The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1893-03-16
THE COAL ROW CONTINUES.
Mr.. CasweII Writes and Walter Mar
tin Sustains the Gazette.

The following communication was
handed to the publishers last Wednes-
day, and by stipulation, on account of
the crowded condition of the paper,
the same was held over until this
week:
To THE EDrroR-My dear young
friend:-I notice in your last issue you
still continue your discussion on coal
prices and find it necessary for me to
correct some false impressions some
of your statements might make. You
say you can furnish Hooking Valley
at $3.50 on track at North Redwood
which fact 1 am and always have been
fully aware of. But how about the
quality. Let me inform you of fact
of which you do not seem to be aware,
and that is, that there are a dozen or
more different kinds of coal that are
called Hooking Valley which widely
differ both in quality and price, and
some of which did not come from the
Hooking Valley mines, nor even from
Ohio. Another thing you quote my
price delivered from the bin and other
prices for carloads on track. Let me
quote you few prices in soft coal in
carload lots on track, at Redwood
Falls:
S2.37, $3.50, 81, $3.50, $4.75, SIS,
$3.50, $5.75, $3.50, $6.lO, $3.50, 1915.
Most any of this coal has as good a
right to be called Hooking Valley as
great deal of coal that is sold under
that name.
The prices I have quoted are for
carloads on the track. When we un~
load it in our house and sell it out one
ton at a time we add fifty cents more
to those prices and when we deliver it
in ton lots from the house we add still
another fifty cents as these charges
are for extra work. They have moth
ing to do with the actual price of the
coal. If we charged enough profit on
our coal so that we could sell you a
ton and deliver it to you from our
house at the same price that we would
sell another man a carload or even one
ton and haul it himself we would be
doing an injustice to him and would
not benefit you to any extent. We find
after considerable experience that our
present method gives the best general
satisfaction, and we do not believe in
handling any kind of goods that we
call by its right name, nor in making
all of our customers pay for services
rendered to few which free delivery
would mean. The coal that we charge
you S7.75 for delivered at your Office
we sell at 1878 on track at Redwood
Falls, and I defy any one to duplicate
it in quality at one dollar or even fifty
cents below that price.
In conclusion, let me advise you not
to try to down large combination
such as the coal trust by attacking
one of the business interests of your
own town. Remember that they have
just as much of a rake-cff on coal
shipped over the St. Louis road as on
what we get here and all retail coal
dealers are just as much their victims
as the consumers are. Yours truly,
w. r. CAswELL.
Again, we must take issue with our
very good friend, the writer of the
above. Mr.. John Martin agrees that
the Hooking Valley coal placed on the
track at North Redwood, shall be
Hooking Valley, and the very best
grade of that, if Mr.. Caswell can find
more than one grade of that coal, which
Mr.. Martin says he cannot. This is
the coal that Mr.. Martin delivers at
$500 per ton in Belyiew,and granting
that Northwestern freight rates are Is
cents higher, why cannot it be sold
here for $685.. Surely VanDusen &