of the danger to shipping, but considerable tonnages are still coming from all round the coast, and also to the Thames, and the interned vessels are now playing an important part in bringing fresh supplies to the Metropolis. The usual shipping freights of 3s. 3d. to 3s. 9d. per ton are now, however, entirely gone, and 10s. to 10s. 6d. is now charged even for the interned vessels. The freights have ruled as high as 13s. 6d. per ton, and even this week 13s. 3d. has been charged from Newcastle to London. The number of vessels registered in the Thames on Monday’s market was 27, and on Wednesday 7—all, however, brought contract cargoes. The Gothenburg gas works contract has been postponed owing to the high prices charged, and the Danish State railways, it is reported, are only buying week by week or month by month, but the Naples gas works are reported to have entered into a contract for a large quantity of best Tyne gas coal. _________________________ From Messrs. Dinham, Fawcus and Co.’s Report. Friday, February 12.—There were no available sea- borne house coal cargoes on offer at to-day’s market, but the general tone was firm. Cargoes 25. Monday, February 15.—The colder weather caused a good enquiry for seaborne house coal at to-day’s market, but no cargoes at present forthcoming available. Cargoes 27. Wednesday, February' 17.—There were no seaborne house coal cargoes on offer at to-day’s market, which remained somewhat quiet. Cargoes 7. __________________________ THE TIN-PLATE TRADE. Liverpool. There has been a fair enquiry during the past week, but actual business has been quieter, the high figures now ruling causing buyers to hold off as much as possible. Spot lots of I C 14 x 20 cokes were done at 14s. 6d. per box, and could still probably be bought at this, but 6d. to Is. a box more money is asked for forward delivery. Quotations vary considerably, but the following may be taken as a fair range to-day. Coke tins : I C 14 x 20 (112 sh. 108 lb.), 15s. to 15s. 6d. per box; I C 28 x 20 (112 sh. 216 lb.), 30s. to 30s. 6d. per box ; I C 28 x 20 (56 sh. 108 lb.), 15s. 4;}d. to 15s. 9d. per box; I C 14 x 18| (124 sh. 110 lb.), 15s. 4.\d. to 15s. 6d. per box ; I C 14 x 191 (120 sh. 110 lb.), 15s. 4|d. to 15s. 6d. per box; I C 20 x 10 (225 sh. 156 lb.), 22s. 3d. to 22s. 6d. per box.; I C squares and odd sizes, 15s. 3d. to 15s. 6d. basis for usual specifica- tions. Charcoals run 17s. 6d. basis and upwards according to finish. Coke wasters are in fair request, and prices rule firm as follow :—C W 14 x 20, 13s. 6d. to 13s. 9d. per box; C W 28 x 20,27s. to 27s. 6d. per box ; C W 14 x 18|, 13s. 6d. per box; C W 20 x 10, 16s. 9d. to 17s. per box—all f.o.b. Wales, less 4 per cent.