Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-08
The Distribution of Coal.
he Editor of The Evening Sfar.

10 the EultOr OF Inc Evening Star:
In the midst Of all the statements and
counterstatements. appearing from day to
day. with reference to this extremely lively
fuel question. should like to ask WHY it
Is that. In view of the fact that we are all
supposed to take our coal in homeopathic
doses, there are certain large institutions
which have received much more than pres-
ent needs require. Among such NAV he
mentioned the Soldiers Home. which has
today In its bins a thousand or approxi-
mately a thousand tons Of hard coal WHY
could not this excellent institution be given
$50 tons at one time and subsequent sun
plies at such intervals as would place If
upon as favorable a basis as the balance of
the community? The home does not need
all this coal at this time
But that Is merely bagatelle, compared
to the bitterest pill Of all, that we citizens of
Brookland are compelled just now to swat
low. We have in this suburb a single coal
merchant. young man, full of enterprise,
and as prompt, fair, honorable and accom-
modating as any man could be- This mer-
chant has for series of years been serving
the three thousand or more people comnos.
ing the community with the utmost fidelity
faithfulness and satisfaction to all con-
cerned. He has signed the 1926 per ton
contract which the Reading company ex-
acts, and has lived fully I'D to both the
letter and spirit of that contract. He has
received, all told, since the resumption of
coal mining, the princely amount Of four
~ carloads of coal, inclusive of furnace,
stove and the other varieties required And
this to meet the wants of not less than
six hundred 600 households-in fact less
than half ton per family. Now we are
given to understand that the coal shipped
to this city by the Reading company is an
portioned am.ng the retailers in proportion
to their trade" which l presume is calcu-
lated upon their average purchases during
normal seasons and conditions of the mar
ket.
lust here comes in the aStonicbino ond
likewise abominable feature of this whole
business to wit: While our local merchant,
the natural source Of our supply, and who
actually was supplying heretofore practi-
cally this whole community, stands around
perhaps gleefully C0 contemplating his
empty yard and idle teams, or perhaps, Is
engaged in the practical, If prosaic, opera
ton of cracking his own heels together to
keep them from freezing, he has the dole
full satisfaction Of seeing pass his office door
daily something like dozen tons of hard
coal, going to his own local customers from
the yard of large Washington city dealer,
who had practically no trade in this sec
ton prior to the present season.
And this city dealer-mark you-is sup
posed to have signed the same 1925 Per ton
contract. But. Mr.. Editor, DON'T for so
much as a single moment let it get into
your head. that the aforesaid city dealer is
engaged In mammoth scheme of philan-
thropy. la Carnegie: Oh, no, not bit of
it! When the Brooklandite, unable to get
coal from our local merchant, approaches
the big city man and makes known his
needs. he is very promptly informed that
Brookland is not in the latter's business
bailiwick. but If the Brookla ndite is willing
to take not less than two tons at one de-
livery and to pay LEO (or s. for the load
for hauling, he can have the coal at 1925.
Now II there isn't some sort of skull
duggery here, I'd like some one to furnish
better or more appropriate name for the
thing. One of two things is going on-pos-
sibly both-either the Brookland, merchant
is receiving much less than his fair proper
ton Of the hard coal that is coming into this
district, or the city dealer here referred to
is receiving much more than his share. It
must be that the latter proposition is the
true one. Else why could the city dealer
(who presumably has q large clientele)
besides surplus with which to invade the
business field Of suburban dealer always
remembering the extra "haulageJ and we