The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1872-01-06

The Coal Famine.

| aurora oswego, Yorkville, Sheridan, and in.
deed all the points" along the Fox River
Branch of the Burlington Road, that depend up.
on that road for their supply Of vernillion coal,
complain bitterly Of she i.adequats supply oh.
'a!haoie by the railroad. The Kendall Record
| puts the case ia this way:
We can't blame the G. B. s. G. railroad folks
10. the coal famine, a. they are under no obi.
saion' TO supply the towns on the Fox River,
pay the honorable Attorney Warrington Bush.
nell and the Honorable Secretary Dwight Cam
ero', snd the Honorable Plumb, and others of
the Fox River Company who made big promises
ana got big pay. are certainly TO blame for sell
ing us all out.
1t may be but simple justice 10 say that the
Hons" Bushnell, Cameron, &C., doubtle.. had
no idea, in making their fair promises 70 the
Kendall folks, that the demand for vermillien
coal would prove 20 great that even railroad
operated with oil the energy and skin Of Ii.
Burlington company would be unable to supply
tho demand.
Yet there is no dosbt that the failure Of tho
railroad company to give the towns along tho
road that taxed thsnsslvss - heavily 10 bald
1t, the anxiously sought boon Of An abuud.no.
OF cheap coal, is great hardship and disappoint.
ment, not TO say sl.ring piece Of injustice. It
may be true, and doubtless il, that the railroad
company find it more profitable to use fourth
OF all tho coal they osn transport themselves.
and to give the ether three-fourths to the Rock
Island, Northwestern and other railroads and to
the manufacturers in Chicago; but the company
ought to have soms regard for the just clains Of
the localities that made such heavy sasrif;ces
to build the road Kendall county voted, va
believe, $4,000 and the promise to her was.
that instead Of paying IS 70 81 ton fos her coal
she should have an abundant supply at $3.50.
Yet Kendall county finds coal now searcsr and
higher than when she depended on teams 70
bring it al the way from Ottawa and Norris.
AT Ottawa, too, We have grsvious cause for
complaint In spite Of the railroad, about all
the 'ermillicn coal We can get hold of is such a.
is car.ed IS miles across the country over mnddv
roads with four bsrss teams and sold at from
S3.oo to 500 ton on our streets. This ia no.
tie least to which We wore invited when asked
to give eur S15O.O0O towards building the rail.
road. The failure OF the railroad in this matter
is dously annoying to us. Tho building Of the
road put check TO the working of our local
mines, and now. in mid winter, W ind our.
selves with such limited supply, that the local
dealers, particularly in bad weather., demand
e1'ortiouste prices, which ws eanno. avoid pay.
ing Could We even occasionally get car load
by rail, it would st least operate - check up.
on the local coal dealers, spo. whom, no matter
how great the supply from the vernillion may
be, our people will, at all events, mainly depend,
as our home coal, for ordinary heating purposes,
is preferred to the Vermillion coal.
The railroad company owes it to its own good
name, to make special efforts to put stop to
the crying injustice Of which the people along
the line Of the road complain with suoh good
cause