Evening journal., 1902-08-12
COAL FAMINE
APPEARS SURE
Dealers aud Consumers See
Serious Problem Ahead
POOR WILL SUFFER THE MOST
One Of CitV'S Dealers Sums UO the
Situation Brought About by
The Strike

There will be a great scarcity of coal
in Wilmington during the coming win.
ter. whether the strike is soon termi-
Z mated or not. The price may 20 high
er The local market cannot expect any
noticeable relief until at least sixty
day" after the strike is settled.
and even then the demand for coal is
bound to be 50 much greater than the
supply that the famine price will be
maintained, If not increased.
Is is the opinion OF one of the city's
dealers that If every one OF the fam
lilies of Wilmington that usually lay in
a stock OF coal for the winter should
order a couple Of tons now. there would
not be enough in the city to supply
half of them.
with cold weather only a short
time on. continued the dealer, the
conditions are indeed, alarming. If the
strike in the anthracite regions contin-
ues for a month longer the poor of the
city will certainly suffer greatly during
the coming winter. Even after peace
is restored between the operators and
the miners. a couple of months will
elapse before the scarcity of coal in
this city can be remedied. for an the
big contracts win have to ibe filled by
the mines.
Will Have to Hustle
Gas they were compelled to work full
/ time before the strike in order to sup
ply the demands, it will be easily seen
that they will have to hustle to make
up for lost time. All the big manu-
featuring plants will have to be sup
piled first, and the dealer who supplies
the small families will come last. BY
THAT time cold weather win have COM
menced in reality. and someone will
certainly have 10 suffer.
Not a carload of anthracite coal has
entered the city for the past ten weeks,
and the amount on hand has been near
Il ly exhausted. The dealers who have a
few hundred tons of coal on hand can
1 be counted on your fingers and they
are holding on to it. II is impossible
to buy more than a few tons from any
dealer. All are limiting their regular
customers to a few tons, and will un-
der no consideration whatever allow
even their best customer to lay in his
usual supply for the winter. Hard coal
is now bringing $3.50 and IS a ton, and
from every indication viii easily cost
a couple Of dollars more in a few
weeks.
Situation Becoming Serious
To all householders the coal situa-
ton is daily becoming more and more
serious. The bins of the hotels and
dwellings, which are usually filled
about this time of the year, are now
empty. and there are no chances OF
their being filled. The poorer classes
are not troubled yet about the short
age Of coal. for they do not use very
much at this time of the year, supply
ing nearly all their wants in this line
BY means of coal oil and gasoline
stoves. When winter, with its accom-
lpanying chilly blasts. comes, however,
/ they will then realize what great suf-
= fering will be caused by the shortage
in coal.
Some relief may be found by the use
/ of soft coal, but, as a dealer explained
Yesterday, bituminous coal cannot be
3 burned in the ranges which are in use
p in the majority of the homes of Will
r mington. To use it would require a
= change in the CRATES and severla other
p important parts Of the stoves. Bitumi-
| nous coal. too, emits so much gas when
+ burning as TO render its use in dwell
/, ing sa little dangerous. Consequently
a settlement of the strike in the coal
2 regions would be hailed with delight
2 by Wilmington coal dealers and q
; goOdly number of its inhabitants.