The daily Republican., 1902-10-18
SMALLER DEMAND
FOR HARD COAL.
People Find Substitutes Cheap
or and Will Continue to
Use Them.
THE PRESENT SITUATION.
Market in Allegiance While the
Strike Settlement Negoti-
ations Are Pro-
ceeding.

Every thing is In abeyaucc in re.
gard 10 the coal situation while the
negotiations for the settlement OF
the strike are proceeding. The
masses of the people hope that coal
will be obtainablc in a lew weeks
at the latest, and are not buying
substitutes except of the temporary
sert. In many cases. however, ar.
rangements for cooking and heat.
Ing purposes have been made al
ready, and preparations for a win
ter's coal famine have all been pro.
vlded, Oil has been the most gen.
orally adopted substitute outside Of
soft coal, and great numbers of
ranges have been equipped with the
oil apparatus.
When coal is again in the market
the consumption OF it will DO much
less than it has been in th. past. be :
cause the people have become &C
customed to the use of substitutes
and find that they are cheaper. This
is especi lily the case with those in
StIU OIG VI
the soft coal men said this morning
that he was surprised to find how
few of the very class which he ex-
pected would be the first to buy had
given orders for soft coal. He said
that an investigation has convinced
him that the poor and laboring
classes have largely adopted other
fuel and will in all probability CON
tinue to use it, even when hard coal
is available.
The Reading and all the other an
thracite coal roads have announced
that they will sell coal to dealers at
the prices which prevailed in Sept
ember Of last year just as soon as q
supply begins to como in from the
mines, This is done, they say, in
order that the public may not be
compelled to pay exorbtant prices
for coal during the coming winter,
whom it will be scarce Dealers,
however, say that the demand will
be 50 great that the price will nee
essarily be higher than it has been
in other years, and that a rato below
~ per ton can hardly be expected.
When ming resumes and coal ac-
tunlly begins to come in there will
be such Il rush of orders that it will
lie impossible for the dealers to fill
them, and they will be put to ex-
ira expense, they say, to even par
italy Accommodate the demand.
IL was saId by retail coal de alcr
this morning tn at;be chances of get
ting coal from the mines at an early
date are very much better than have
been reported. The Reading company
has given out g statement to the ef-
feet that its mines are in a good Con-
dItion, and it can have coal mined
and on the cars for shipment within
two weeks alter operations are re-
sumed A official who has been in
the mining regions says that the
statement of the Reading people is
a very cieyerly conrlved story to con-
Ceal the fact that the company las
had a supply OF coal mined and ready
for shipment all through the coal
strike, but has kept it for the crisis
which has thrcate eutd to come. This
coal it 10 now pl opposed to send out,
he said, under the prctence that it
came from the newly opened mines
As matter OF fact, according to
his statInent, comparatively few
mines anywhere in the anthracite
region of Pennsylvania are in a
condition to be worked.
The Charles Warner Company
this morning announced II reduction
to IS u ton for soft coal for family
use.