, 1881-02-06
Snow in soui6<Portions of Those States
Reported to Be twenty-five
Feet In Depth
A Blizzard and Heavy Snow PreVa-
lent Throughout Iowa Yes
: =, terday.
Kansas Visited, After Four Months
Drought, by Tremendous
- Rain-Storm.

a coal. FAMINE.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Feb. 5.-There mas
not been such famine Of coal in many years
as now exists. The cold weather has pre-
vented anything like the usual Work at tne
mines, for operators cannot get the miners W
work at ali IN such weather as we nave haa
for the past week OF. two. The co111elles
have been in operation nomlnally on luil
time, but there has not been an average OIL
two days full work during the week. Mean
while the consumption Of coal mas
been large and constant. In the EAST
the winter has been so severe tnat
supplies have been exhausted mucn
earlier than usual, and manufacturers have
found the stock at the mills going OIL at 3
rapid rate. Along the line furnaces have
been busily engaged, and others have gone
into blast, so that
TIE DEAASD FROM THAT SOURCE H4s BEEN
GREATER
than for the winter months OF any year Ill
the last seven. In the city the winter mas
proved exceptionally severe, and large deal
ers have been put to their wits emu 10
answer the calls upon them. The West, too,
has had famine, which has sent the price OF
coal higher than it has been since anthracite
coal was first generally introduced For
this scarcity there are other reasons. lne
movement OF cars is necessarily very SLOW III
this extremely cold weather. and with the
heavy snoW-stornls that have been so prev
.alent the switches have been clogged, anu
side~tracks. ncun,bered SO that there has
been very unusual delay in the delivery
alone the line, which has made cars SLOW OF
return, Motive power also is easily tb~oWn
out Of gear accidents are freQ:tcot, and they
cailse yexatious delays. The result has been
to cause :
VERY SERIOUS TROUBLE -
to the trade. Too late the consumers ind
the risks of. the hand-to-mouth policy that
tlley have pursued. Private consumers are
short, and the, dealers have orders for ten
times as much coal as they have on hand.
The sudden demand has brought about al
most as great panic as in the iron trade last
summer, for furnaces and the nlanufac-
tories are all clamorous for coal, and afraid
that they cannot get it. There is no longer
any question Of size, quality, or price,-ou1; i;
. ofsupply,
and the transportation companies cannot
send it forward fast enough, even If the
miners could get it out Nor is the outlook
in the bituminous market much better. 1t is
not a question Of prices,-it is only matter
| of possibility of, shipment. There are mines
in the Clearf1eld region that have not worked
day during: the week. for lack Of cars, and
shippers have, been unable to meet their
Eastern contracts. The Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company is adding new equipment
every day, but its. shops have been utterly
unable to keep pace with its
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
coal trade. It is quite patent that, as long as
full work at the mines means really only
about one-tllird Of, the usual consumption,
there need be- little talk Of any suspension,
and the number Of orders Oh the books
now far greater than at any time in the past
three mollttls-ful1y warrants the companies
in keeping at work on full time until April
at least: When the spring season opens
there ought to be at least l00, 900 tons at each
Of the tide-water shipping points, and now
there IS very little, With ..
THE PRESENT OUTLOOK.
the West taking all the coal that can be
shipped In that direction and ut full prices,
and all the local and line yards bare, 1t Is
quite apparent that the companies will be
unable to Accumulate any large amount on
the wharves until navigation is fairly open.
Rates arc nominauy 50 to Boston, but no
sailing-yessels are going out with the ice as
thlck as now, and Charleston, Savannah
and Wilmington freights are the same. There
are at present number of loaded schooners
in the river waiting chance to get ont In
safety.