The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-08-12
LESS FOR COAL.
City Will Save $500 on This
Years Contracts.
Attributed by Knowing Ones
to Devlin Failure.
COLLAPSE OF TRUST.
Others Say Use of Oil and Gas
Did 1t.
At Amy Rate the Prices Are
Considerably Less.

The city of Topeka will save. up
wards of $500 on it's coal contracts this
winter and the year commencing with
the letting of the coal contracts at the
August council meeting. To be more
exact the figures will run close to
s47O.
In explanation for this it is said that
the wide adoption and use of oil and
gas as a fuel has become a potent rival
of coal and hammered down the
prices. This and the lowering of the
freight rates are given as the prime
reasons for the important reduction
which runs all the way from Ga cents
per ton downwards to IS cents.
The suggestion that the failure of
G. J. Devlin and the establishment of
q reeeivership might have broken up
to an extent the coal combine which is
known to have existed was met with
the statement: There is no combine.
There never was" However, the
statement came from an interested
person and naturally bears the ear
marks of prejudice. Any one who
has bought coal knows there is a COM
bine. 1t is believed that the failure of
Devlin and the change of management
cannot but have had marked change
in any understanding which may have
existed between the Devlfn interests
and the other operators. Just recent
~ a large company was formed on the
basis of the purchase of a number of
holdings OF the various operators in
the Kansas fields. Included in this
were all of the more important coal
operators in Kansas and Missouri
One of the prominent dealers when
asked to give some cause why the
coal contracts were let at d much lower
figure this year than last year, said:
1.-THE only explanation for 1C is that
oil and gas have come into the field to
such an extent that it is materially
affecting the coal trade. I tell you it
has us scared. The railroads are using
oil burning engines and experiments
are being conducted by other railroads
all the time with view to supplant-
more most of those experiments are
SO successful that they result in the
adoption in almost every instance of
oil. In Kansas City a great many of
oil exclusively where they formerly
used coal. Then too, freight rates
have had something to do with it, but
not SO much as the other factor,
''Of course we haven't so much to
contend with here in Topeka as re-
prices here all the same. We have a
surplus of coal this year where we
didn't have it last year; that's the
main difference. 1t was always n
question before of how we were to get
enough coal to supply the demand.
This year it is how we are going to get
enough trade to take up our surplus
stock of coal. These city bids have
never been sought after by the coal
dealers with any great degree OF
anxiety in former years, but that has
been changed now.
From look at the prices which rule
this year in the contracts 1 should i'm
agine the city should be able to save a
whole lot of money"
The city uses close in the neighbour
hood of $4,000 worth of coal a year, this
year this amount will be added to when
the contract for the wateFworks depart
ment is let by the board of trustees of
that department. The contract just let
by the council covers the coal used in
the city electric light. plant, the fire
stations, and police station and the city
building and Auditorium.
Last year the city council got into a
squabble with the coal dealers and after
considerable trouble the Southwestern
Fuel company supplied the city. The
Southwestern furnished the city with
Usage City shaft at 1885, steam mill
coal S2.45 and steam nut coal at S2S2.
The steam mill coal was used at the
electric light plant, the steam nut coal
Usage City shaft was used at the city
all.
The fOIIO1vfne are tho r,ricas x,,I,ieI,