The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-11-16

= Lump ana nut coal. per LOu-- A0-l0 =
? Lump and nut coal per half
ton .................... 8. 90 .
> Lump and nut coal, per quar-
= = > = = = > > = y p > > > = q = > =
FOLLOWING the action of the pro-
ducers in declaring an increase in
the wholesale prices Of coal the
retailers of salt Lake City viii today
tack 55 cents per ton TO the price which
the consumer must pay.
This increase in the retail price
amounts TO - cents per ton more than
the increase In the wholesale quota
tions To account for this discrepancy
the retail dealers declare that the ex-
pense OF handling the fuel has increased
greatly during the past year and that
they are obliged 20 ask the extra quar-
ter Of a dollar per ton at this time. It
was announced I'M The Herald Friday
that an increase of so cents would be
made i'm the retail price as a conse-
Quence of the 5O-cent advance made by
the Union Pacific Coal company. Yes
terday the local dealers decided to add
90 cents instead of 80 cents to the for
mer prices.
The principal retailers, including the
retail department of the Utah Fuel
company. viii today sell lump and nut
coal at $3.50 a ton, an increase Of %
cents per ton over last weeks price
Half-tou lots viii cost $500. an increase
of 40 cents, while q Quarter-ton viii be
sold at $3.50. which is 20 cents more
than formerly. Mine slack VIII be quoted
at S3.25 per ton in carload lots. This IS
an increase Of % cents per ton
Coal Dealers Explain.
Leading retailers declare that there
s mo- n HaIl Ia
advantage OF the strike situation to
"cinch' the consumer. but they protest
that the conditions of the trade have
made necessary the quotations given.
Speaking of this phase of the situation
last night, John s. Critchlow, manager
OF the Bamberger Coal company. said.
THE advance in the wholesale price
has made an additional cost TO the re-
tailers of thirteen and one-third per
cent and our investment has COnse-
quently been increased to that extent.
But the dealer has been affected iu
ways other than the mere increase in
the wholesale quotations. The manner
i'm which the product is delivered from
the mines, the method of shipment and
the cost Of handling-these things are
factors which account for the raise OF
- cents per ton over and above the in
crease demanded by the wholesalers.
Mixed with what the retailer buys
as lump and nut coal is about per cent
of slack. which the retailer must separ-
ate from the balance I'm order 10 protect
his trade Please observe that we must
pay for this slack the same price that
the other and better portions Of the lot
call for. it is all punched together on
the other hand. we must sell this at a
much lower price than lump or nut
coal. The percentage of slack used To-
be about one, but IL has increased with
the rush of business at the mines.
Another point is that the cost of
handling coal has increased greatly
during the past year The shipping of
the fuel IN the new style. big steel cars
makes IL more expensive to unload &c
and too. the cost Of labor is higher
than heretofore. Altogether the in
creased expense Of handling the product
is about 90 cents per ton. aside from the
other things added TO the cost
Deny Local Cost is Excessive
Local dealers in coal. both wholesale
and retail deny that the prices FOR this
fuel i'm Salt Lake are at all excessive,
considering what is demanded IN other
sections of the country Speaking OF
this last evening a prominent salt Lake
coal man said:
we are now paying a heavy rate
for coal in this state and in fact the
prices now quoted are very reasonable.
The local quotations are, OF course,
based on prices at the mines and COM
parisOn of the figures VIII show that
the operators who supply coal for this
section demand even less than is asked
I'm other sections. Prior to the present
increase due to the strike, and which
is not heavy. anyway. Rock Springs.
WyO.. coal for instance, was quoted 40
Sl75 for lump and nut. At the same
time the Southern Kansas mine owners
were demanding S2.75 for their product,
/ Missouri coal was quoted at $3.50 and
Arkansas operators were asking So