The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-11-25
NEW YORK SHORT OF COAL.
rms BrTvES NORH DFuORAifzfD
THAy DrRfN0 rHF SHRINE
rhs az, the Las, place ;" Ne sspp''sd The
Outps, u IN. Mines Nov Goiss
roor People rsy More Than nioh for
Coal some Large ccnssmsrs costly Coal.

The coal strike IL ended. but ia effects are
stu felt In New York. and neither prices nor
supply will reach tho normal level befors Jan,
I. II th-n. In fact the coal business ~ the city
il. moro d~rnorallf-d now thnn II was during
tho strike when the miners stoprcd work
tho output ~ coal was greatly diminished and
New Works supply was reduced to bessarly
dimensions. hut the large coal companies Ind
great quantities Of coal stored In their sheds.
and they drew upon this supply to tide them
over the period Of dIrrculty. Now this supply
Ia exhausted and though the mines are once
more working. comparatively little coal IL
70 New York. The mining and rail-
road companies are behind with their con
trsctA all through the country and are devoting
their energy at present To supplying the do
mand from those districts where delivery
will he difficult and the need great whom the
winter shuts In. Coal IL being rushed u the
Northwest and the laks districts and New
York dealers are cooling their heels and eIer-
cising what patience they have on hand.
When more imperative demands have been mot
New York will get her winter supply Of GOAL. and
then prices will come down and delivery will
be prompt. but now the supply In at least
two weeks behind the demand. and GOAL 70
selling for at least 81 q ton more than usual.
There Is another reason why New York IL
Invariably tho last great city TO receive the
attention OF the GOAL companies. II 10 the
cheapest coal market In the country. Every
mining district has an outle' here. BY rail- or
waterway, all coal can be distributed hero.
Competition IL, consequently. very brisk and
railroads and coal companies mako less profit
on New York coal than on coal sent 70 mar
kets which are accessible directly 10 only
a few roads. Naturally the markets which
yield large profits are supplied nrt, New
York comes later. Even In many towns only
q few miles from New York coal rates are
higher than here In Newark. for example.
coal is rs cents a ton dearer.
The same conditions which make New York
the cheapest coal market. make It the greatest
distributing point in the East. Coal comes
here over all the roads. ard from here II re-
shipped by rail. or. In the case OF the New En-
gland coast towns. by boat. Philadelphia ID
New York's only rival In vessel coal traflc.
but she Is hampered by having fewer channels
Of supply.
When II 10 said that New York alone uses
on an average 1900, 900 tons Of coal yearly
II Is apparent, that the handling Of the coal
business Of the city IL an affair Of tremendous
magnitude. The total output OF coal In the
United States for 1899 was $50. SIS. o7s tons.
and II took one-twenty-third Of that aggregate
10 supply the New York market. An unusu-
ally large proportion Of this supply Ia anthra-
cite, for the reason that New York health ordl-
nanccs practically prohibit the burning OF
soft coal In the city. and although many large
factories and plants. especially along the nver
front, do use large quantities OF soft coal. the
practice Is hidden ns carefully a. possible and
Is by no means general.
Coal Is brought from the mines over the
different railroads TO the shipping porA. such
as Port Reading. Perth Amboy, Elizabethport.
South Amboy. Hoboken. Weehawken and
Guttenburg At tie port the coal Ia either
stored In tho railroad company's sheds or
delivered to buyers I. o. b.. that IA. free on
board boat. The railroad has It's own hosting
apparatus at the port. and is under contract
to load the coal upon the boas without extra
charge.
The barge lines are frequently owned by the
railroad company. "a are the towing lines,
but individual boats do engage In the trade.
The cost 81 transportation from the lower ports,
Port Reading. South Amboy. &c. IL 20 cents
a ton. From the upper ports the rate IA lower.
because the cost OF towing down current lie
less. The captain Of the boat pays out Of his
profit the towage and the trimming charges
Of three cents a ton, that is. the Ell pense Of men
hired to trim the freight.
Indi vidual miners ship over railroad lines
! and have the use Of the railroad port. but a
large share Of the coal brought on Ia bought
BY the railroad company at the mine. The
! railroad gets 20 per cent. OF the value OF the
! coal for freiehtlrg II II pays the miner &c
per cent Of the value Of his coal AT the mine,
the miner gets as much as he would In any
, case. and il relieved OF further trouble. Al the
port tho railroad company either consisns the
| coal 10 city coal companies or selling agents
under It's control. or sells II TO individual out
side dealers.
All New York coal dealers OF any consequence
obtain their coal directly from the ports. and
the largest wholesale firms have yards on the
waterfront. There they have their own hoist.
inc apparatus and force Of employees and dc
their own unloading ut a very small cost o'
from three to ten cents a ton. Tho inland
dealers. as the coal men whose yards lie back
from the waterfront are called. are obliged &c
pay st.vedores for hosting their coal and load
ing il into carts, and the usual cost If at least
IS cents a ton. Sometimes. II the dealers
carts are all busy with delivery, the stevedore.
( furnish The carts. and that Is a large addltiona
expense.
Up to this stage the coal Ia handled and sole
in gross tons OF 2.2+o pounds, but the retail
! dealer sell ~ IN net E,NbD-pOuIlu tOuS vi Cou1St
the quantities in which coal is sold vary. &C.
cording to the Use for which 1t is Intended
! The retail dealer is seldom willing 10 sell les
| than a ton. and the poor are obliged to bu,
| their coal Of the pedlers who sell by the bushe
! or even by the peck. Bought in this fashion
a ton Of coal costs almost twice what IL woulC
II bought by the ton, although the pedleI
makes no eyorbitant profit. Bought by th'
bag or bushel. n ton Of coal that would cos
from si.75 to $500. II bought in the regula
way. Will cost from 50 to 80. There is. how
ever. no alternative. The poor man hnsn'
the money to invest in a ton OF coal at one time
and ordinarily he would have no place to stor'
the coal IL he could buy IL, 30 the coal peddie
il q positive necessity in the tenement districts
where coal is boarded and stored as careful!
as though IT were precious metal.
Another Instance Of tho irony lurking nbou
the crannies Of poverty i, found In the fac
that the very poverty Of tie poor compel
them not only TO pay more for the coal the
buy than the rich would pay for the sam
/ quality. but also TO buy n better quality thai
thai ordinarily used by the rich. Red as
coal is more expensive than white ash, i
costs more in the first place. il burns treel'
and without clinkers. so that 1t does not hol'