New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-01
THE LONDON TRADESMAN.
now HE DOES BUSINESS AND ho" ''1
DOES THE AMERICAN.
London, November ~.


The cry of the tradesman Tor r"" RI
becn met by cry from the consume have
Prices and Full Weight SO mucn '"'e ~, l..
been forescen. The customer Is - .',ob and
Turns at last He is tired oil PAYNE W. -. With
'"'"' .. .,ha, no pays for. He begins WIN
"oo -. ., in the plural because ne uoe'
80" 80 Jobn Bull never orders coal TO I've p"O
r. sre Int GOALS lie writes TO one Oh n''
80. organs 70 complain that the coai niei-
- hin, short weight. The lnnocehe
-, a. - there had not been for years a No"i
- - London which charges what u ueS ioi
.eaI Whether il robs the consumer py pu'""s
aouar a ton on the price or by taking OIL ie"
h,ndred weight makes but little difference 10 '''
,,;c,;r, He is robbed as effectualiy III one way
,s The other A London Coal Merchant says ,i'
cheating by weight is done only or mainly ~
dealers Of an inferior sort Another says yo"
may order Goals from any five merchants anu lou,
ont NJ the five will be short weight and you VIII
be luc)xv il thu fifth is not short, TOO
Tho remedy? There is none, or no practcai
remedy. There is a law which has every mer'
mt that of accomplishing Its end. whcn Is "
o,even. dishonesty The law sayS-or is u Gus
,ou9-,hat coal shall be delivered in SACKS
each containing two hundred "''s"V
and ten of these sacks go 10 uhe
ton. and YOU have only TO count them from INC
6ining-room window Sometimes the connoihs
householder does count, finds there are ten SACKS
and retires happy in the belief that ne hds 'a'o
ton of Goals he has paid for. But 1t IS now eA
plaincd that some sacks are made narrow anu
some are not filled, and the sack test Is oeiusion'
Rut they NAV be weighed The carman is by
law commanded to carry scales, and 10 weleh
each sack if the sceptical customer shall require
cumming in the interest of the seller, and not OF
The buver and even il they be honest scales 1t
,s M, everybody who can tell whether the weigh
inc no honest Nor does the British householder
Ike TO stand on the sidewalk and superintend these
operations and be ieered at by sidewalk COM
mittee. II is believed that sidewalk committee
can be collected in London more quickly ana
in greater numbers within a given time than
anywhere else in the world
This discussion became interesting from the
moment the coal merchants took part IN II.
There are jealousies in the coal trade even
members of thu Ring not all content, and mere
must he merchants, big or little, outside the hing
who know something OF what Is done lnsiae'
One Of these gentlemen declares that the buyer
do,s not Get more than 3s cwt. for every 40 cwt.
purchased and paid for. He could tell OF worse
things. and hints al other revelations which for
"
appears on the scene. " There is" says the coal
agent. "a piquancy about this confession
cominp from SO authentic source,
which is seasonable as well as charming
and as coal this winter will undoubtedly he dearer
than il has been for ten years" why, be appeals
to the merchant TO unravel the mystery. and
premises to do so himself if the merchant does not
The excellent coal agent is. it appears, collery
manager, and is prepared TO indicate several
WAYS in which the public is mulctcd. This sounds
well The coicry owners and managers are
understood to be of opinion that the coal mer-
chants get far more than their fair share Of the
profits OF the coal business. They must know how
it is done, and there seems no good reason why
they should not tell. Then the big coal merchants
who ape responsibility are on i'll terms with the
guerrillas of the trade who sell by the sack OH
trolIess in the street. and with other merchants
who sell by circular, Offering coal at prices which
Of themselves imply cheating. Well, there IS an
adage that when certain people fall out certain
other people come by their own, and the public
lives in hope: vague. no doubt and faint and OFT
deferred but still il is hope. And meantime poor
wretch of a carman has been charged with steal
ing coal from his employer and committed for trlal
When taken into custody he only said They all
do it, When the employer is in custody, 100
don't mean this particular employer, but the coal
merchant in general-beautiful disclosures may be
expected.
Coal is to 6e dearer than for ten years past,
says the expert above quoted. 1t is not long
since we were told it TO be cheaper and one
reason given for this coming cheapness was the
abolition of the Coal Dues do not know
NOR perfect example OF the absurdites IN which
economic pedsntry lands its professors than what
has hnppencd with reference to the Coal Dues
Iluoc how hoo
bvied down to the present year The pedants
cried out against them: they were in fragrant
violation OF the Gospel of Free Trade and a tax
anon one of the necessary commodities Of life,
and the poor were taxed, and / know not what
else There was clamOr, and the politicians on
both sdes-for one was no whit better than the
cther-took up the cry-it was a catching cry
and the POOR listened greedly when they were
told coal was 10 he cheaper. and finally OFF
went the duty on coal. II amounted with the
wine dues which were swept away at the same
lime. to something like Two Millions of Dollars
year. and the London County Council, in It's first
financial year. found its budget reduced to thai
extent What is the result? Every dollar Of
the abolished coal dues has gone into the pockets
Of the Coal Ring and The public. while paying
lust as much us before for coal, has the pleasure
of paying also the additional taxation required
20 make good the deficit due TO the abolition.
But the pedantS and the politicians have had
their way and Free Trade is once more vindi-
Gated. and everybody is happy, especially the
Coal Ring.
There ought TO be. say the refOrmcrs, body
Of coal inspectors. There milk inspectors
already They perambuate London, stop what
nikcaIt they will and may then and there com
pusorily test the milk on its way to the milk
drin&er. Milll-dealcrs have inspectors of their
own to stand between them and their distributing
servants. Yet, with all this, never heard that
the quality of London milk was rcckoned TO ne
very high. or that the pump had been altogether
dow that IL