The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-04-06
ICE ONE CENT A POUND
That Is the Rate to Con-
suners Just Set by the
Companies.
EVEN THIS MAY BE RAISED
There Is None on Hand. and 1t
Must All Come from Name
and Canada.

Ice will be luxury next summer The
three companies which supply the bulk
Of Ice to this city have little or nome On
hand at the present time, and say that
they viii not undertake to fill contract
at any price, as it is not positively known
from what source they can get ice cheap
est TO execute their orders. Although the
present scale Of prices to the dealers is IS
ton, the companies sag that It may
reach double that sum in midsummer,
and they say that orders may be difiiculx
70 fill at any price, owing to the uncer-
tainty Of the market and the variation in
railroad rates, which may increase the
cost OF transportation
/ There has been no ice at all harvested
on that great supply centre, the Hudson
River. and ice Ia this section has been
harvested only III Maine and in Canada
The ruling prices for ice in this city are
| generally gauged By those fixed at the
1 Meeting held by the wholesale dealers in
! New York in the latter part Of March,
] III ismeeting was held this year, March
/ ~. and the ice question WIS thoroughly
discussed. 1t was the opinion OF the
meeting that the supply was !, 90 90 tons
short OF the average The price paid IN
Altsftit dAE l4t tIGktthSQ EXPENSES OF
transportation were fully discussed and
| the following prices were agreed upon,
subject to chang independent drivers
at the bridge, $40 per ton; large consufn-
erss SIS per ton. and families. 81 per 100
pounds
samuel McBurney, secretary Of the
| Hudson River Lee Company, said that the
company would not take any large coil-
tract, as it could not possibly I'LL It
Our CROP said he s.is generally
gathered up the Hudson, and Until this
| year we have cut enough to supply Che
demand. No ice has been harvested this
year, and Il would be nonsense to cry 10
give any sci Of prices at the present
tifne.a
Have you any ice in ssockas
Yes, we have been lucky and have
gathered about one-tnird OF oUr regular
crop from Lake Champlain. How long
| this viii Last us cannot tell, but the re-
mafnder Of the supply will have to be.
filed from Maine OF course dc not ex-
/ pect the demand for ice to be as large this
year as the previous year, as many people
VIII probably deprive themselves OF what
may be a luxury this summer; in fact.
believe that the demand Will not be one
half thai OF last year We have one ice
house on the Hudson with capacity Of
G00, 900 tons, but it WAS unusually lone
some last winter
$50 you can see that the com paniss Will
lose money, and as the cost OF transport
tation from Maine is as yet unknown
there is no knowing what ice may be
worth this summer. / understand that
several Spectators have secured control
OF the Maine crop, and are holding it
/ back.
This Is the first year that remember
| thai there has been no ice gathered on
the Hudson aud we ara compelled TO kaee
q new dilemma. The only winter which
| approached that just past was that of
1870, and the following summer fancy
/ figures prevailed"
How does the quality of the ice COM
pare with that Of last yearsp
Well. the Maine ice is not up 10 the
standard owing to it being stacked ice,
that is, it has not been housed The
waste on it viii be about forty or nifty
per cent. y
'sAt what price can ice be bought nowsn
Eve are selling it TO the dealers at the
| Bridge at S. per ton; to saloons, restaur-
ants and hotels at fifty cents hundred
| pounds and 70 families at seventy cents u
| hundred. =
"How do these prices compare with
those Of last years''
This time last year we were selling
for So q ton TO the dealers, thirty cents to
restaurants and so on, and fifty cents 20
families ?
At the office of the New Jersey Ice Com
pany. Superintendent Heath said that
the company had about one-tenth of it's
usual supply in stock This had been
gathered from Lake Lncerne. The COM
pany will probably get its ice from Maine
Mr. Heath said that the company had
one contract on hand, which Will expire
in another week. He said that the con-
tract could not expire. quickly Tor them
he thought that the demand this year
would not reach one half that of last Year.
AT the office of the United Ice lines,
formerly the Greenwood Lake Ice COM
pany. Mr.. Wiley said that the company
had no ice on hand. but was negotiating
for a supply from Maine. This company
usually gets It's supply from Greenwood
Lake, whence it is shipped direct TO Jer-
sey City by the New York and Greenwood
Lake Railroad. 1t is needless to add that
no ice has been harvested on Greenwood
Lake.