New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1904-06-22
THINK THEY WERE FRIskED
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Hlnk IHEI WE'VE fhlSkEU
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streets and stated that the benefits for
the Minnesota street grading would be
assessed by the board at meeting
June Both. The cost estimates OF the
1 Improvements recommended are: First
North, 1916; Center, $500; First South,
1915; and the council voted to advertise
for bids to be opened July 9th.
After a motion to adjourn had been
made Aid. Richartz brought up the
coal question. He said he understood
that Mayor Silverson had refused to
sign the contract with the Patton Coal
& Coke company of Minneapolis, to
furnish the city Iowa coal for 1926
per ton and asked if this were true.
Mayor Silverson replied in the
affirmative and said: Gentlemen,
you paid too much for your coal:
you could have saved from Is to 25
cents a ton. I have received bids of
S2.65 and 1915 for Iowa coal and the
city's fuel could have been purchased
for that money. You should have re-
ferred the matter to a committee and
then [ could have told them where to
buy it, The mayor explained that
when the coal dealers were in the city
recently the Eagle Roller Mill COM
pany bought 5000 tons from repre-
sentative of one of the firms. This
man quoted the city price of Sl.l0
and the mill 874 cents per ton on the
same kind of coal. In view of the fact
that the contract had been awarded
for SO long a time it would probably
be best for all concerned to sign it
without further delay-next year the
council can appoint committee and
understood he desired to sell coal to
the city; he would merely obtain
quotations from the mines and then a
deal could be made through the mill.
The coal companies would not like
such an arrangement, as they would
want to protect the local dealers.
Aid. Flor asked the mayor if he did
not direct the council to enter into
contract on the night the bidders were
present but Mr.. Silverson reminded
the first ward man that he twice sug-
gested that the matter be given to a
committee. Continuing, the mayor
remarked that he reasoned the differ
ence in the price quoted him and that
which the city must pay went to 81.
Nagel, local agent for the Iowa coal,
as commission. When informed that
he could not continue to sell coal to
the city Mr.. Nagel had said that there
was s'more than one way of skinning a
cat"; a significant remark in view of
the fact that coal companies make a
practice of figuring a profit for their
local agents when submitting bids.
! In this connection the mayor said
that when the newspapers were saying
that Mr.. Nagel furnished coal cheaper
than anyone else he bought fifty car
loads for 10 cents ton. Aid. Nagel
replied that he remembered the incident
and said that at the same time he had
five carloads shipped to the city plant,
paying only the freight charges.
Aid. Richartz asked if coal would
not advance while the mayor was de-
laying signing the contract. Mr..
Silverson said there would be no
trouble in this respect, as he could
get any quantity of coal at the price
paid by the city. In fact, coal would
be cheaper by September,
"We should give the contract to the
local Dealers said Pres. Eibner, 'and
let them make reasonable profit.
We are doing business directly with
the mines and now it shows that WE
are paying commission anyway. Why
can the mill get coal cheaper than the
city,"
It was explained that the mill usec
a larger quantity and that it was no
considered the customer of any loca
agent. It went into the open marke
for its fuel and the mine owners die
not reckon ''agent's commission il
drawing up their prices.
"Well," remarked Pres. Eibner
''next year we will have to skin tina
cat a different way"
Mayor Silverson repeated that The
best thing to be done was to accept the
contract; it was practically binding
anyway, as coal had been delivered
under it. He considered that the
council had done its best in the matter
!. but Nagel was getting ''rake-off" il
: spite of them. We can charge this tx
experience and do better next year.
!. One of the aldermen asked if P
? Scherer and Bingham Bros. wer,
sharing in the division of profits bu