New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-02-28
COAL DEALERS ALL AGREE.
no REDUCTION IN PRICE PROBABLE.
THE POOR MAN sHIvEEs. AND MUST PAY WHAT
THEY ASK OK KEEP on SHIVERING.

THE POOR MAN sHIvEEs. AND MUST PAY WHAT
THEY ASK Or KEEP on sHvEmNG'
The coal dealers are lazy nearly all points con
nected with the immediate" future OF thHr business
There IS one exception. They sure with suspicious
emphasis that there will be reduction I'm prices for
at least month There /, no sentiment In TIL huNi
ness ono Of them remarked to Tribune reporter
yesterday. eve ont for the dust" and DE ddh
mean coal dust. The necessity Imposed hN the pro
tractcd severity of the weather 4, the dealers oppor
tunity lie is prepared to work the mine as long a.
no can That the people must and will submit l. his
excuse. No voluntary mercy can be- ho2d ior Inc
force Of public protest can alone hop" to prevail.
The cause needs every aid tina, can be mustered
law exists that has already figured IN tn" c'hhc''
II Is directed against such combinations AS thlN one
o. the coal dealers l, factor In laying 10" inc
bigger trust II should DO summoned 10 the TASK "I
crushing this one. TIE eiircnlefy o. these retainer"
who control the supply of coal to the homes 'i ,"'
people seems be proof against every ordinary ''""
II NAV require the machinery Of justice t. hrhe them
10 terms. ,.
They take a plausible but spcciou> stand IN SmiuhH
all responsibility to the shoulders 81 the who'll sac
dealers A representative of on" 81 The aISeS' MINIS
Of the city jeremiah Skidmores sons in ioho"hS ""'
that view yesterday said .
we really don't know what Is going TO happen 10
the trade OF course II Is our business 10 lS''''i',
as closely a. possible the time changes In prices WILL
occur Al present however. We cannot determine VII"
any certainty except that no reduction Is pfop"o" :"
fore April. When the wholesalers Icdac' VIZ WI" ~
duce. We depend wholly on them.
The same old certainty crops ont. y" reuu' 'o".
"On what do You bisr your ol'''' w
be no reduc,ionl'
"Wbv should there he? The demand l"f c"'' -
sun great This demand will doubtless ias' ''r""E"
the month Of March" WHY
THAT Is for the starving poor T. answer WHY
should there be a r"ductoh III INC p'' "
vou not still shiveTing!
/ Herbert a Co.. are among the busiest "i tl'
trade Mr. Herbert Is another sage In coal ~
dwers more particularly on the statement ''''' inv
retailers have no actual voice in the r'elia''oh VI
prices That ne is certain that there VIII h' 10 !"
duct,on. and that he i, uncertain rs 10 everything
else can be assumed in advance lie "'"lE N'
the assumption In an Interview
eve fix our prices" he said further. on the "''''
of what the coal costs us. II the whol'Naei' i"'S'
the price why have 10 follow. Nhch 'h'H w.
duce the price why, then we reduce A. lor o"i
finn We fix our price without any consultation with
any other firm" m
Mr. Herbert quoted his chief prices They are
the same as those charged by every o'her dealer
The similarity was. Of course a colh'"ohc'' J.
was almost as happy colncidenc" ~ i"t Ieia''' oS
the representative Of the wholesale dealers Su'h'N'
Conyncham e. Co.. Of No. l Broadway. lie was speak
ing 10 The Tribune reporter a. 70 tn" action OF 'he
wholesalers
.Why" said he, "a few dealers happened 10 meet
10 talk on general topics Of the day. and the next
day rise In the price Of coal was announced ana
they called that a combination. They an HHpPT'"
10 agree this price, too which MADE Inc co"oi
dence the more remarkable
As TO the probability Of break In the prices he
said that the wholesale men would continue 10 e'' "N
much as they could for their coal Bn' he lh'lD'''u
that the prices were variable than lht
market would indicate, and that IN" retailers
were profting by these fluctuations As 10 ia" roii
men he considered 1t extremely unlikely that th"y
would make any reduction in the prices He ";''
thoroughly up all the arguments OF tho trace
The great demand for coal and its probable con
tinusnce for some time to come; seemed 10 nun
sufficient reason for keeping up the pIIceH. IN,
c Of his general argument was that ail
needed coal, they had become accustomed 10 ih" hS
mice. the retailers making larger lrohl-
the wholesalers making larger profits and The
There the situation in Il nutshell. Tie people
alone were suffering.
equally feicitous in their statements. but less gwen
TO detail l.. r. Barrett, the New York agent a
the Lchigh Valley Coal Company. said HAT every
thing was in such n tange that no definite future
course could he predicted He does not look for
any reduction in prices for time. rs 10 ne panS
Of retailers Mr. Barrett is trihc more cXplici 'han
they are. He voucheS exactly Tor thelr S'a,em'h.
when the wholesalers reduce, we reduce hut
adds sometimes"
1t IS frditless attempt to trace back 10 primal
causes the origin OF the coal rxtoron. ne Ne
know that the dealers have the matter IIactical
IN their hands az this time. ana could r'Nu'"
the prices II they would. The shifting OF rcspoia
hility back and forth may confuse some minus. nut
does not shield the dealers with whom the p"opl"
come in direct contact with. These are the mon 10
whom the poor must look for redress. and his
extremity has reached q pass where IL VIII brooh
little further imposition.