The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-11-27


 Editor The Advertiser:
 'In your issue of today we think you did us @ great injustice and ask you to publish this, our side, of the coal business.
 Our prices since the End inst. have been Ss, s4.5O and 3s. according to grade.
 Coal Is not an exception to other commodities. There Is vast differ , ence in coal, the same as cloth, silk satin and cotton, sugar, rice, n6ur meal, meat. cigars, whislEey and shoes everything that Is called coal is not the same. The better article costs and sells at higher price than an inferior scriptions are double that of others. No doubt you can answer why satisfac- torily. @ &s
 '@rhe State Geologlst, AEF. Eugene Smith, of the University, who is au- thority on the minerals of our State will inform you that there are three distinct coal fields in Alabama. namely the cahaba, Warrior and coosa. The Cahaba is the only high grade domes- tic coal, such as Rex. Montevallo, Pi- per, Colenor. Hargrove, Garnseys Cli- max, Blooton, Belle Ellen and. others In the Warrior field you will find Car bon Hi1l. Corona. Ivy Leaf, Doro. Horse Creek, and others, which is not han dled in this market. Now. these are much cheaper than Cahaba coal and our fifteen years experience in the coal business is this grade of coal. will ruin any dealers trade. The Coosa coal field is so poor that it is not sold for domestic purposes.
 Our Mir, c. P. Anderson was in Bir- mingham and offered SS.25 per ton for . 1a@s RA n could not get a ton.
 l Within the past month we have had from smaller places at least twelve in- Quiries for a car of good domestic lump and answered each saying we had none to offer, as we are not getting 1t fast enough to supply our local trade. Only last week Messrs. c. P.{and E, S Rog- CTS of Letohatehies ealled us up over our long distance telephone and asked for quotations on car of Cahaba field coal, but we did not have it to ofier, He told us he had received q car of good looking lump coal from the War rior or Walker County coal aeld, but 1t was not worth the freight he paid on 1t and ordered ton of Rex coal shipped to him in sacks, to keep his l family warm. We handle the best coal we can buy and had we not jumped in the market the latter part of October and bought at prices asked we would not have a ton of. coal today,
 'To q person not posted in the coal business 1t seems the coal supply is all right, but this is on account of the warm weather for the past two weeks, The price Is higher. and in our opinion will be still higher and in one month after winter sets in coal will be scarce regardless of high prices. There has been a strike on in the Alabama coal 1 fields since June 30th. and no pros peets of a settlement this winter. Some few mines have been and are running under a temporary contract and from these few mines must be supplied both steam and domestic coal to the terri tory Alabama fields furnish.
 The advertised summer price list of the Mobile dealers for the month of August was a5 per ton for the Cahaba coals For the same coal for the gaIne month, August, we were selling it for $A25 per ton! The freight rate. to Montgomery is Sl per ton and only s1.10 to Mobile. We have a city scale't tax of l0o for all tons and half tons, This