Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1876-06-06
lCommunicated.1
THE FACTS ABOUT COAL.

EDITORS SENTINEL: In your issue OF
June 4th appeared an article headed
mo Depreciation" published by re-
quest. The party who made the re-
quest, and on what authority, I will
consider afterwards but, first Of all,
the statement that, owing to the de-
mand for coal exceeding the supply,
the Richmond Mining Company has
been forced to order a lot of coke to
run their furnaces, but as soon as coal
men can supply a Sufficient 0 OF
good coal the shipment Of coke will be
stopped. Now, as most of the COM
munity know, that statement is SO ALSO
lutely false, not having the least color
of truth in it, that no one but q fool,
IDIOT or a knave would, in the face Of
existing circumstances, make any such
assertion. The facts of the case are
these: When c~oai-hauling commenced
this spring there was considerable coal
that had been laying over since last
winter, and Ivy laying exposed to the
weather had d~eteriora:ed in value. The
Richmond Company purchased some
OF that coal at Prices ranging from 20
cents upwards; but for the last two
months coal of rs good quality as has
ever been brought to this market has
been produced and brought IN in suf-
ficient quantities 10 run all of the
Richmond furnaces. The truth Of the
matter il, that the coal brought in has
averaged much t,etter in quality than
is generally the case, a coal men
knowing that, with the exception of
the Atlas (Which is managed 10y a gem
tlemap, but who can only take a GER
tain quaint y of coal), the Richmond
Company had it all their own way;
and knowing also by Experience the
well-establi,hed principle OF the mon
arch of the Richmond Company of
''kick him, he has no friends; hit him
again, he Is tied and can r OF bite you;''
say, knowing all this, they, as a rule,
have been far more cautious in sacking
their coal than is generally the case
when tho demand is nearly equal to
the supply.
The party further states that the
company does not want to reduce the
price of coal below 80 cents per bushel.
That statement is AS glaring a false
hood as the one about the scarcity OF
coal; but the way they whip the devil
around the bush, a. stated by men de-
livering coal there, is in the following
Sacks containing samples Tor
different rates are set on on the dump
tn regulate the price by. Glass No. /,
80 cents per bushel. from the size of a
mans fist to as large az the wood makes
the same; classes No. z and No. 3.
smaller sizes and less rates. Now,
everybody possessed OF common sense
knows that in the first place small
wood, although 1t will produce as
good coal AS large wood, will not make
the coal any larger than the wood it.
self: and. furthermore, that even If
coal il burnt e Yer so well, and you
draw the same from the pits in the
whole shape of the wood as the same
is put in. hat in sacking, loading and
hauling the >aine it is hound to break
up. and more or less fine coal accumu-
late. BY thus classifying the coal they
YET as good coal in quality, though not
so large in SIZE. Tor less than 30 cents;
and | do not think that any argument
that conld be produced would convince
the public to the contrary. On more
than one occasion teams had to drive
out because they refused % cents per
bushel. and after being driven out have
taken their coal to the Atlas furnace,
the same being pronounced No. ! coal
Al that furnace, and 80 cents per hushel
paid for the same.
Now then, ii the article in your is
sue of June 4th was inserted at the re-
quest al the experimenter in coke and
ruler of The de>tiuies of the Richmond
Mining Company, IL ~ only "A sequel To
the ~ ying of of their lahoring men in
deprecated money. In one ease he il
cutting down the price of labor, in the
other ease the price of coal; trying in
either case Ia g%alvanize his action that
he has not the honesty to advocate nor
the maniIness to defend, and To shit
The blame somewhere off Ills shout
ders, where it really belongs, and
where an intelligent community has
fastened it long ago. Ii not made di-
rect by him, it has undoubtedly been
limited to some one nj his employees
ready to do his bidding, no matter
what the same may be.
CoALBURNER.