The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1894-04-19
RObber BarOnS Have Made the Chinese
Barrier Almost Impresnable 10
the People.
HERE'S A WAY TO BATTER A BREACH.
Supply Fuel at something Likea
Legitimate Price.


Interest In The Worlds movement to
supply cheap coal for everybody Is in
creasing. Daily there are large additions
to the stacks of orders for $3.50 coal
which are placed at the various offices of
The World in this city and Brooklyn.
The saving of IS cents a ton to every
consumer who purchases his coal in this
manner Is an important consideration,
and people are not overlooking 1t.
The World has printed already several
times the conditions under whica this
coal can be obtained. 1t gives this
guarantee for all coal ordered through
its ak rcy If any ton is found to be
fifty pounds or more short the full
amount of money paid for it will be for
feited to the purchaser.
That the combination will of it's own
accord decrease the price of coal is not
to be expected. Only good straight fight
ing will do 1t. Rarely have the circum-
stances been so favorable for the forma-
tiol of pool az in the case of the coal
roads. This is owing to the comparative
smallness of the anthracite field. 1t has
an area of but 40 square miles. There
IS no other accessible anthracite in the
United States. At least none has been
found. The entire supply comes from the
Pennsylvania field. Around this tract of
1iD square miles the railroads nave Dpen
building Chinese wall. with GATES
through which they alone can enter. The
yearly output of this field sells for $780,
100000 in the retail market, and they
began very early to buy the anthracite
coal lands.
The Presidents of these coal roads
were farseeing They nney added hd yeSarly to
gan to drive out the individual opera tors.
They imported the cheap labor of Cen
trail Europe. They raised the cry of mo
cars" One by one the individual opera
tors were forced to quit the field and
the railroads became their successors.
The individual operators out of the
way, the railroads had no further trouble.
In the face. of the decreasing cost of
production they were able to maintain
the price of anthracite. Its superiority
and the tariff on foreign soft coal pre-
vent the competition Of soft coal In New
York and other important Eastern mar
kets, and the public has been forced to
pay whatever prices the coal bandits
might ask for anthracite.
wonder most of the coal roads have
grown rich and powerful. Some OF
them have earned so much money that
they have huge surpluSses in their
rel. III addition to their growing sur
plusses they pay large dividend:
even in these hard times i
Ssv hard haya times a1 not hast them at all
anything of that kind They can rails,
| the price of coal and make UP for losses
in other departments of their business.
Nor Is there any, promise that tn
monopoly of the coal-carrying roads, 81
far as the ownership of the anthracit
fields are concerned, with be broken.
is impossible for anybody else to get IL
there They cannot be beaten by com
petition at the mines. But the coal l.
| produced cheaply enough. That is no
where the trouble lies. Its cost-to tn
consumer at least-grows after 1t reache
the pits mouth. Wages of miners ar
low All sorts of improved machiner
have been introduced to cheaper produC
| ton.
But these things have had no cffec
so far as the consumer Is concerned
He must make his fight elsewhere. Tn
| Worlds movement Is the only one tina
affords him any relief now.