The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-04-07
FOR A BIG COAL DEAL,
s. l. BOstwick Looking Over
Adjacent Galleries.
THINKS NOW THE TIME TO BUY.
seattle 4 Cheap Point From Which TO
ship Coal To California, Because
Of Low Freight.

S. l. Bostwick vice president OF the Cali
fornia Navigation & Improvement Com
pany. railroad man. wheat speculator. dry
goods merchant. banker and man of affairs
generally. IS al the Northern with his pri-
vate secretary Mr.. Miller. partly on a
pleasure trip, but principally 10 look over
the country" which he has never visited
before. To assist him in viewing the
landscape Ger" he has q stack of intro
auctions 10 prominent business men OF this
city.
Mr.. Bostwick who is a large. handsome
man. with large idea of things. and who
has Travelled all over this country and in
Europe in connection with big enterprises.
was looking over the Cedar river colllerieS
on Sunday. and during his stay here has
either looked over or made close inquiry
into other coal properties. When asked II
his trip might not probably bear some inn
portant results TO Seattle. he said:
II am unable TO say anything as TO that
at present There are some very good
properties here. but must have an expert
to examine them. l also have 10 consult
with others when l return home ! VIII
say this, that when products are sold for
less than the cost of production there must
necessarily come change. My opinion is
that everything has about touched bottom
in the past few years. and that now is
good time to buy.
y am thinking Of buying coal. but as
10 what quantity we shall need am unable
to say. That is a question of how cheap
we can get it. The stockholders of the
great flour mills at Stockton are also stock
holders of our company. The Schwabach
ers, c. l.. Webb ard Balfour, Guthrie &
Co., for instance. are interested in our COM
pany and in the Crown flour mill there.
We have number of steamers carrying
the flour from these mills to the Chinese
steamers at San Francisco. They leave
Stockton at o'clock in the evening, and
at the next morning are alongside the
steamer at San Francisco. while ii used TO
take the schooners sometimes week to
make the trip. So those schooners are shut
out. That is one point.
NOW, the Corell Coal Company has
built a railroad thirty-five miles long from
its mines in Corell Hollow to Stockton, at
a cost of $500 900. 1t will be open in a
month. Our steamers have all the flour
they can carry, but have to come back
light. If we could get cheap coal at San
Francisco, we could compete with the
Corell company at Stockton. because our
steamers. that now return light. could load
with coal.
I'VE could also compete with the COM
pany in San Francisco, as il will have 100
miles to carry its coal, and no return
freights worth mentioning. Now, the sail
ing vessels from stockton mat carried
-four are going to come up here. and, the
freight being less, We could utilize them.
From these the coal could be wheeled right
ON to steamers in San Francisco har-
Dor Then this Alaska business has grown
TO be very large, and the steamers in it
will have TO take coal down or go light.
This will make Seattle a cheap point to
load at and the whole proposition a good
one If the coal can be had here at a fair
price. / shall probably make some ar
rangement. and on a large scale