New-York tribune., 1902-06-18
MEN IN COURT
SAY THEY CANNOT GET HARD COAL FOR
ENGINES.

ANSWERS To ADVERTISEMENTS FOR
TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND ToNs-cosB1
SAYS HE MAY STOP TRAINS
At the request of District Attorney Jerome
the officials of the Manhattan Railway Company
yesterday waived their right to ten days delay
in answering the summons which Magistrate
Zeller had issued Monday on the complaint
Of President LederIe of the Board of Health.
The summons issued in criminal proceed
ings against the company because of the crea-
tion Of nuisance by the burning of soft coal
in the furnaces Of locomotives the elevated
roads Late in the afternoon Alfred Skitt. vice
president and general superintendent of the
company. appeared in Magistrate Zeller's pri-
vate examination room. accompanied by : ID
Smith. assistant superintendent. on whom the
summons had been served: Mr.. Webster. the
master mechanic Of the elevated roads: Austen
q. Fox and Charles \. Gardiner. counsel for the
company. and several coal dealers Mr. Jerome
opened the proceedings by saying that the off-
cals had come into court ahead of time TO eN-
plain their side Of the
II developed that the company had only one
explanation or excuse to offer That was that
TO hard coal could be obtained and that soft
coal must be used to keep the elevated roads
in operation Mr.. Skitt the first to testify
He said that il was evident that
there was to be a coal strike he had gone 10
Herbert & Co. the contractors furnishing coal
TO the company. and had ordered an increase
of the daily supply of hard coal and in
crease of the company's reserve stock of hard
coal He had asked for supply of 25.oN tons
of hard coal In spite of all efforts. however,
nc additional supply could be obtained, he as
serted When the strike was declared the COM
pany had about 20,ec0 tons of hard coal on
hand. The supply had diminished to about
1000 tons. For a time the locomotives had
burned hard coal exclusively. Then soft coal
had been mixed with the hard coal. Lately
soft coal had been used exclusively in the loco
motives except the Thirty-fourth-st ana
Fortv-second-st spurs and in Sixth-ave-, be
tween Fiftieth and Fifty-eighth sts- where the
locomotives of shuttle trains had burned hard
coal out of consideration for the hospitals no
tells and apartment houses
The company wanted to use hard coal in the
locomotives. Mr. Skitt said Soft coal injured
the fire boxes of the locomotives, made
slower service and caused breakdowns and de-
laws His examination by District Attorney
Jerome then continued in part as follows:
o-Dfd you have. any instructions from the the
directed by the board % secure broken ahthraclIe
coal at any cost
3 D. Smith testified that fremen on the loco
motives We're directed to stoke the furnaces
With care between SidlloIlS puthAIiS OA' -
quantities of coal at a time, so as to make as
little smoke as possible. He believed the hre-
men We're CARRYING out orders the best they
could He declared that he knew Of no means
for abating the smoke nuisance on the hnes
while soft coal had TO be used. Ihere were
smoke consumers for locomotives. he said, but
their weight was bar to their use on the ele-
waited roads and the locomotives there were IN
s,,ch constant use that they could not be
-f1pr1T Ini a
Mr. Smith said the mixture of soft and hard
,oa, made almost as had a smoke soft coal
alone.
IT MIGHT GET TWO THOUSAND TONS.
Joseph b. Dickson. a coal dealer. declared
thare WAS no way in which the company could
get supply of hard coal for its locomotives at
present It could not get four thousand tons at
any price he said. but il might possibly get two
thousand tons a high figure.
rs there any hard coal mine that has not been
reached by the strike?" Mr.. Jerome asked.
NO sir. | think every mine is closed.
Mr.. SkiJt was asked if the company could run
more electric trains in Second and Third aves.
and do away with the smoke nuisance there
and he replied that the company was increas Ing
the electric service as rapidly as possible We
have 254 electric cars running now he said,
and that is more than we ought TO run IN my
judgment at the present time, but we are NOV
ing heaven and earth in efforts 10 stop the
smoke nuisance
WOODBURY. USES SOFT COAL,
President Lederle of the Health Board said
the city departments used hard coal. but were
obliged TO use pea or buckwheat coal, He had
heard he said that Commissioner Woodbury.
Was Obliged 10 use soft coal sef-propelling
dumping scows. Mr.. Herbert said Commissioner
WOODBURY. had ordered soft coal from him last
week
Magistrate Zeller adjourned the examination
10 June 80 at $50 T. m. Mr.. Jerome said: IF
the company cart get hard coal il will have to
use soft coal. L suppose, and the public would
rather put up with that Inconvenience for a
time than have the elevated road service cut off
altogether I have not threatened the company
officials with what / might do in this matter,
hut want to have IL judically decided upon. The
magistrate can listen to the evidence and de-
eide If fit is question Of economy on the part
of ;be railroad company in using soft coal they
rlar be held for the grand jury, and the mat
ter presented in court in another way.
Assistant Corporation Counsel Cosby, who was
left out of the case yesterday. said that the
CITY was determined To stop the smoke nuisance
on the elevated roads. even II the trains had TO
stop running for a time. IF the proceedings be-
fore a magistrate did not cause an abatement of
the nuisance he declared. he might move for
The arrest Of the men the locomotives and tie
up the road that way.
ALDERMEN WANT LAW ENFORCED.
THEY ADOPT RESOLUTIONS ADDRESSED TO
THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF
HEALTH AND THE MAYOR