Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-16
A CENT A POUND FOR ICE.
One Company Has Put Up Its Prices
and Others Expect To.

INCREASED COST OF TRANSPORTATION ALLEGED
As THE ExCUsE-coMPANIEs THAT HAVE NOT
YET ADVANCED THEIR PRIcEs-AN EXPECTED
INCREASE ALL ALONG THE LINZ.
Today has been reasonably cool and pleas
ant day, but if tomorrow should prove to be
another scorcher such as has been known in
this city, and there should come in conse-
quence an extra demand for iced drinks, ice
cream and refrigerator filling there will be
heard one long dismal wall Of protest. Why2
The answer is simple: Ice is up. Way up. At
least some of those engaged in supplying
Washington have put up their prices ar osher
companies have gwen indications Of sheir in
| tention to do So
half a cent a pound seems more than
enough for staple of such shrinking proper
ties. Then how about cent pound? That's
where the rub will come. For some of the
Local dealers have raised their retail price to
that figure and others are expected to step into
line in a few days.
THE COST OF TRANSPORTATION.
The reasons they give are that freight is
high-from S1.66 to Si.75-and that the ice
supply in Maine is very small and rapidly dis
appearing Oh, that Maine supply 1t is
always so very large and promising in mid
winter, but it can never be found i'll the dog
days. Ice is higher IN proportion in Maine
than here" say the dealers, land ice must 60
up or we must go under"
DROP IN NEW YORK.
In New York, though, the story is different
There the sudden influx of an immense amount
of northern New York ice knocked the calcula-
tions of the ice combine into cooked hat
and Ice has taken a big drop, with
further reduction looked for Week
before last the wholesale companies demanded
40 and s12 per ton and got it, too. BY Satur
day they were satisfied with So, while splendid
Maine ice solid and IS inches thick, was being
sold by the shipping companies at sc per ton
at their hatchways.
THE AMERICAN CoMPANY.
In this city the American Ice Company has
issued prettily printed notice that on and
after Monday, June IL. the price of ice de-
livered by that company will be, until further
notice, cent per pound for lots from to 20
pounds; from 20 to 30 pounds, so cents per 100;
from 80 pounds up, 20 cents per 100.
The reasons they give for this action are sub
stantially the high freight charges and the
high prices in Maine. The National Capital
Company has not yet raised their prices, but it
Is almost certain they will in few days.
MAKE THEIR OWN ICE.
The Hygienic Ice Company has no connection
with Maine and makes its own ice as it is
needed. The factory has a capacity of sixty
tons day and this will be increased to 100 tons
within ten days. Unfortunately the
company is engaged in filling
contracts with large consumers and has
not entered the local retail field very heavily
as yet When the capacity for production is
increased, however. they will probably end
to private families and small consumers They
have not raised their prices and say they will
not have to and do not intend to.
THE GREAT FALLS COMPANY.
When STAR reporter called at the Office of
the Great Falls Ice Company this morning he
found the president Mr.. T. A. Lambert and
the superintendent. Mr.. j. ID. Bartlett, sitting
together in the back Office.
1--WE have not raised the price of ice," said
Mr.. Bartlett, in response to question. "The
prices are just the same as they we're last year,
namely: one-hah cent pound to small con-
sumers. There is no doubt that the price
ought to be advanced and probably will be be-
fore the end Of the season. One reason why
we ought to get more for our ice this year than
last is that We pay twice as much for freight
as we did last year. Owing to the general fail
ure of the ice crop throughout the country,
except on the Maine coast there Is a greater
demand for vessels and the result that
freight charges have gone up"
This company" observed MIR. Lambert, lis
governed III its scale of prices by the demands
of the market. This business Is like any other
in our opinion and the market price ought to
prevail
"We have no favored customers" added Mr..
Bartlett. I'VE do not make contracts to fur
nish ice at a certain figure except to very large
consumers. Other companies III this city have
done so and now they come to us and say that
the prices ought to be advanced. Yet We don't
want to discriminate, and while one man who
has happened to make a contract gets his ice at a
certain figure. his neighbor who has made no
contract is obliged to pay higher price for the
same quantity. This is not fair. Ii there is an adj
vance in prices it ought to be uniform, SO that
everybody would be served alike"
THE ICE SUPPLY
Mr. Bartlett showed the reporter an article
in the June number of the Ice Trade Journal
in which it was state ed that there was general
belief that there would be great scarcity of
ice all over the country before the end OF
August. The article notes that the feature of
the market this year is the resort to Maine for
early supplies. This feature of the market"
the article states, lis faithfully and unmistak-
ably reflected by the large direct shipments
from the water this spring. The carefully pre-
pared table which we published in our last
issue shows the shipments from Maine to have
been 263,OOG tons against only 10000 tons last
year-an increase of 193, 600 TONS or l66 per cent
Most of this ice, it must be noted, was bought
under extreme pressure and at the speculative
prices then ruling Our correspondence also
abnndantly shows that the dealers in the west
were even worse off in this respect than those
of the Atlantic states, inasmuch as they were
compelled to bring in their needed supplies by
rail at oppressive rates of freight and from FIVE
to eight hundred miles away from their usual
bases of supply. As to the general result of
the harvest, we think that the shortage this
year will reach 80 per cent as compared with
the average crop for the last five years. This
estimate would make the entire available sup
ply throughout the country about $4,000, 600
instead of "a, ,000, 900 tons"
THE INDEPENDENT ICE COMPANY.
''There is plenty Of ice," said Mr.. C. B.
Church, the president of the Independent Ice
Cnmpany this morning IN a ST.p ranort.r