Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-08
COAL FOR NEEDY POOR
Reading Comes to Relief Of
Associated Charities.
Mr.. LOUNSBURY ACTS
TWENTY FIVE TONS A WEEK
WILL BE PROVIDED.
District Commissioners Receive Report
of Business Mems Committee
Asked to Continue.

cite coal will be delivered to certain dealers
in excess Of what can be spared for gem
eral distribution to customers. with the UNI
derstanding that the same Is to be delivered
to needy persons upon the order of the
Associated Charities. according to the ar
rangements in such cases.
This assurance came as the result OF a
conference had between Mr.. Lounsbury and
Mr.. Charles F. Weller. secretary Of the AS
scciated Charities. Both Mr.. Weller and
Mr.. Lounsbury agreed that the matter
could be more easily and satisfactorily adj
justed through dealers who have heretofore
supplied the coal needed by the Associated
Charities In its work At the conference Mr..
Weller said the organization would require
from twenty-five to thirty tons Of coal a
week. Mr.. Lounsbury said he thought the
Reading Company would be able to send at
least twenty-five tons of coal a week for
this purpose.
Fuel Committee Meets.
The fuel committee of the Citizens Relief
Association held a meeting late Saturday
afternoon. Gen. George M. Sternberg pre-
sided. and there were present Mr.. James E.
Fitch. treasurer: Mr.. John B. Sleman. jr..
secretary, and Mr.. Weller. 1t was decided
at this meeting to send letter to dealers in
coal with whom the association has dealt
In the past asking for a definite state
ment OF what each can do in the way of
taking care Of orders. These letters were
sent out this afternoon.
Mr.. Weller received a letter from one
dealer this morning saying that the Phila-
delphia and Reading Company had prom
ised to help him out with coal and he would
take care of all orders placed with him. The
demands on the Associated Charities for
urgent relief have greatly increased in the
last few days owing to the cold weather
Commissioners Receive Report.
second and final installment Of the re-
port of the coal investigating committee
OF citizens. appointed by the Commission
ers, was received by Commissioner Mac
farland. president of the board, today.
The committee forwarded to the Commits
sioners the reports of it's various subcom-
mittees. Mr.. Mcfarland has decided to
ued for the present as he does not feel
that the coal situation is so safe as yet that
1t can be left to itself for the remainder
Of the winter. Mr.. Mcfarland today said:
II shall lay the entire report. which is
made up of the reports Of the two sub
committees. before the Commissioners,
with the recommendation that the COM
rlittee be thanked for this important pub
lie service. and that it be continued for the
present In case the Commissioners should
desire to ask further service of It,
Il consider that the thanks of the COM
munity, as well as the thanks of the Com
missioners, are due to the gentlemen who
SO promptly responded to the Commission
ers appeal to serve on this committee, and
who gave so much time and thought to it's
work.
Praise for Committee.
Even If the committee had not been
able to make its work effective because of
circumstances. 1t would have merited
praise for the efforts it made, and the
promptness and thoroughness which it
showed.
"A perusal Of the reports of the Subcom-
mittees shows that the committee not only
got at the facts Of the situation, so as to
be able to give us the truth and remove
aided in improving conditions by its ap-
peals In the name of the Commissioners to
the representatives Of the railroads and
the operators and coal dealers.
TT Is very gratifying to learn from the
committees report that there Is every
reason to believe that Washington will be
supplied at the rate of from 65 to Is or
more cars per day for the immediate future
with steadily increasing supply.
I'm one weeks work the committee has
fully justified it's appointment by the COM
missioners. took great pleasure in say
ing 50 to Mr.. Smith, its chairman, when
he handed me the report"
A Cooperative Coal Company.
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
The inquiries and investigations of the
washington coal famine committee and
the .uxsestions Of F. H. Rainey printed tn
The Star are interesting as showing the
tendency of thought toward a method of
distribution Of coal that appears to me
! entirely practicable-namely, by co-opera-
ton Within five years I have made an
effort to secure the organization OF an as
ISOLATION to handle coal in this way, but
difficulties became apparent that made It
desirable to allow the matter to drop for
the time. Each year for three or more
years the cost of coal delivered to the con-
sumner has been increased in price, and II
our existing methods are to continue there
Is apparently no limit to the power of the
various combines that own or handle this
product to increase the price
In 1885 two young men l mad reason 10
highly respect as pushing their business
in selling coal were very suddenly and.
after investigation I was convinced, I'M
Warranta,bly forced to assign and close up
their business because of the disposition
of the selling agent of one of the mines
have since noticed that the major portion
of the coal trade in the District has been
rapidly tending into the grasp Of a few
dealers. this being also. In my opinion.
due In large part to the consideration OF
the selling agents
Now. since organized trusts" have be-
come the fashionable condition. the Wash
iIigton Observation-Disclosures only-have
formed an organization to maintain profit
able prices. hence the steady increase in
price year by year, not wholly due to the
local combination. Some years ago this
local combination agreed to raise prices
and did SO. and went to pieces because of
the cooperative movement of a combine of
consumers. In a later period, however,
they succeeded. and the consumers have
been unable to duplicate their former sue
cess. believe this fact to be due In the
main to the joint union of interests OF the
coal exchange distributors and the selling
agents, potentially effective by reason par
tally Of essential business conditions re-
specting credit and deliveries.
In some respects the conditions are not
elementary, but are arbitrary. / will Illus
trate by a practical example, stated to me
by leading Washington hotel manager In
1895 and mentioned as one Of the reasons
why he was forced to retire from the coal
industry. A few years before he had be-
come interested In valuable bituminous
mine in Virginia and he had anticipated q.
large trade in southern localities. After all
proper preparation had been made at great
expense, he entered upon canvass Of the
field. and In some Of our large southern
cities, and especially In Cuba, he was un-
able to make any sales whatever at any
price, and, further. his movements became
KNOWN and by telegraph were anticipated
so that his propositions were always fore
stalled.
II was the common opinion. when at
tempted to put this idea forward, that a
cooperative distribution Of coal would be
failure II any such conditions obtained IN
ouv reanefef unleax abundance of capital