The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-08-28

away within the month, the company may
at their option, at any time thereafter, dis
continue further deliveries, and retain the
fifty cents per ton deposited on the day of
sale; or. should the company elect to do so,
they may resell the coal either at public
sale or otherwise. for account of such de-
faulting purchaser, who shall pay to the
company any deficiency caused by the coal
being sold at price less than that origi-
nally agreed to be paid.
1t will thus be seen that the purchaser 10
strictly bound to the very letter Of his
contract. On the contrary, the company
expressly stipulates that IL shall not In any
manner be held liable for a non-delivery
OF the coal sold. The stipulation is In these
words:
III AZ any time the business Of the company
10 80 interrupted by storms, floods, breaks, aoci-
dente, combinations, tUrnouts. or strikes among
com binations, Douts, and strikes are caused
by reduction OF wages made by said company,
o. iydng other occurrence whu:oeuer, asito ma
terially dccrease the quantity ~ coal which the
company would otherwise have ocen able TO OBJ
tain and deliver during the month In which the
coal now sold IL deliverable, the company Wlt not
hold UseU liable for, or pay any damages sus-
tanned by reason OF tho uon-delivery OF the coal
now Sold or Of any portion thereof although a
month may in the usual course OF the COM
pany's coal sales and business no disposed Of
tracts made by this sale. In AL cases OF non
delivery from any Of the above causes, the
money Will be promptly refunded
IL will thus be seen that the company
reserves TO itself the right of cancelling
the sale ON thousand different pleas,
which are covered by the above sweeping
conditions. In fnct, the words "or by
any other occurrence whatsoever" cover
every possible event, from an earthquake
to the overthrow OF the republic ana the
establishment of an empire. These condi-
tons are unnecessarily stringent. They
SAVIOR too much of royal powers and
feudal times.
The companies had better abandon all
artificial and autocratic policy, ACCEPT the
situation, acknowledge the inevitable, and
suffer the coal trade to be regulated by
the law of supply and demand. Let each
company hold its own auction sales,
separate and apart from oil combinations
with other companies. Such action alone
win bring about free competition and in
spre the public with confidence. 1t is
hardly TO be expected that consumers can
be forced into the market a. buyers Mt
this early stage of the coal complica-
tions. They have hitherto abstained from
laying in their winters stock, because
they believed II impossible for the COM
bination to hold out beyond August. Nor
win they even now abandon the policy OF
mastery inactivity which has broken up
the Anthracite Ring. Why should they
There is every reason 10 apprehend that
III
now and winter.
Though we have heard much talk OF
rivalry between differ ent coal interests,
we have not yet seen the first step taken
toward active. healthy competition.
Whenever such competition lie practically
established. the Lehigh Valley road and
| Judge ASA PACKER will come prominently
| TO the front. Judge PACKER is u man OF
the Vanderbilt stripe, a man Of great
determination and resource. and of al
| most unlimited capital. 1t Is understood
that he and Col. Tom ScorT are close
allies on this coal question. The Reading
Railroad Company, led by President
GowEN, have apparently embarked
in war against the Lehigh Valley
Railroad. GowEN seeks In every possible
way to embarrass that company in the
transportation and shipment OF coal, and
equally to discourage operators who use
the Valley road from continuing produc-
ton. Under these circumstances It Is more
than probable that Judge PACKER will
before long. make 1t extremely warm for
those who attempt to coerce him into a
line of policy he does not deem oompat-
ible with the interests Of the road oven
which he presides.
All this must naturally tend TO put
down the price OF coal. Ii Is quite certain
that until we have heard from Judge
PACKER, in the way Of an auction sale OF
Lehigh coal under his direction, no com.
bination OF coal companies can success.
fully rig this market by establishing
artificial prices at so-called auction sales