Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-25
COAL AT DEPARTMENTS
ONE HAS STOCK WHICH WILL
LAST TEN DAYS.
One Thousand Tons Coming-The Sit
uation as Viewed by Capt.
Baird.

Capt. Baird U. S. NJ, superintendent Of
the State, War and Navy Department
building, who has made a special study of
the coal situation, remarked to a Star re-
porter today that the problem is more seri-
Gus than ever.
THE upper levels Of the Chesapeake and
Ohio canal" said Capt. Baird, have been
frozen since the 10th of December, and we
| can hope for no Cumberland coal by boat
| until next March. The Baltimore and Ohio
| road will bring some, however. West Vir-
ginia coal, such as the Kanawha and New
river varieties are coming in slowly, and
though they contain the heat units all right
they very smoky.
You cannot expect twelve months of
transportation to be done in five months,
nor can you expect twelve-months' output
at the mines to be ACCOMPLISHED in five
months. If sufficient coal were dumped
from the rails here in Washington there
would not be carts, wagons and drays
enough to deliver 1t to the satisfaction of
| consumers in eight months.
Storage in the dealers yards? Well, one
would think they would store a quantity,
put they do not, for cogent reasons. The
1act Is that the coal trade, like other retail
businesses, is much cut up. The profits are
small-not much more than the profit on
hauling wholesale dealer sells, at the
dumps, to all retail dealers at the same
price. The retailer who hauls to his yard
for storage and, later hauls from there to
MS customer not only loses the interest on
the money invested, but he has to pay for
two hauls, while the other dealer who hauls
from the dump directly to his customers
pays but for one haul, and turns his money
over at once. He has nothing invested on
which interest is consumed.
The Supply on Hand.
Eyes, I have a supply for about ten
days now and 1000 tons coming. /
hope to get this in before very cold weather
overtakes us. We are using from nineteen
to twenty-five tons day, exercising great
economy. l am not much worried about
this building, the State, War and Navy, as
about the White House. That building is
lighted from our dynamos. Well, since the
remodeling many of the gas fixtures have
been omitted, and much of the house would
be in comparative darkness should our coal
give out.
Mines starting up? Yes one more mine
was drained last week in the anthracite
region, and is now in full operation All
the anthracite, you know, is contained in
three counties in Pennsylvania. We must
look to the keystone state for smokeless
coal.
"A gentleman returning from Boston last
week said snow was ankle deep on the
ground, and the need Of coal was SO urgent
that people were lined up at the coal sta
tions with baskets. buckets, bags pans and
pals, to the number of fully 1000 trying
to buy each few pounds of COAL
The situation is worse in Baltimore than
mere. but think, not SO bad as in the
eastern cities.
Il have never thought there was a corner
among the local dealers. They are doing
their level best; SO are the railroads No
one makes idle investments in rolling stock
nor horsefiesh, nor carts. They have suf-
fcent means of transportation to do twelve
months work in twelve months Of time
The strike began in March last and ended
In November, and during that period but
little coal was moved. We will not catch
up In eighteen months. The normal condi-
tions Will be reached more by the economy
of the consumers than by the output of the
mines or increased facilities of transporta-
ton.
There has not been as much suffering
among the poor as has been Supposed. The
rich people will take care Of themselves and
the poor l am inclined to think the people
who will feel 1T most will be the middle
class, which is too proud to solicit and too
honest to obtain fuel without paying for it,