, 1874-11-15
Stock on Hand as Compared With
Last Year.
Where the Profits Of Small Dealers
Come from.
Comparative Cost Of Hard and bitum-
. iGous Coal.
Opinions of Members Of the Coa1
Exchange

1ra+ ot this time the subject OF coal IL one o1
r,ecrliar interest," not alone HoH 1uo Ast' AN
Ea ara upon the verge OF "7nte1' ou1 1oA Wv
.a.,,, +har an ndyance OF so cents per ton On
-,t1,r,c cito was Yesterday decided upon by tho
ta,1ino coa1-dea!ers of Chicago, the new rnte
- -, into effec: tomorrow. This advance In
mice will take nobody by surprise. for auch
movement has been almost invariably maoe NJ
This season of the year; but the EPISODE 1u1-
nishes occasion for some general obsesFa1so"s
md inquiries, as well as for the statement oi
facts in connection with tho subject OF coal not
commonly understood
TIE ANTHRACITE COAL TRADE,
which will Chiefly form tha subject Of tins artl-
c.e. presents some curious features 1or STUDY.
The usual laws OF supply and demand are not
allowed to obtain, but are displaced oy 1o1ceo
md arbitrar; scale OF prices. and system OF
monthly advance in prices has been calraed oo''
apparently with great succesB: so that We nave
hed the sDectacle of steady rise in the artl-
Gle OF coal, while almost every osher COIL
modify has been dull and dropping. 1t
in carta,n that the corporations have made heavy
profits under this arrangement, but 1t has been
at a sacrifice of large amount Of business, and
it ia questionable whether the stfa1n has noe
been too great There symptoms thas this
prea1 combination representing over S3o0,ooo
600. is falling to pieces of its Own weight, oue
the certuiutv Of great loss in case OF a free
frat. which is likely to take place when these
combinations dissolve, will probably deter the
members from ''broaking upin TOW In casethe
combination continues. it is thought probable that
the bands will be made stronger, and closer
union will be agreed upon. At present there are
one or two large and powerful corporations
which are not members Of the ring. but are TAX
ing advantage of it to get large prices, keeTlng
inst low enough to largely Increase their bus1'
ness. Should these corporations como INTO the
ring, tho public Will be at their mercy. II they
deal fairly, no fault can be found, but there ls
danger of greater greed than honesty among
them. The present
METHOD OF CONDUCTING TIE BUSINESS
Of the great coal monopoly is said to be very
simple. and may be briefly described thus:
t+Commlttee Of Sn," as they are styled, meet
monthly in New York City. basket Of cham
paenc and box Of cigars are brought IN each
mc,obe1 accuses the other Of cutting down
prices then all are pronounced innocent OF that
crime; some good stories are told. and broad
Jokes cracked and then they telegraph their
agents to advance prices 15 centS ana eedp run
Such monopoly and control Of the great staple
product. which il to the world OF industry what
fhe eun is to the natural world, the great
source of Light and heat ,St weold tnat 1os tbe be
grand total Of 2o,ooo, 900 tons of anthracite or
6nrd coaI mined annually and sent to market. all
comes from one small locality in Eastern Penn
ey1yania.-tho total area OF al the anthracite
basius being but 472 square miles.
THE GEEAT DIRECTIVE POINT
nf all corporatiors that reach for a Western
trade is Chicago This city. although located So
Tar from tho anthracite mines, takes about one
ill., ,11ys,% n
d;ction WAS about 20,0o0,00o tons. and Chi
caco took 53S,S37 tous. Previous to 1876,
in the coal statistics OF the city,
anth, ac;te and bituminous were given together.
but siuce the figures have been compiled sepa-
ratey the receipts have boeu found to be as fol-
lows: 1870, $40. .730 tons 1871, amount not
given; 1872 1876 tons; 1873, 55o,o3f Tons
1874, l1p to Nov. IL, $50. 800 tons. great fall
ing OF will be noticed III 1874. This is explained
chiefly by the extremely mid winter, which left
q surplus Of about 100000 tons to ba carried
over to 1874
TIE TRADE N CHICAGO
seems to be. conducted by two parties, VIZ:
those WHO receive coal from the producers on
commission, or JOINT account. OF as agents, and
those who purchase bv cargo. It Is claimed by
the latter that tbs former keep prices ut 6tarTa-
leave the field, an assertion not without fonn-
datioo in view Of the fact that. previous to yes
terday's advance. coal was selling here by tho
single ton at lower price than By the cargo.
It will rea llly occur TO the reader that ton
OF hard coai 10 each man, woman, and child in
Chicago is rather liberal allowance: Of the
half-million tong of anthracite received in
this MARKET d very large proportion le sent west
by rail, no small quantity finding its wsy far out
OH the Union Pacific Railroad, where it becomes
+ luxury instead Of necessity, retailing as high
"a S25 per ton at some Of these distant points,
wealthy aud middle classes, the poorer people
purchasing the cheaper soft Goals. 1t is
curious fact that many people in poor
circumstances burn wood because they
"c.nnot afford anthracite" Whereas If they
but knew it. the latter il 80 per cent cheaper,
it being estimated that q ton of hard coal Will
AFT ord as much heat as two cords OF wood. The
anthracite trrde in Chicago has undergone muck
change in the past few years: It was formerly
mon oIoly. all the coal coming to one dealer,
who doled out to the others as much he
thought they ought to have; but with the open
ipx Of new avenues to the anthracite fields, that
sort Of monopoly ceased In the year 1920 but
$50 tons OF anthracite we're mined in the United
States; in 1878, 2o,000, 600 tons we're sent to
market.
THE ADVANCE IN PRICE
voted yesterday at meeting Of tho Chicago
Coal Exchange, is claimed to hare been ncces-
sitated by the advance in freishts, aud also in
the prsce OF coal in Buffalo. Tho summer rate
was $3.50 for three sizes, and So for range coal.
On the Sd of August an advance Of Is cents por
ton was voted, and on the 31et Of that month Is
cents more were put o1. The increase agreed
upon yesterday makes in all an advance Of 81
per ton over the lowest summer rate. the price
and after tomorrow to be $3.50 for three
eizes, and $40 for range.
THE "sMA1L DEALEns" 2"
constitute factor in the coal problem not cor
1Gctly estimated by the general public, who are
slew to learn the lesson that should como of it.
eeE and without the need Of enforcement. That
lesson is Pa.zouize the heavy dealers only, il
you would save profit which Ii in reality the
nilIiest 11nd OF gratuitv. This is peculiarly true
Of anthracite coal which is imported and con-
trolled by = few heavy firms. who bare made
common cause to wipe out m the needless profit e1-
every ounce Of their coal from the
large dealers, paying for it the exact
price that a. or B. pays for tho coal he burns in
his dwelling. The consumer purchase just
ns caeaply as the small dealer, and the latter's
may s.ve few cents on the hauling bnt not
enouEh n this way to keep him alive. The prop
oslaon u reduced to perfect plainness. The
reader Leaves his order TO. ton Of hard coal at
one Of the large establishments. paying $40 per
ton for range delivered, or $3.50 in the yard.
The small deA}ar, WIN horo 49,.