Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-01-22

rsHst 7SfeordrH 70 ns Rs1tstsr
CHARLESTON. w. VA, January ei.-
FIX Governor l.. w. Wilson was found in
his Office to-day by your correspondent
and was asked To state to tho REGISTER
what effect, II any,in his judgment, will
the passage by Congress OF the Wilson
bill have upon the coal Industry OF tho
Kanawha Valley. Governor Wilson re-
piled:
"In my Judgment n beneficial effect.
In this particularly; So far as our coal
land owners are concerned. IL will dem
onStrate that the value OF our coal lands
does not depend upon Congressional leg
islation. This | consider OF immense
Importance To the people OF this State
who own these lands aud pay the taxes
upon them. When this demonstration
Is made the true value OF West Virginia
coal lands will be known TO the world,
and the fear OF foreign competition will
be dissipated.
New River coal is to-day put into
Philadelphia by the Chesapeake and
Ohio coal agency for less than SO. 80 per
ton, and sold there for between S4 and
50 per ton. This coal agency, through
the control OF freight rates on the g. 81
o. Railway. has not only absorbed the
entire coal trade OF this region east to
the Atlantic seabeard (erceptlng the
camel cosD, but now, through its head
manager, Mr.. Ingalls,, IL seems To ee at
tempting To dictate the policy OF the
Dem9cratic party Of this State. This
coal Nyency was created In 1873, after
coal operations had been carried on here
to prosperous success, to absorb the pro
| fits OF the coal trade which properly
belong To the coal operators, and IL
Is to-day making four times
as much profit on coal land am a long
way on the inside In making this state
mentl as the operators themselves,
while II pays no taxs and does nothing
| to support State or local government.
! II was proven before the Legislature In
1882 that the special freight rate To tho
coal agency for carrying coal to the
Atlantic seaboard was Sl.7l per ton,
while for any independent coal oper-
ator IL was $500 from the Kanawha
district and S375 from tho New river
| district. / am now reliably informed
that coal is now carried TO tho Atlantic
seaboard for the coal agency for less
than 81 80 per ton, while the operator
could ship coal TO market only by pay
ing the old price to individual shippers,
as before stated. The result Is, he is
com PEELED TO sell his coal To the agency
nt its own price. About the year 1880
and prior TO that time the operators got
| Sl,20 per ton for coal at the tipple, but
the G. IL o. coal agency has screwed
them down, down, down, from year to
year, until now they get an average
price Of only 70 cents at tho tipple aud
the miners get less for digging now
than they got fifteen years ago.
The Coal Agency put its coal into
| Philadelphia at not over SO per ton
that Is, 75 cents for coal AT lhe tlppie,
Sl5O railroad freight. and rs cents for
coast transportation, and yet they have
the bardihood TO talk about com petition
with Nova Scotia coal.
THE Chesapeake aud Ohio Coal Agency
Is operated largely on the capital OF
the owners OF the mines. The agency
is generally nearly n year behind In
its payments 20 the operators. IL Ia
now seven months behind. For In
stance the coal they bought last June
they settled for 10 Septem IN Der by giving
the operators their notes due ia Jan
uary. The banks OF Charleston and
the coal operators have been carrying
this paper OF the Chesapeake and Ohio
Coal Agency while the agency itself
has received long ago tho money for
tho coal II bought from operators and
sold last summer"
"Speaking Of Nova Scotia coal, IL
should be remembered that we have DO
competition for coal used for domestic
or home purposes anywhere along the
Atlantic coast The people use an
thraclte coal, which they burn ia fur
naces and heaters. The open CRATE in
the Eastern States is novelty rather
than a service. The great body OF West
Virginia coal shipped TO the seaboard Is
used on steamers engaged In coast and
foreign trade The whole OF the output
from the Fiat Top coal fields goes East
for that purpose, and 80 does nearly all
OF the output from the New River
mines The balance Is used on locomo-
tive engines and for steaming purposes.
There is no such thing IN question a.
Nova Scotia coal competition. The
analysis Of the best Nova Scotia coal
exhibited az the COlumb bian Exposition
shows 80 per cent. Of carbon, 3j per
cent Of volatile matter, per cent Of
ash. and ] per cent. OF sulphur.
at is hardly necessary 10 say that
that amount OF sulphur ia this coal
renders IL an undesirable article and
the paucity Of carbon puts IL out Of the
contest with the New River and Flat
Top coal, which averages up 20 about
50 per cent. Of carbon VITA but the
olAN hhHHh AinNu VI HNi VuWN ~ ~ ohttW-
ers--especially passenger steamers
cannot afford " use the Nova Scotia
coal for two vory IA bstantial reasons.
First, the steamship that expects trade
must make time, and must have the best
coal With which % do it. Loss Of time
means loss OF trade. West Virginia
took the first award on coklng coal
against the world az the Columbian Ex-
position. Second, a loss 10 one days
time in crossing the Atlantic means
loss OF az least 81 900 ia the cost
OF coal alone. This may be
readily understood from the fact that
any frst-class ocean steamer will con-
sumo ct least 12 tons OF coal per hour.
or nearly 800 tons per day, the average
price being s. per ton. If Atlantic
steamers desired 70 use Nova Scotia coal
lnstead Of ours why do they not stop a.
Halifax which Is right % the track Of
the Gulf stream, and take coal Instead