Arizona republican., 1901-12-16
IN NEED OF CARS
The Coal Business of the East
 Is, Suffering
The Output of Anthracite Is Reduced and the Bituminous Trade Is Even ill a Much Worse Condi- tlon.

New York. Dec. 15.-The shortage of cars is interfering with business in many lines. First the coke producers were handicapped by inability to get cars at the ovens Tn which to ship their product: then, a natural con sequence. furnaces and mills had to close for want of coke, while many or the mills and furnaces which had supply of coke could not get cars to ship their goods; then the grain busi- ness was embarrassed; and all the while the coal trade is complaining bitterly of q shortage of cars.
 The shortage of cars is felt by coal shippers at about this time every year. and the situation this year is fully as embarrassing; as it ever was before. For weeks the condition has been growing worse, until now it is appar- ently at q climax. Reports from the anthracite region show that there is serious delay in shipping coal from the mines. Last week it was reported that some of the mines were reduced to two-thirds output by their inability to get cars to move the coal. and everywhere the want Of cars was i'm terfering with deliveries.
 But, as usual. the bituminuos coal field feels the shortage worse than the other branch Of the trade. Bituminous | coal is very scarce here, although there | is plenty of il at the mines. and prices have jumped, until they are nearly 100 ! per cent higher than they were last summer. and even these high prices are merely nominal as there is no coal to be had. except by those who have placed contracts for it far ahead of the expected time of delivery. and even then they are sometimes disap- ] pointed.
 Producers are ooing their best to keep their regular customers going. but in view of the extremely heavy de inaad and ti,s. fact that the supply of cars at the mines ss only about 50 per cent of the number :ynperatively needed. even the regular custor'ers are growing anxious.
 1 One shipper was obliged to refuse or ders to coal two large steamships as he could not by any possibility get the coal. Shippers in this city have sent men through the coal region to buy i coal and coxs wherever they c=1I find cars to ship the fuel One large con- cern has five men in Pennsylvania try
 ing to find coal in proximity to empty
 cars.
 1 Another shipper has just received
 the following from well known coal man: Have just returned from the
 
 the outlook for coal shipments at pres ent Is very gloomy indeed. I visited over loo different mines and the ma i jCrity were closet completely and have been for the last five or six days. The very large opara tors have been running on quarter tine, and even some of
 these have Desn shut for days. You | are undoubtedly aware of the cause.
 namely the extremely great shortage of cars.
 For your information I Say that 70
 large Q concern as (mentioning one nf | the very largest producers and ship pers in the United States). is so far behind on orders that it is compelled i to buy in tke open market. and this. ! as you know is almost an impossibil- ] ity. as those who have coal require it
 for their own contracts. and 1t is hard 1 ly sufficient to keep some of their GUS
 toner's plants going. I do not see any . improvement in sight. and if these con- ditions last g. short while longer there will certainly be a famine in New
 York and other large cities so far as
 bituminous coal is concerned ! The coal shortage is getting to be a
 regular thing every fail.'' said a ship per yesterday. Tn September there ] begins to be q rumor of a scarcity of cars. In October prices begin 10 go up. { In November cars are increasingly scarce. In December no cars are to be i had. In January. February and | March there are still no cars.
 "On the first of April the new con
 tracts are placed, and after that there ! is plenty Of coal. Then the dealers ' think they are safe to buy coal. They make contracts ahead, but if some one 1 else offers your customers coal q little cheaper than you do the contract is l worthless. r. is easy for the customer
 to object to the quality of the coal and 1 you lose the business. Then Septem-