, 1874-11-15
inevitably and Of necessity, the better it will be
for coal consumers.

the general subject Of coal and the coal trade
The first gentleman called upon was Maj. Kirk
land Secretary OF tue Ehcn maaSod 70 ~ @hose 3i'
greater part Of the statistical information given
| above.
| Renorter-l understand tho Coal Exchange
| has voted an increase Of SO cents per ton on
| anthracite. What was tho reason OF the ad-
| vance?
Mai. Eirkland-1t was neceesitct;t by tho ad-
| vance in frelghts which have como uI1 to Us
per ton within the rast few days. There has
| been during the year total advance OF S1.45 in
! freiehts and tho price of coal, while thoro has
teen an advance Of but 81 in Chicago through
tie eeason-
R.-Do you anticipate any further advance?
Maj. h.-Not for some time to come, if at all.
I luok for steady market this winter, with
prices at about the present rato, and no greater
increase than enough to cover interest On the
stock to be carried through.
R-How do the stocks OF anthracite compare
with those On hand last year?
Mai k.-The total amount now on hand is
smaller while the receipts fall far short Of those
Of 1873 Coal dealers carried over 100000 tons that
remained ursold, ,-load enough to mako them
all 3 little sliaky, though they all got through
with it. The mild winter. aud the effect of the
for the heavy oyerpius. Adding the 100000 tons
to the $50, 900 received 80 far, with the 15,030
tons now on the way, or yet to come before
navigation Closes and We shall have what con-
slider HI ample stock to carry us through the
winter.
MINER T. AME9,
senior member Of the firm Of Miner T. Ames Il
Co., who handle both anthracite ana bituminous
coal in large quantities, contributed Bomo inter-
estlng statements. To tho reporters inquiry as
to the cause OF the advance in anthracite, Ar-
Aynes replied:
s:Is is because stocks arc much smaller than
they were year ago this time. Lake freights
have advanced, and so has tile pr1ce OF coat ID
Buffalo. We shall. before tho close OF navaga-
ton, receive about 5000 tons at an advance OF
81 over tho past month. The rate for coal IN
Buffalo has advanced from u to 10 cents per
month all through the summer"
Reporter-1B There not an abundance OF coal
TO carry us through the winter in Chicago
Alr. A.-So; not an abundance: Tho yards
dou't show it, The stock is 100000 tons less
than last year at this tins. and II Weshonld have
extreme cold weather 1t would be seen that the
supply Was short. The sales Of our firm from
January to November OF this year have been 60
per cont greater than they Eero during the cor
responding period last year. Dealers have been
trying to buy OF each other duf1ng the past wear.
sold large amount to q man for 81 cents ton
less than think could have got if had stuck
out
K--Do you anticipate any further increase IN
the price Of snthrselte? .,,
consumption is certain to be greater than last
year. We can't expect another such winter.
In an extreme cold day l 900 tons will be burned
in Chicago; in a mild day, not oue-half that
quantity. Besides, we are selling more to coun-
try dealers than ever before. People in country
towns are rapidly increasing their consumption
Of anthracite.
R.-Nill soft coal be likely to undergo an ad-
vance proportlouate to that Of anthracite?
Mr.. A.-No; think not. I wish it would,
but it won't. There's too much Of 1t on hand.
Soft coal was never 30 cheap as now. It is u far
more economical fuel than hard coal The latter
is luxury, and an expensive one. We deal in
both k1udS, aud 1 nave no hesitation IN saying
tnat the use OF hard coal for domestic purposes
Is an extraTagance which people IN moderate CIR
cu1natances ought not to indulge IN so e1ten-
slvely 80 they 40.
. R-What Is the relative expense OF burning
hard and sott coal III 1amlly
at. A ton OF walnut Hill {so1t) coal Will FUR
nlsh almost as much heat as ton OF Lacknwana a
1antnfhcfte}'' lou may pae II lnis way Sbou
worth. or one ton, OF Walnut HlIl coal WILL give
as much heat as 81 worth OF anthracite. Ihe
dilereuce Ii still greater Ia the case OF Mlnon&
coal which ls not more than hall as e1l lensl7e,
Tor the same amount OF neat as anthracite
N--lt seems that tho Coal Exchange has not
yet succeeded IN Wlping out the small dealers.
Alr. A--Ao. That 10 another luxury that the
pnbc pay dearly for, if it can be called luxury:
It amounts to q downright folty. wonld
fist-class soft coal that they. pay
their corner dealers $f-o0 Tor, and havo
tried it. advertising my rates. But the small
dealers t., tcll their customers not to buy OF me;
taat % VIII eve taonl poorer quaAtY OF coat'
anu suey naahe .a.a. oe!lese It. e1sa1 saslns
coulo 70 eneGeso u tne sonsu'gr "oulT olspenso
WI .an tne sa1 ~ oealo5 Ptns Iaese ie!o"s !aAe
oue zoo OF ooo pounus iIoIn ,on whenever sney
can ao ~ saney, anu uon asuy t. ~ tAihl9
aIiuns ~ lueueoi'eS, sues LiaAe tiou 2l'oo
~ po- ~ ~ ~, ~; sus sUls euAt 10y pus y. 1s
dne peol,e n'o LUIS "al1ea oa II tnea & own nahus
h;,u can eas'ly sa'o ~ " ~ pof cons ou lnen
o''om1nous coal
Al HooLE,
OF the firm Of E. l.. Hedstron j. Co., expressed
himself as follows Oh the subject Of small deal
ers:
Formerly there WAS largo class Of little deal
ers. as they are termed, who. without any capital
aud frequently with no place OF business, man.
aged to exist by soliciting orders and obtaining
a commission from the regular dealers. The
latter, who have excellent means OF knowing,
assert t,at these little dealers were frequently in
OF selling the samo 1oI hnh-ton or ton 1t vas
a ~ sos .atss peop.o oeo a. t1e plo11?,
sos ~ ehe a. ;t.1 u1aele aloso u loei1