manner that would have been impossible with the terminals heretofore available. The Southern Railway now controls over 8,760 miles of lines, making it fifth in respect of mileage of the great railways of the world. It is now surpassed in this respect only by the New York Central, Pennsylvania, Canadian Pacific, and Southern Pacific. Another ocean to ocean scheme is reported to be taking form. It involves two Chicago lines-the Grand Trunk and the Wisconsin Central-and provides for the Grand Trunk's assumption and control of the Wisconsin Central. This is the route in mind: Portland, Me., to Chicago, Grand Trunk; Chicago to Ashland, Wis., Wisconsin Central; Ashland to Duluth, Northern Pacific, or a new line; Duluth to Winnepeg, line to be projected. The syndicate which controls the Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railway (the "Clover Leaf" road) and the Ohio Southern Railroad Company, is said to have secured an option on the Lima Northern, in order to provide a short line from Detroit to St. Louis by which the Canadian Pacific could reach St. Louis and be provided with admirable connections for the far West and Pacific Coast points, and by which Detroit could get its first direct connection with the bituminous fields of Ohio. While official denial has been given to a report that the Chesapeake & Ohio will become an integral part of the Pennsylvania system by a lease of 999 years, the rumor has gained many believers on the exchanges. It is said further that within two years the Pennsylvania will be operating a new trunk line to the South, and running solid trains from Buffalo to Florida. It is stated that the idea is to establish a route to the South via Pittsburg, which will be 300 miles shorter than any other. The arrangement is understood to contemplate the running of through trains from Buffalo and Cleveland to Richmond and Norfolk, thus saving 340 miles from the long routes via Washington and Cincinnati. Working to the establishment of a direct trunk line through Pittsburg as the main line to Chicago, the Baltimore & Ohio will build a cut-off from Smith's Ferry, Pa., to Canton, Ohio, sixty miles. This line will reduce the distance to Chicago twenty-eight miles, will avoid the heavy grades, and will triple the hauling capacity of trains. Failing in their efforts to gain the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the syndicate controlling the Northern Pacific and Great Northern has arranged a consolidation of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to its other interests. Foreign Loans in the American Money Market.-The following table presents the foreign securities held by the New York Life Insurance Company at the beginning of the past year: 7,816 00 Servia State loan, 4 per cent Swiss loans of 1883, 34 per cent; 1889, 3% per cent; 1897, 3 per cent.... Swedish State, 3% per cent. U. S. of Mex. Ext. Con. g., 5 per cent U. S. of Mex. Int. Dbt. Con., 5 per cent Total. . 20, 265 00 95,200 00 485,000 00 28,571 43 159,225 00 45,220 00 $9,613,274 00 Most of these investments are explained by the fact that the American life insurance companies are doing business in other parts of the world, but no matter for what reason they have been acquired, the fact remains that they are large creditors of foreign governments and foreign railways. The United States is rapidly improving her position as a factor in the world's money markets.1 Chicago Building Trades' Dispute.-February 6, 1901, witnessed the collapse of the Chicago building trades' organization which had for two years controlled the labor situation in the building trades. This result was due to the efforts of the contractors' organization, formed to resist the encroachments of the unions. The situation which led up to this conflict between the two organizations illustrates 1 Figures taken from United States Investor. 2 Condensed from The Metal Worker. the possibilities for evil of militant trades-unionism, and has given the United States a concrete illustration of the handicap under which our English competitors have labored. The Building Trades' Council included in its organization practically the entire membership of the various labor organizations in the building trades. It began by making some moderate demands upon certain contractors and enforcing these by the method of sympathetic strikes. The uniform success of these early movements encouraged the leaders of the building trades' council to more radical action. The conservative element was forced to the rear and the organization was launched upon a career of the most obstreperous tyranny. The first sign of the new spirit was a general lightening of the restrictions upon membership in the various unions. Many of the unions made the membership fee so large as to amount to practical prohibition and some even went so far as to specifically prohibit for a term of years any increase in their membership. The next step in the program of "making work" was to prohibit the use of machinery to cut-stone contractors. At one time machinery to the value of $110,000 was lying idle in their yards. The Building Trades' Council next went for the man who was doing too much work. The plumber was restricted to so many fixtures in a day, the gas-fitter to so many feet of pipe, the lather to so many bundles of lath and the bricklayer to so many bricks, in each case the maximum being far below an average man's capacity. In one case, during the construction of the Merchants' Loan Building, a boss plumber, working according to union rules, did in eight hours' continuous labor four days' work. In the enforcement of these restrictions the council employed very freely the weapon of the sympathetic strike, until contractors were entirely uncertain as to the time within which they would be able to finish a building once undertaken. The construction of the Montgomery Ward building was interrupted by twenty sympathetic strikes. Some of the causes of these strikes were as follows: Because a mason spread his mortar with a shovel instead of a trowel; because the soft-stone cutter did hard-stone cutters' work; because the carpenter did the iron man's work; because a carpenter sharpened his tools in his own time instead of the boss's; because a boiler was made in a non-union shop; because the boss hurried his men along; because an employer discharged an incompetent man; because an employer would not pay railroad fare out of town; because an employer was late on pay-day. The result of this "make-work" policy on the part of the unions was that in 1899 the total value of the buildings constructed in Chicago was $20,000,000, although the amount normally demanded was $50,000,000. The contractors were afraid to undertake a piece of work, being in complete uncertainty as to the date of its completion. When the situation had become intolerable, the contractors formed an organization to resist. They imported large numbers of non-union men, and, in spite of the passivity of the police, gave them protection. The council held out for a year, during which time its membership declined from 40,000 to 4,000, but finally yielded on February 6, 1901, and permitted its men to work under the rules adopted by the contractors' organization, which were as follows: 1. There shall be no limitation to the amount of work a man can perform during his working day. 2. There shall be no limitations placed upon the use of machinery or tools. 3. There shall be no restriction of the use of any manufactured material. 4. No person shall have the right to interfere with any workman during working hours. 5. The use of apprentices shall not be prohibited. 6. The foreman shall be the agent of the employer. 7. All workmen shall be at liberty to work for whom they see fit. 8. All employers shall be at liberty to employ and discharge whom they see fit. The necessity for rules such as these, most of which are plainly dictated by simple common sense, shows the extent of the evil from which the Chicago building trades have suffered and gives a new warning against the dangers of militant trades-unionism. |