The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-03
WORST YET TO COME
IN LOCAL COAL
SITUATION
Trade Journal Takes Gloomy
View Of the Future Fuel
Supply in the Northwest
Hard Coal Will Be Unat,
tainabIe in Few Weeks
Five Hundred ions Are
Snapped Up.

The ST. Paul and Western Coal
company had no trouble at all in sell
ing 500 tons of hard coal at $40 per
ton yesterday. In fact each one of the
300 purchasers was anxious to get as
much as possible, but one ton to a
person was all that the clerks would
book or take money for
The sale commenced at o'clock,
and before noon the supply the COM
pany had for sale was exhausted.
None of thesconpanies are giving it
out when they expect to have more
hard coal to place on the local mar
ket. Some of them have been selling
one ton to a customer at $S.75, but it
is possible that all future sales made
VIII be at the present figure, $40 per
ton.
The Coal Trade Journal of New
York, under date of Dec. 81, says:
Perhaps the most .ominous feature
OF the Western market is the in
satlable call for. coal from the North
west: From all parts of the country
usually supplied by the docks of Lake
Michigan and Superior there is a
constant inquiry for rail coal at Chi
cago. The actual movement of coal to
that large consuming territory is not
yet very heavy for the reason that
higher than the nominal price of coal
at docks
1T is natural to suppose that as
the winter season extends the stocks
of coal on dock, whatever they may
now be, will rapidly reach the disap-
pearfng point. When that time comes
the Northwest will be completely de-
pendent upon rail COAL Hence the
seVerest famine period of the North
west has not been reached, but when
it does come the call for fuels from
Illinois, Indiana and the East will be
one of the most potent influences Of
the market.
Little at the Docks.
From Superior and Duluth we are
advised that the real hard winter at
the head of the lakes starts in with a
sorry condition Of affairs in the coal
business. There is less than one-half
the bituminous coal there that there
should be. There is but one-tenth of
the anthracite coal that should be on
the docks right at the present time
At this time of the year there should
be over 100000 tons of bituminous
coal, commercial and railroad, at the
head of the lake docks. There is prob
ably 100000 tons or less. There should
be 100000 tons of anthracite on the
docks There is less than $4,000 tons.
This is all contracted for and will so
to the Twin Cities.
"Our latest advices from Minneapolis
and st. Paul state that the Northwest
is beginning to feel the grip of panic
resulting from a shortage of soft coal
and no hard coal at all. So far the
coal shipping companies have been too
good to this section. They have gone
to every extreme to furnish some coal
for the Northwest, with the result that
a nv TTY1 W.T., 1ip
when told there is a shortage, and in
dictate that they have heard such
stories before.
Commands Premium at Mines.
"And yet, at this moment, the only
way soft coal can be secured for this
section is to pay a premium at the
mines. The demand for coal has been
simply frightful. Large flats, large de-
partment stores and offices buildings
are begging for a supply of soft coal.
They want any number of carloads and
have to get along with an allowance
doled out to them. Yet, there is COM
plant because of a trif1ing advance
which is being made on soft coal to
cover the. exact premium paid at the
mines. Coal is selling today cheaper
in the Northwest than at any other
point away from the mines.
Chicago gets a better price for ILL
noiS coal right along than it commands
here. The present indications are for
jump in prices Of soft coal of 81 to
$3.50 per ton. Anthracite is selling IN
a retail way, from a very limited sup
ply in the Twin Cities, at $3.50 and $40.
This coal is all dock coal, there being
no -all-rail coal yet received, and very
little hope of any coming very soon.
1t is impossible to-, get Eastern btu
minous Goals through and there is not
much reason to hope that anthracite
will come any easier"