The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-06-13
MAY TIE UP TRAMPS
SHIPS IN SOUTH ATLANTIC CANNOT
FILL THEIR BUNKERs.
LOCAL COAL MEN NOTIFIED.
MUST NOT MAKE CONTRACTS To
COAL SHIPS AT NORFOLK.

Tramp Steamships I'm All south At
Iantic Ports Threatened by This
state of Anairs-COal From Eastern
Port Can't Be Had, Save on Old
Contracts-It May BE That Depend
ence VIII Have to Be Placed in Al
ALBANIA and Tennessee Coal-If
Strike Goes on in Those Fields.
Their supply VIII BE Threatened.
Two Tramps at Savannah FOresnw
This Trouble.
Tramp steamships in South Atlantic
ports and those that may enter before
in danger of being tied up for lack of
coal. News reached Savannah yester-
day from Norfolk and Newport News.
Va. that it was useless to send steam
ships there to be coaled, for coal can
not be secured. Savannah coal mer-
chants. representing the coaling sta
tons at those places, were notified to
make no more contracts with tramps
to coal.
Tramps that take on cargoes at Sa-
vannah and other South Atlantic ports
usually reach port with enough coal
left in their bunkers to enable them,
after taking on cargo, to run to Nor
folk, where they coal. They thus save
the freight on coal, besides gaining
the advantage of the coaling facilities
of that place.
This is the slack season for export
+al y
two tramps at Savannah. 1t is again a
fortunate circumstance that their cap
tains anticipated this state of affairs,
and at their last ports they laid in full
coal supply In other ports the YES
sells have not been so fortunate in
coaling in advance, and they will find
it difficult to get steam coal.
The two tramps in port here are the
Marianne and the Dandy, both con-
signed to Strachan & Co. Inquiry at
the ships have bunkers sufficiently full
to enable them to make the trip across
the ocean.
Savannah coal merchants have a
good supply of coal on hand, but it is
being consumed, without being renew
ed. They cannot get coal from the
Eastern ports, unless upon contracts
for which coal has been held. The
Alabama and Tennessee coal fields are
still open to them, as the miners there
have not struck 1t is not known
whether or not they will strike. The
scale upon which they are working is
covered by contract that expires July
l. 1t remains to be seen whether both
parties are willing to renew the con-
tract upon the same scale. If this is
not done, it will mean the closing down
or gripping of the mines, affecting the
output That would mean the further
depletion of the coal supply, and prices
may be looked to to rise. 1t is posi-
BILE that the present conditions, unless
they are relieved by the termina ton
of the Pennsylvania and Virginia
strike, may result in an advance in
prices.
Even if the Alabama and Tennessee
coal is not shut off from Savannah,
there is the question as to it's fitness
for steam purposes. The Ocean Steam
ship Company uses it for steam pur-
poses, but there are many ship cap
tains who do not want it. They al
ways prefer the hard coal. Merchants
who handle the Southern product de-
clare that they can now get all the
coal from Alabama and Tennessee they
order. They declare that the South
ern coal could readily be utilized for
coaling ships, and that there are am
pie facilities here for the work.
The Central Railway and Ocean
Steamship Company President John
M. Egan of the former says. have a
source of supply that cannot be af-
fected by strike. This is the mine at
Durham, on the line of the road, where
convicts are at work as miners.