New-York tribune., 1902-12-12
WARM WEATHER A BOON
Poor We'll lSuppHed-Dealers Still
Think the Situation
Critical

The threatened snowstorm failed to appear
yesterday. and. though still prcrhesied- did not
show any sigrs Of its existence late last night
Instead, the warmer weather Of Wednesday con
tnued. and at II a m yesterday the tenn
perature was 20 degrees above zero There was
q drizzle Of rain during the afternoon and even
ing, but the cold spell, with its attendant suf-
fering. seemed ended.
The warm weather Of yesterday removed for
time the danger of suffering for want Of fuel
hit the demand for coal almost as great
and the supply still utterly Inadequate 70
meet IT. There was little prospect of any in
erase IN the amount Of coal to be received here
IN the immediate future. New-York is now, &C
co.dIng 10 the coal operators. receiving its 1ull
share Of the coal produced, but as yet there Is
no prospect of the dealers accumulating any
stock and their orders are far greater than can
he filled The report that the coal roads were
holding back coal for higher prices, reiterated
yesterday. was generally denied. though one OF
the prominent coal dealers of the city SAID thAI
there was question in regard TO one company
which he said produced one-tenth of the coaI
mined The independent operators. all agreeo,
were holding coal for speculative prices anu
were generally getting $40 ton for it at uoe-
water. practically twice the amount charged
by the coal companies
Yesterdays receipts of coal were not so heaFy
the situation as decidedly critical Snow along
the lines Of the coal roads and a miners holldaH,
et the mines of the Reading Railroad were the
only reasons that the dealers were able 10 give
sor Yesterdays short supply Soft coal ana 'iie
fire grades of anthracite. that were fairly PIen-
tifui three or four days ago, are now. 1t is salo
ell as scarce as the stove sizes Of anthracite
The people who were worst off yesterday were
the well-to-do and the people Of moderate
means and with them it was generally a case
of extra inconvenience and expense and some
slight discomfort rather than suffering Inc
Door were better cared for than the well-to-do.
Almost every coal office saw customers who
wished ton and half ton lots of coal turned
away with promises or hopes Of future de-
livery The Charity Organization Society on
the other hand reported The Tribune that
only one-third as many of the poor applied for
free coal as on the day before, and Robert w
De Forest president of the society. said;
The poor are having their wants well sup
piled. II looks had TO see these crowds before
the coalyards waiting to buy coal by the pail'
but II is merely what done before IN every
block. where coal was bought from pedlers and
pushcart men. Now that coal can be bought
cheaper at a few central stations the people con-
aregate there. Every one has TO pay more and
suffer more inconvenience to get his coal, only
the weII-to-do pay their extra price IN money
and the poor pay their price by having to walk
further and to wait in line
There was the usual crowd before the places
where coal was being sold at low rates TO the
poor Alfred BARRIERS Sons. at No. 317 Water
st. after selling eight thousand buckets Of coal.
shut down about o'clock because their supply
ran out. but they expect more coal 10 arrive, SO
they can open this morning John N Springer.
OF the Grand Opera House, Eighth-aTe- and
Twenty third-st-, gave away twenty-five tons
by the pailful.
It has not Vet been decided what Will be the
effect Of the resolution introduced In the Board
Of Aldermen on Tuesday by Alderman Mccall
asking the Board Of Estimate and Apportion-
rnent 20 appropriate 100000 for the purchase
OF coal TO be distributed among the deserving
poor under the supervision Of the Commissioner
of Charity Mayor Low and Corporation Coun-
sel Rives refused yesterday TO discuss whether
or no such an appropriation could be made
without special enactment