Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-08

r
| coal will again advance. All the mar.
kets northeast Of Richmond are said Il
be higher than, the local market on sof,
coal and only a cold wave: is: needed tic
force UP the price here. Steam coal al
Newport News for shipment beyond the
capes is bringing a stift price and there
is steady demand for all that can be
handled. The one reason that the Rich.
nond market is lower than other mar
kets is because the railroads, passing
through this Ecity. refuse to handle small
hopper and hat-bottom cars in tie Tide
water trade. thus leaving. a large per.
centage of their equipment loaded with
coal to be handled inland -. IS
Inssthe North, tits said, anthracite sales
agents, as well as retail coal dealers, are
of the opinion that the release of the
$iudepende dent operat tors by the coal-ca rry-
ing compa nies from the contract by
4 largest part Of their coal will cause
ecided rise In the price Of anthrac cite
should severe weather come. tits argued
that a. greater part Of the coal mined
blythe independentsf opera tors, which
since the END sof the strike has been
coming in at the list prise. will nov. sell
Z at any price whichiit may bring, and
that sprice win depend on the weather.
AT the present time ccording to the
sales agents. sa satisfactory amount Of
coal@i being mined 4 the miners having
recovered from the effects of the recent
holidays. The mild swea thers has also
facilitated the ;s,andling of ant thracite,
and ii measure has cut down the ue-
mand.s There Is no excess sofs coal In the
market, however, and the business is still
conducted with the usual d idiculties.
Shippers Want Box Cars.
s The Lehigh Valley Company reports
that on December 31st 1.-The largest NUM-
ber@ Of cars Of coal on record was loaded
on the LehighsVa alley3f railroad. consist
ing of 1,763 eight-wheel cars. This Is not
a comparison : wi til the number of cars
loaded in one day IN years gone by. when
stx-ton, 5four-wheeI cars were used but lis
atrecord for loaded cars since. these small
cars were done. away with. Included
among theses1,7s3 cars were .21a9 box cars,
which-ares being utilized by this COM
pany to get the coal from the mines to
the consumers These box cars are In
great demand by other shippers.
From "a purely local view very little
coal of any kind Is now coming here.
and the Philadelphia and Reading rail-
road. 1t is said will not ship anthracite
coal south Of Washington.
Dealers here say that owing to this
being a cut-rate market. very little coal
will come here. The jority of that
either; Washington or the Tfdewater.
section. sS.
Z Anthracite now costs $3.50 at the
mines. The: freight here is so.15. making
the cost 5s10.65. Numb bers of dealers have
stopped buying at this price, and others
say that they cannot afford to buy any
more coal and sell =itsat the present price
SO. s$.
Something should 4be done to relieve
this situation. the dealers say. and there
is. talk Of revIvInga the recent defunct
coal and wood exchange for the purpose
OF pooling the orders, and sending an
agent into BOTH the anthracite and soft
ccal fields for the purposesofF buying for
this market s.
In the language Of one of the dealers
yesterday:s must cooperate in or
der to relieve the situation. AS we are
going on now cutting prices and selling
below cost, 1t is only matter of time
until we will @alI have to stop buying
and leave the city entirely without coal.
"a $" ii coal now purchased is bought from
brokers and middle men, and we havesto
pay their premium. Such conditions any
onescan see,6 cannot la str
Cause of Concern.
The high price Of coal is a cause Of con
Germ even to every one. In this city. It 4
lsss said, many Of % the weaithier people
have stopped the use of furnaces alto
gethers and In some cases have abandon-
ed stoves. Open crates seem to be most
popular and at night are often gur-
rounded by. the whole famiIy--and callers.
too-as the. company fires are neglected.
Ma nv IF tho most F,rif ff1ya pa0nIe we