The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-09-10

l.. r.. Rosebrook Points Out In
justices Marketing Fuel.

Marshalltown, Sept. I'll. r. Rose.
brook OF Osl1aloosa. a wen known
ccal operator and owner OF the Miller
Greek mines at Coalfeld, spent Fri
day in the city looking after business
matters. In speaking Of the coal sit
uation Mr.. Rosebrook says that coal
promises to be higher this winter
than last, by probably fifty cents a
ton. ''Your local dealers are charg
ing too much" he said AT the
mines, il we make a profit OF Is
cents a ton we think we are doing
well. Ii a dealer doesn't make dol
lar on every ton he sells he does not
consider that he is in the business
A discrimination is made also be-
tween Iowa and Illinois coal that do
not like to see. Iowa coal should
not cost as much in proportion In Ill
inois, but | find tht some of orr deal
ers are charging more. Why they
DO am unable to say.
Take it at the iowa of Gilman in
tn j county. / was there last month
and found my dealer selling coal
from his bins at 1915 cents ton.
This coal cost him $2.71 laid down
at Gilman. He was making a profit
of $1.04 on every ton and was not de-
liyering it. The people had to come
to the bins for themselves. He
wasn't charging as much in proper
ton for Illinois coal.
"Marshalltown dealers at that time
we're paying 1925 at the mines for
coal, and there is a 75-cent rate in
effect, so that the coal costs them SO
fiat here They are selling for $500
and $3.50 Coal now however, costs
them % cents more than it did then,
but that still leaves them big profit.
THE labor question is having a
bad effect on the price Of coal to con
sumers, and we are at the mercy of
the miners, am paying weekly to
my men $1,000 in cash, besides what
they receive as credit ON their sup.
plies, bought at the company store.
These supplies are practically all Of
their living expenses and the cash
represents what might be savings
But very few of the men lay up any.
thing and are as poor at the end OF
the year as they were when the new
year dawned Before they, went into
the union they were willing to work
six days in the week and ten hours
each day, We cut down the day two
hours and increased the pay They
did not want to work more than foul
or five days. We again raised the
wages, and now some of the men dc
not work over three days in the
! week, and some of them only two, OF
just enough to make expenses. What
can we do? We have to grin AM
bear it. If we discharge them an(
employ others we are getting the
| same kind of men. They are NJ
more interested in whether or no
we get out coal to supply our trade
| than were there no such things a:
mines or coal in existence. To give
you an example will tell you Of {
| little incident that came up with mt
only a. few weeks ago. A z-weeks-ol(
babe of one of our men died. Ever
man in the mine laid off, because the
father was union miner, and the!
wanted to attend the funeral in re
spect to him. Of the two hundred
miners eighteen were present at tht
funeral They were idle two days
and we did no business. At tina
time the Iowa Central was clamorint
for coal, wanted every pound that We
could load, and the men knew it
They didn't care one way or anothel
and as they had purported excuse
to lay off, they did so.
"You can readily see that some
one had to pay for this continued
idleness on the part of the miners
and it will be the coal using public
to great extent. The consumer
have to pay an increase in price 70,
their fuel, because the mines have t.
charge more to make up for the tins
they are idle. If they coud do mort
business and run steadily you would
see coal come down."
| No mood IN faar attooIys Of choIar.