The Philadelphia and Reading coal and iron company announced On This Day in 1880 that it has faltered. The company, announced President Franklin B. Gowen, suspended payments and cannot pay its bills. As a result of this announcement, stock in the company dropped 16 ½. The company was obliged to pay parties in New York back a borrowed $600,000. The stock recovered appoint or so and ended the day at 23. The company had been the largest producer of anthracite coal from 1871 through the 1920s in the nation. I ts parent company was the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad. Source: Lancaster daily intelligencer. ( Lancaster , Pa. ), 21 May 1880. Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . Library of Congress. On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events. © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015
by Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman