The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-16
CAN'T GET HARD COAL
ONLY 1000 TONS ON HAND AND NO
SHIPMENTS IN SIGHT.
WEATHER HAS FAVORED POOR.
FOR So FAR No FUEL HAS BEEN
NEEDED EXCEPT FOR COOKING.

Strike Prices of $40 a Ton for Hard
Coal and 81 for soft StiII Obtain
and Are Likely to BE Maintained
Through Winter Buyers Have
Been Holding on for Lower Prices
Bur Are Expected to Exhaust SHp-
ply soon ms Cold Weather sets in.
Mean Temperature for This Month
Away Ahead of Last Year.
The warm weather of the present
month so far has proved an unmixed
blessing to the poor, who have thus
been spared the expense of buying fuel
for other than the purpose of cooking.
Had the weather not been so warm
they would have been under the neces-
sity of buying more or less of coal
which, as it continues at strike prices,
is as much of luxury as it is ne
cessity.
Despite the fact that the miners have
returned to work in the Pennsylvania
and the West Virginia mines the out
put from these places is, so far, short
of meeting the demand that local deal
ers are informed from Northern
sources that the present outlook is that
at least 40 per cent Of the people will
have to go without hard coal during
the present season.
Coal supply SIN Short.
Savannah dealers thought that their
troubles were about over when the
miners went back to work, but so
far they have not been able to get a
single cargo shipped to this port, and
say the present outlook is that they
Will not get one for some time. This
is not a particularly pleasant prospect
for either dealers or consumers for
the present stock of hard coal here is
estimated to be no more than 1000
tons and this it is expected will be
exhausted in very short time after
cold weather sets in.
1t would have been much lower than
it is, the dealers think, had it not been
that the weather continued warm and
the people generally looked for lower
prices so soon as mining was resum-
ed. With cold weather, despite the
price the coal win be bought anyway.
These prices are, for hard coal, $40 a
ton, and for soft coal, 81 a ton. They
have been in effect in Savannah since
Oct. 1, and will continue, the dealers
confidently expect, through the remain
der of the season. This does not mean
that there viii not be quantities of coal
mined but that the stock of it at
every place in the. country has been
so depleted during the strike that it
win be months before back orders can
be filed, and the trade resume its nor
NAL condition.
Hard to Get AIabama Coal.
1t might be thought that Alabama
coal could be used to relieve the string
ency of the local market. but difficulty
is encountered even in getting a sup
ply of that because of a scarcity of
cars for hauling it. Again the product
of the Southern mines has been con-
stantly rising in price, acting in sym
pathy with hard coal. The last lot
received in Savannah was billed the
dealer at an increase of 70 cents a ton,
and there is no guarantee that there
Will not be further advance.
From present conditions, said one of
the dealers yesterday, there will be
no increase in the present prices, but
neither will there be any reduction,
and so people who are holding off for
reduction may find a little later that
not only have the prices not gone down,
but that the supply of coal Is ex-
hausted.
Favored by weather.
How greatly Savannahians have been
Favored Dy the weather rs shown by
a comparison of this and last Novem-
Der. Up to and including yesterday
the maximum temperature had been
rs degrees. registered on the 18th and
18th and 18th, while the minimum had
been but AZ, registered on the Sd. The
average mean temperature for each day
has been Co.'S. Last November the
maximum, occurring on the LIST, was
81 degrees, and the minimum, register
ed on the 18th, 81 degrees, while the
average mean was but Sab.
The maximum temperature yester-
day was 70 degrees, and the minimum
65, giving a mean of 70. This gives to
the month, to date, an accumulated ex-
cess of SO degrees, and to the year an
excess of 134.
The forecast for the state to-day and
Tomorrow is fair weather probably
cooler Tomorrow in the north and the
west portions; light to fresh north
winds on the coast