New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-08-23

Certain politicians in Rochester fancy that
they can make good thing out of Coal; so they
are getting signatures to a petition which sets
forth
ITO n, Honorable ne Congrcs, Of ne Tinted S,asosa o
"The undersigned residents OF inc Couny o pou'oo'
In the state OF New York, respectfully represent
"That they consumers OF coal ioI CooAlns' ioI
warming their dwellings and their places OF business a
for use IN great variety o. manufactures IN WHICH 'ho
city Of Rochester especially abounds ......,,,
THAT this article IS offered TO them at reasonable
much higher price by producers residing for the most
naTt In lie stale of Pennsylvania.
yonr petitioner. conceive that It ia their right 70
buy thus article which sneccssary even to ther comfort
able existence not 10 say their welfare anu prosperity
wherever they can get Il cheapest. ,,.
THAT statute OF the United states enact' neyerthe.
less that coal shall not dcl cred 10 your petitioners
from abroad except upon the payment Of tax 40 eKces
sye IN even 20 exceed the dHeTeufo h price
between the coal and tho Pennsylysnld coal
THAT your petitioners therefore compelled % buy
their coal Of the Pennsyyaua dealers at the eNorDaht
prices which they demand. whereby IL results that, ~
though tho Government receives to revenue from ~,
tax. your petitioners tho consumer are lhpoveIiuo
20 tho ~ tho difference IN price mus cIeated TOT
the solo benefit ~ the producers ana hO-o OF mem IA
humble circumstances Ut times reduced to extreme
Yor petitioners therefore pray that the tax or duty
nforc-aid coal being exceedingly Outdesonc, Mni,o
feet Of a tax supply 70 the Government may
be repealed the great advantage Of manufactures ana
trade aud the relief of the poor from most oppressive
eXactiOn." 49,
Comments by The Tribune.
While we have for years urged upon mem
beers of Congress, both publicly and privately,
the repeal of all duties on Coal, and hope to
see it carried at an early day, we do not the
less feel called upon to expose and rebuke the
fasehoods whereof the Coal duty is made a
pretext and of which the above affords a fair
specimen.
/. 1t il not true that Coal is offered to con
sumers in Rochester at a much lower price by
f. A. l., ID. bn mi,
were abolished tomorrow. Rochester would not
buy a tun of foreign Coal except for manutac-
ture into gas.
2. The "tax so excessive in amount" is ex-
actly 40 cents per tun of 2,2i0 pounds on An
thracite and 81 2j per tun of 9,2iO pounds on
Bitumnous Coal. And the price of American
Bituminous Coal-we mean that mined in the
Cumberland region of Maryland-has not been
increased one cent this Summer. This Coal is
now selling in Ncw-York at $si per tun
(wholesale) which is as cheap az it was sold
before the troubles in the Anthracite region
commenced and it is this, and not Anthracite,
which may to some extent be supplanted by
Nova Scotia Coal in case the duty is taken
Off as we trust it may DO.
The whole clamor about the duty as en-
HANGING the price of Coal is dishonest where
it is not grossly ignorant Anthracite Coal is
too high; but the Tariff did not make it 80,
Gas facts contained in our letter to-day from
the Anthracite region and in our pre-
vious correspondence abundantly attest)
and the repeal of the duty on Btuminous Coal
will not affect its price ten cents per tun. We
shall not buy our fuel of Europe, Tariff or no
Tariff. We trust the duty will be repealed, so
that the swindle of attributing the present ex-
ceptional high price of Anthracite to the Tariff
may be exposed to the resentment of its dupcs
and the scoTn of mankind.