The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-11-11
THE scARCITY OF coal.
Railroad Men Not Disposed TO Help Cin.
einNall.-

= trollRble circumstances. In conversation
with q coal and railroad man yesterday
the project Of borrowing cars from til
r various railroads in the coal region, 70
the supply Of present needs in Cincinnati
was discussed. The coal man replied that h
did not know Of any obligations that eithe
the coal men OF. the railroads Of the Stat
were under to Cincinnati. That city hat
opposed the building OF coal roads, ant
given its whole patronage to thu
river coal trade OF Pennsylvania. Depend
ing solely upon It's river, supply o
: coal, tho city is now in an emergency be
, cause Of the failure Of the river to NEE
the city's requirements. Suppose" sac
he, THAT all the coal railroads ia the State
: should stop their general trade and each
lend 100 or 200 cars for the purpose oI
supplying the coal demand in Cincinnati
The city would be filled up with a supply
Of coal in couple Of weeks big enough "a
last until the next rise in the river. Then
you'd have no further use for our coal
roads. We would have embarrassed the
trade OF every town with which our roads
do business, only for the benefit, tempora.
rily, Of city taking no interest in our
trade. The duty ot the Central Ohio rail-
roads and the Central Ohio coal companies
is toward the people land the towns that
built them, and they owe none TO Cincin-
natl"
Correspondent = But | can not see
wherein the interests of few towns on
the roads in Central Ohio would. be EN-.
barrassed by temporary effort to supply
Cincinnati with coal. The roads are not
now crowded with the transportation OF
grain as they were few weeks ago.
can not see that they are crowded with
any kind OF business, nor can!!G see where
in it would not be an advantage to both
the coal and transportation companies to
sell aud carry to Cincinnati even for the
supply OF q temporary demand.
'Srhat may be all very true, perhaps,
but We have our own coal demand to
"From what source is the Big Miami
Valley below Dayton supplied such
towns as MiddIetown, Franklin and Ham.
ilton, for instance2"
"From Dayton and Cincinnati. Dayton
believe, sends coal as far South as Glen
dale. But hear that the Dayton dealers
are shutting off their supply for these
towns, in order to acOomodate their North.
ern trade"
Probably for the purpose Of forcing the
Southern trade to see the uncertainty OF
the river supply?"
"It may be, but you see o coal famine at
any important point OF consumption eff
fects the trade at all other points, aud even
those where the supply is most abundant.
We all reap the benefit OF the high prices
at Cincinnati. Its almost as good for coal
men in Toledo, Chicago, Cleveland, and
even Canada, as it is for those in Cincin-
natl"
"How long do you think the famine
will lsst?" Iij.
Goal men don't believe it has com.
menced yet. We believe it will last until
next April, and are fixing our arrange
ments 10 meet it. You can't get any full
supply in Cincinnati before that time, and
the big prices will last until Cincinnati is
fully supplied. The prices will be better
yet y
Meantime our poor in Cincinnati will
have to suffer-"
"0h, your rich and charitable citizens
there can work together and furnish them
coal Tree: You can easily get coal enough
for that"
The gentleman with whom conversed
is a member OF one Of the wealthiest coal
companies in Ohio. 1t may be that he
was junior member, and possibly more
laxative than older and more knowing
members might be, or it may be that he
was talking with the object OF increasing
the panic. Atany rate the impression he
left upon my mind was that the famine is
more fictitious than real; that coal men
have combined to prevent the influx OF
any large quantity of coal into Cincinnati,
for the purpose OF keeping up the prices;
that Cincinnati coal men understand that
they can obtain all the coal necessary for
temporary use, and that all the coal men
in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and a portion
OF Kentucky, will be enabled, by the
shortness Of the supply in Cincinnati, to
keep up their prices to correspond with
Cincinnati prices. may be wrong, but
the disagreeable impression remains.
In connection with this subject, both
railroad and coal men Oiten express the
wonder that the Marietta Railroad Com
pany has never projected spur up into
the Nelsonville coal regions. A short
branch OF FIVE or six miles would bring
Cincinnati into an inexhaustible coal
field, and the building OF sufficient rolling
stock would enable that road to keep Gin.
cinnati fully supplied with good aud cheap
coal all the year round.
The coal miners at straitsville in Hook.
ling Valley have struck for an advance Of
twenty-five cents per ton. Last summer
they worked for fifty cents ton. About
the lst OF October P. Hayden voluntarily
advanced the price to sixty cents, and all
other operators were, Of course, compelled
to advance accordingly. On the lst OF
November the miners struck for seventy.
five cents, which was granted, and last
night they struck for still further ad Z.
vance Of 81. A large party OF leading
operators at Columbus went down by
special car to Straitsville to-day, for con-
sultation with the miners. Here in COL
umbHa coal, in consequence possibly Of
the miners strike, sells for fifteen cents
retail. The price Of coal has been ad-
vanced from 8 % FER ton to $. Public
sentiment has consequently been unfavor.
able toward the coal dealers or operators,
because the wages OF the miners did not
warrant SO large an increase Of cost to the
consumers.
Operators here say that the advance OF
wages to 81 will ruin their trade. Some Of
them claiming that they have large con.
tracts Of coal at eighty cents per ton. The
J operators here lear they will lose their
J Northern trade, because the miners OF the
Tuscarawas and Mahoning valleys have
not struck. Columbus dealers depend up.
on their Northern, Northwestern and
Western trade. They, say that they have
J no large stock on hand, that the furnaces
and railroads are increasing their con.
sumption greatly, leaving the dealers nc
opportunity to accumulate. They say the
roads favor Columbus against Cincinnati
that the Hooking Valley Railroad Com
pany has ordered that none OF their owI
cars be sent to Cincinnati, SO that mont
but private cars can be sent there witt