Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-29
AN INCREASE IN FUEL
CONSIDERABLE QUANTITY OF
HARD COAL RECEIVED.
Dealers Believe the Situation Will Inn
prove During the Week
Miners Holiday Over.

According to a number of persons well
informed as to the situation, the prospects
are brighter for q larger supply OF coal
than usual in Washington during the cur
rent week: The resumption of work at
the mines after the holiday lay-of Is given
as one of the reasons upon which the nope
is based. From Saturday morning until
last night 100 cars Of hard coal and forty
cars of soft coal arrived In the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad yards. A large part OF
this was unloaded yesterday. This morning
there were still in the yards hfty-one cars
of hard coal and during the day thirty
three cars more of the product arrived IN
the city, making a total Of eighty-four cars
still in the yards. The officials state that
there is no tie-up of coal trains on their
road, and they are expecting more t ,psir,u ~,
almost every hour. There were also thirty
six carloads of soft coal received IN the
yards of the Baltimore and Ohio today.
The unfavorable weather of today has IN
terfered somewhat with the unioaolhs ~.
the fuel, but it is stated that the work mas
progressed as rapidly as could be eXpecte0
under the circumstances.
The PHILADELPHIA and Reading Company
received fair-sZed train load OF nara coal
this morning and a number of other deal
ers have been receiving the fuel in small
and irregular shipments during the Gay.
The dealers seem very much dlSlncllneu 10
ton as to the amount they are receiving:
A number of the dealers, however. stated
that in their opinion the supply of coal Will
be increased within few days
Depot Quartermaster General Supplied.
William j. Zeh this morning sold the de-
pot quartermaster general 40 tons OF coal
at s12 per ton, f. o. b., Washington. The
45O tons represent $50 tons each of stove
nut and egg coal. Mr.. Zeh stated that this
is the only shipment he was able to pur-
chase in Philadelphia. There Is very little
tidewater coal there for SALE and no car
coal at all to be bought, according to Mr.
Zeh's advices today. The Chesapeake and
Ohio soft coal, he stated, is arriving in the
city in limited supply. shorter. even, than
several weeks ago.
The supply of coal Is still greatly lnaoe-
Quate to the demand, and all through the
day the dealers have been kept busy trying
to fill the orders of anxious customers
Mr.. Bulkley's Investigation.
Mr. Barry Buckley, who was delegated by
the citizens committee to make a trip of
investigation through the coal fields of Vir-
ginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, re-
turned last night and will make report OF
the conditions as found by him. at meet
ing of the committee tonight at the riggs
House.
Mr. Buckley stated to a reporter for The
Star that, judging from his Investigations
the people of Washington will either have
TO use soft coal or else look out for i'm
ported hard coal. He is of the opinion
that large quantities of soft coal can be
secured. the only limitations on the supply
being the ability of the railroads to handle
the product. He stated that in Louisville
soft coal Is selling at $3.50 per ton, and
that the people there are not locally con-
cerned at all about the scarcity Of anthra-
cite. as 1t is not generally used. He sug-
gests that the matter of securing imported
hard coal at a reasonable figure be consid-
cred, and also that the handling of soft coal
in sufficient quantities be examined into.
No Prospect of Relief.
81 see no prospect of relief in the anthra-
cite situation" said Mr.. Buckley, Except
as have stated-that is. in the importation
of foreign Goals. 1t is no longer question
of quality. 1t Is a question Of getting coal
or of freezing. 1t is no time to be too par
ticular; we want coal first and the matter
of quality can wait"