New-York tribune., 1903-06-07
SAY ICE WILL BE DEARER
Dealers Tell of a Short and Poor
Crop on the Hudson.

Although the independents charge to the retail
soe dealers of the East Side fell Thursday from
g 70 s. 50 ton. as was announced & yesterdays
tribune there Is no likelihood Of any further
auction this season hut rather an increase in price
according tc statements made yesterday a Trib-
,ne reporter by independent dealers.
The retail dealers had nothing TO do with the
reduction" ." said James " Scott of the James w
Scott Ice Company independent Ice dealers. at
Fs-oorae-st and the East River The American
Ice Company is a big factor in the retail trade.
whenever the price OF ice IS being increased this
so-called Ice Dealers Association Immediately cuts
IN and takes all the trade The ice to come into
this market is from 10000 100000 short Of
what used last year and the year before The
spectators holding ice the river the majority
of il three years old which entails great loss in
getting II out want from 50 cents TO 81 ton meas
l1-erert which would require an independent
dealer 10 get at least s. ton to make barely a
living Independent dealers are paying more for
towing their boats and from one-half 10 nearly
cozble day for boats carry their cargoes.
The reason for the reduction that the Amer
team Ice Company feared the East Side dealers
who buy from the independent wholesalers. and
lid raise thei- trade. The fact of the indie
pendent dealer asking alongside of the American
ice Compauy's trade five more hundred
made il impossible for the independent dealer to
get price adequate to pay the wholesale g q ton.
Naturally. for self-preservation the independent
wholesaler is compelled 10 sell at price where he
can compete.
There VIII be no further reduction. 60
out OF business. The price VIII be raised If the
American Ice Company raises it. We can't do
anything until IL does. and the company will have
raise the price in the warm weather or 90 out
q business itself Under similar conditions previ-
Gus II the advent Of the American Ice Company in
the NevTork market would be at least 81 q
ton wholesale. and, a. was customary then. the re-
-atl price would be IS
AS TO the statement that company has been
organized which owns certain patents for ma
Cni-erv whereby ice 0anufa ctuTed a cost
Of - cents against s. 50 ton by pre-
Taili0E methods may say that If patent vacuum
ice IS referred TO- i is pure white. like frozen
snow, and is saleable alongside of clear ice. -
Al the office OF Murtagh & Mccarthy, nde-
pendent dealers. at Rfvington-st. and the East
River II said that ice costing them more
this year than Il had for several years past Last
year i cost 81 cents less in the house There
@ smaller supply OF ice this year than
last. they said and when the weather became warm
II would cost more than II does now. The indie
pendents selling ice at loss at present. they
declared. but hoped 10 make money in hot weather.
4 representative OF the American Ice Company
declared that there had been only half crop on
the Hudson. and that the shortage had been so
great that the company bringing ice from
Maine In August and September the shortage
might be great that the price would be raised
The representative remarked that II stood to reason
that the company would not bring ice from Maine
e there had not been q shortage on the Hudson