The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-06-20
Big Contract for Coal for the City
Schools Let 10 Whitsett .
Coal Co. Of Chicago
LOCAL DEALERS TOO HIGH
Board of Education Decides to Pur-
chase Eleven Hundred Tons of
Sunshine Coal $3.50 Ton
on Cars in Kenosha

kenosha cOaldealerS will not supply
the coal to be used IN the Kenosha
schools during the coming season as
the local dealers fell before the
fierce competition of the out of town
dealers and at the meeting of the
Board of Education held on Tuesday
evening the contract for eleven hun
dred tons of soft coal was let to the
L. c. Whitsett Coal company, of
Chicago. The price per ton is $3.50
on cars in Kenosha.
This will make the cost of the coal
delivered at the schools $3.25 per ton,
and this price is more than 90 cents
per ton less than any proposition
made by local dealer. The bids for
coal we're asked for several weeks ago
and when the Board of Education
met on last Tuesday evening only one
local bid was submitted to the board
and the costs'per ton under this bid
was 1898 per ton. It was stated at
that time that every coal dealer in the
city had been notified that the bids
would be opened at that time and
had been urged to send in estimates.
One of the coal dealers stated that he
had not sent in bid on account of the
fact that his bid had been returned to
him last year without proper con-
sidefation, while it seems that the
other dealers had no desire to bid on
the contract. Last year, it is claimed,
one of the local dealers had coal for
the city schools loaded at Buffalo but
that. he finally withdrew his bid and
ordered the coal shipped to another
point.
The Whitsett company was not the
lowest bidder, as when it went abroad
that the Board was IN the market for
coal, a large number of Chicago com
panies began to figure on the contract
and one of the firms furnished a
figure few cents lower than the
Whitsett company, but the members
of the Board knew nothing of the
firm and had used coal from the Whit
sett company's mines so this COM
pany got the contract. The coal is to
be of the sort known as Sunshine
coal and it is to be delivered in Keno.
sha at the orders of the Board. The
manager of the company was at the
meeting of the Board last night and
gave his personal guarantee that the
coal will be of the same quality
shipped to the Board early this spring
and this coal gave perfect satisfac-
ton. Enough coal IS to be shipped to
Kenosha during July and August to
provide for the filing of the bins at
all the school buildings and the re-
mainder of the coal contracted for
will be shipped at the order of the
clerk of the Board any time between
now and the first of May of next year.
BY contracting with the Chicago
company for the coal the Board will
save the taxpayers of the city nearly
eight hundred dollars.
There was little other business of
Importance taken up at the meeting
of the Board. Simon Krebs Jr. was.
selected to take the annual school
census and he will begin the work at
once. The committee on supplies
brought in lengthy report in regard
to the supplies needed for the schools
for the coming year and they will be
ordered at once. The committee has
also arranged for the compile zion of
the furnishing of the new Edward
Balm building.