The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-09-13
COKE MAY Be KING
sNAPPY WEATHER DRIVES THE
CIT. TO STUDY THE FUEL
QUESTION
NO HARD COAL TO BE HAD
AT ANY PRICE IN ST. PAUL
If Strike Was Settled the Stocks Could
Not Be Replenished Before Cold
Weather-State Board Orders Coke
Three Firms Control the Market.

IT'D like to leave an order for some
COAL" said a well dressed citizen yes
terday afternoon to the clerk in Rob-
ert street coal office yesterday after
noon.
What kind of coal?" inquired the
clerk.
"Stove and NUT" replied the pros
pective purchaser.
1--WE won't have any for a month
or maybe not for two MONTHS said
the clerk, with grim smile, "but we
have fine grade of smokeless egg
| coal at $3.50 per tom
Then it's me to the coke pile,p said
the mainland he will not be alone
there.
The cold snap has brought the short
age in the supply of hard coal home
to the residents of st. Paul, who do
not live in steam heated buildings.
Those who want coal are willing to
pay any price, but none can be secur
ed. The shortage does not only pre-
! vail here, but Lover the country.
| Where the coal operators usually have
couple of million tons lying outside
the mines in Pennsylvania, there is but
few small heaps, and even should
! the miners commence work today the
/ output would be used in the East, and
none of the black diamonds would get
as far West as st. Paul before cold
weather. 2}sa9 d:
Must Be Coke or Soft Coal.
1t is a question of using soft coal or
coke, and as the stock on the docks at
Duluth is 100000 tons short of the
usual supply, it looks like coke or wood
will have to be used for fuel this win
| ter in st. Paul.
COnnellSVilIa coke ic ont of tho c11eS-
ton, as it has been lately boosted"
! to $13 in Chicago, and there is none
| here. The railroad rates will prevent
any more being shipped even if the
price was not facer
Three of the local coal firms have a
combine on the coke output from the
st. Paul gas works, and this can be
purchased for Sc per ton. The trouble
with the burning of coke in stoves and
ranges is that it costs about Sc per
month to replace the CRATES in the
| stoves. Unless one understands the
| trick of burning this kind of fuel, the
! CRATES in stove are burned out with
| the first fire.
After one gets control of the fuel
and learns how to work the drafts,
coke can be burned without much
| trouble. 1t makes a hot fire and re-
| qu1reS almost constant attention. The
price, however, is low, and as there
| is nothing else in sight, except soft
coal and wood, the chances are that a
| large number of the residents will use
coke this winter.
Coke Bought by State.
The state board of control has de-
| cided to use coke in the bake ovens at
| the several state institutions. When
the board asked for bids for several
| weeks ago, it was given out that 1000
| tons of anthracite would be required
| for kitchen ranges and ovens. The
prices were all alike for hard coal, and
so high that the board decided to ex-
| pertinent with soft coal in the ranges
at the several institutions. The ex-
| pertinent was SO successful that for
the next year soft coal will be used
exclusively.
=. In the bake ovens it was found i'm
practicable to use soft coal, so the
board contracted for 300 tons of coke
| for this purpose. Eve made our con-
tract for coke several weeks ago." said
Chairman Leavett, of the state board,
yesterday, sc, the fact that coke prices
have gone up will not make any diff
| ference to u.s."