The San Francisco call., 1897-07-10
FOREIGN COAL TRADE.
How the Southern Pacific Com
pany Ballast Their Empty
Cars.
The State Prison Directors Use Aus
tralian Fuel and Practice
Economy.

At a Meeting of the Manufa cturers' and
Producers Association yesterday after
noon in the Mills building the following
Communication was read:
Gentlemen: AS your association promises
more for he State of California tn an any or
ganization that has yet existed ana as we are
advised you are prepared to take UP any ques-
ton that will benefit the merchants of this
State, we take the liberty of requesting you to
lay before the Southern Pacific Company the
following, and use what influence you possess
to recover the business of supplying the in te-
rior OF this State with coal through this port.
The railroad company has the haulage on n
large quantity of coal to tine interior, not in
cluded in this statement. They Will have this
quantity in addition, the only difference to
them being they will receive more profit for
the service than they are now receiving and
we will have the additional business, to which
we feel we are justly entitled.
We respectfully submit that during the
year 1896 there were receipts of coal from
Ogden amour ting to something like 10000
tons; that the argument used by the railroad
company when this was CONNER enced was thR I
they required something of this kind to fill
cars that would otherwise come to this coast
empty. This argument is not borne out by
the facts, because at least rs per cent of ali
coal received has been loaded in cars of other
lines
1t would seem to us good policy for the rail-
road company to make a rate at least so per
cent greater on westbound coal and lose the
revenue of q half or five-eighths of . cent per
ton per mile, and have the entire haulage on
an equal amount OF coal distributed from San
Francisco, on which their revenue averages
TWO (2) cents per ton per mile.
II the railroad company Will have state
ment made for their own use, showing guam
tlty and freight on coal shipped from San
Francisco in 18SSS9, or previous TO the re-
ceipt of Rock Springs and Utah coal. we be-
lieve they will find they are depriving this
coast OF a very large business on which they
are making an absolute loss.
their way clear to turn this trade over to our
people, where it properly belongs, they will
place the mercantile community of California
under great obligations. Yours truly,
J.C. Wilson g. Co., John RosenfeIds Sons
Oregon Coal and Navigation Company, Will
liam II. Fisher, secretary; Central Coal Com
pany, A. T. Fletcher, secretary: Seattle Coal
and Iron Company, George Fritch; w. G. Stai-
ford 4 Co.; Sou'h Prsirie Coal Company, T. H.
Henderson, secretary; Beaver Hill Coal Com
pnny, J. D. Spreckels e. Bros. Company, The
Black Diamond Coal Mining Company. F. S.
Samuels.
The matter was referred to the commit
tee on transportation with full power to
act.
A complaint was made that last year
the Board of State Prison Directors used
domestic coal at saving of $4,000 over the
fuel expenditure of the foregoing year
and this year they are using Australian
coal. By its own admission the board will
thus save the State just 500. This the
associa tion considers as practicing ecop-
omy with vengeance and a committee
composed of w. +. Bowers. Frank L.
Brown and Z. Everett was appointed to
investigate the matter.
The bogus brandy question was referred
to the pure food comm ittee.