The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-08-03

Consumers of hard coal who have
been doing some lively sprinting the
last week in an effort to convert some
IF their loose change into a ton or two
If anthracite have one consolation.
they will have plenty of company next
week. To be brief, there will not be a
bound of hard coal for sale in the
Twin Cities after Aug. 10.
This is predicted by the local whole
ialers and they base their prophecy on
he fact that in the two cities at the
resent time only four dealers have a
upply of the hard product. AT Duluth
nd Superior the docks are swept
lean. Not pound is to be had. In
st. Paul alone three firms in the past
hree days have turned down orders
aggregating 600 cars for delivery at
country points.
In the face of this, however, the
rice remains practically the same, the
My addition being the customary ad-
'ance Of 10 on the ton which went into
fleet Aug. 1, making the present cost
If a ton of hard coal $S.15. Relying
on the promises of the coal men which
so far have been faithfully kept, next
month should not see it over $S.25. In
Ill, four advances of 10 cents each have
been made since April l.. These ad-
'ances were decided upon by the oper-
ltors, and they have been studiOusly
observed.
While some little suffering must nee
assaIily result, especially to hotel and
restaurant men, who use hard coal ex-
clusively for cooking, there will be no
actual famine this winter. T h e
J b e has repeatedly denied rumors
o that effect, and in it is backed by the
ocal wholesalers, who are confident
that their bins will be replenished not
later than The middle of October. The
indications are that the backbone of
the strike is broken and the diamonds
will be pouring into the lake ports
When the coal burning season arrives.
Some dealers are confident enough to
make the prediction that it will be even
sooner. The operators are simply per-
mitting the strike to go on and are
confident that the men will return to
work on their own accord by Septem-
Der at the latest. This would bring
hard coal into the Northwest by Octo-
ber If delayed rail coal will be neces-
sary, necessitating the payment of a
slight advance by the consumer, but
the difference will not be great, possi-
3ly not over so cents on the ton.
Rural Dealers Cut Off.
L he country QlSCrlcIS are PROBABLY
feeling the effect of the shortage worse
than the cities, as the wholesalers are
refusing all orders for rural delivery
Even the small dealers have been cut
off. While it lasts, those who call are
accommodated, but it must be done in
person. The supply is so small that it
will not carry the Twin Cities beyond
next week, much less the rural dis
trict5. How small this supply is can
be judged by the fact that there are
only four wholesale firms in the Twin
Cities that have any hard coal. The
others began turning down orders a
week ago.
st. Paul is not suffering much just
now because of the lack. The dealers
promise to have more by October, and
in the meantime soft COAL if it has to
be used, will supply the deficit There
is plenty of it to be had.
Soft coal for steam and domestic
purposes has also advanced, in addi-
tlon to the customary monthly raise of
10 cents, the Teamsters union having
advanced their carriage to 35 cents on
the ton. This must be paid by the con-
sumer, and he is naturally kicking.
The domestic trade is not greatly both
cred by this advance, but the steam
coal users are hit hard, inasmuch as
they are paying fully Is per cent more
this year than they did last Where
Younghiogheny lump last year cost
S3.S5 and $3.50 a ton, $4.55 is demanded
this