New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-05-18
Biz Consumers to Profit Most by
Comparative Plenty. However.
NO CHEAPER FROM WAGON
Hudson River Crop Larger than
Year Ago, While Artificial
Output Is Also Greater

l. No such shortage OF ice as threatened The
city last spring Is In prospect fhis season
Natural ice is now selling ct 81 so ton "a
the bridge, and artificial ice is bringing
renrer sc a ton wholesale Last year AZ
this time the price was 50 a ton for both
But the price 10 small housebolders will
vary little from that OF last simmer. IL Is
the heavy trade" az n is called that will
benefit from the greater supply For the
family trade the price will range between
30 and 40 cents hundredweight- Last
summer the average price VAS IS cents. To
the large consumers ice is selling. and WI
continue to sell. at from 1Tls 20 20 cents
hundredweight
1t is to the runifceuce of the Hudson
River that this favorable situation IS due
At the end OF February last year. when the
ice crop had been all sar1ered, the ice
houses on the Hudson held only 1,S5f,192
tons At the same time this year the crop
measured total of :, 206.sS4 tons. lftfis
less than 400. coo tons more This IS less
than was taken from the Hudson IN any
previous year since 1900 with. the exception
of 1903 The growth of artificial ice plants
in the city. however more than makes u2
for the deficiency.
The sale of scent cakes to the poor.
which was discontinued for time last year
owing to the shortage in the supply of nat
ural ice. viii go merrily- this summer
John w Scott. president OF the National
Ice Company, said so YESTERDAY
THE price of natural ice ought TO be 81
ton at the bridge Mr.. Scott remarked.
Then the iceman could make a fair profit.
This wholesale price would mean a charge
Of 40 cents a hundredweight 10 the small
consumers and 20 cents TO the heavy trade
"Of course. it costs much less TO deliver
ice to the large consumers and the sr-'nkaSe
is only half what it is in the family trade
It takes a wagon with two men a whole
day TO deliver four or five tons to the small
people. The shrinkage OF ice in that time is
10 per cent But in the heavy trade the
same wagon and two men can deliver ten
tons of ice in a day. and the shrinkage will
be only 5, or Z per cent
THE amount of natural ice on hand Will
not leave any surplus TO speak of when the
season is over We can sell it all. particu-
larry at the present prices. But neither
will there be any shortage"
The American Ice Company. which con-
trolls 9he natural supply to large extent,
and also has artificial ice plants of its OVID.
producing about one-ffth of its output, has
its own wagons out on the street selling %
both family and heavy trade. But large
percentage of it's ice is sold at the bridge
to independent distributors Some OF the
artificial ice companies have no wagons AZ
ALL The small distributors make contracts
as a rule with the different large producers
early in the season. But these contracts
were frequently broken later in the season,
one artificial ice producer complained yes
terday The usual course is fer the distrib-
uters 10 flock to the artificial ice companies
in the spring and peddle their ice until The
ice from up the Hudson begins coming down
in great quantity. Then many OF them de-
sert the artificial for the natural ice man.
There is a fight on between the natural
and artificial ice producers 10 which the
low price of ice may in part be attributed
The high prices of last season multiplied
the artificial plants until they could supply
so per cent OF the cfty's needs, which are
about 1000 tons daily. The inrOads OF the
artificial plants on the natural ice business
are to be seen in the gradual decline of ice
house capacity and amounts stored in the
last decade along the Hudson
In the winter Of 1900-'01 the capacity Of
Hudson River icehouses was 4.791.40O tons
and the amount OF ice stored was 4,606. 500
tons. This last winter the capacity Of the ice
houses was set down as 3.64415O tons and
tho amount stored at 22O6,sS4.