Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-30


nut. This was the Lehigh Coal and
Navigation Cos. coal and cost 10 cents
more than philadelphia & Reading. 1t
was better ooal--at Least such was
, his notion of the respective qualities.
Mr. Hayes was unable to inform the
committee what the barge freight to
Gardiner was.
He stated that the October buying
price was $3.50 and $610 for coal. In
August he said, he purchased a cargo
of coal which came by schooner. cost
ing, f.. o. B., in New York, $685. a ton.
with an added freight of 80 cents TO
Gardiner. making a total of $625
alongside the wharf at Randolph. He
aiee purchased a second cargo of
sieve coal whoa cost $5.f0 in New
ork ena came by schooner, with the
5; me .dea rate
sA lonS "a was of no value To
Il al. The first cargo of coal which he
lought on going into business was
carefully weighed out and he did not
get even the number of short tons
which the tons of the bill of laden
called for. He explained that there
was two sides to the proposition. He
weighed the coal out in half-ton tubs
while IT was weighed into the barge
in cars holding 80 tons: that where
in loading. 80 tons was weighed hnt
once, in weighing out he had to weigh
so times to the car.
He figured that he has lost % IN a.
cents ton on every ton of coal han
died, the past year He made a liz
tie money IN 19l1--got enough to eat
Average buying price in 1911 was 81. 20
ton.
Senator Morey got a refusal to an
s~ef from the witness when he asked
who the last cargo of coal was pur-
chased of
Seillng coal in Rockland had been n
losing proposition for his firm was
the assertion of Morris p. Perry. They
did 600o-ton business each year. The
price which they were charging for
coal IN May, 1912 was $50 and ST.
In September this was increa sod ia
% ana $s.25 and in October the price
was made $3.50 for all grades. In 1911
the prices We're: January. 81 to 81 u,
FEBRUARY. $3.50 TO s775; and through
the summer 81 to 1925.
The average price which he had
paid for coal the past year was s., "a
Inc expense to his concern of handl-
ing coal was s1.s2 a ton. The expenses
OF the concern Were about S11 900 n
year That covered everything except
bad pills and did not include any paw
Tor the members of the firm.
FIGURING the average price, he said
at s5.S5, which he paid for his Goa,
ana adding there to S1s2 for handling
brought the cost of the coal. delivered
to the customer up to an average of
S'.6f At the summer prices tha.
meant a loss of 90 cents per ton.
Answering questions by various
members of the committee Mr.. Perry
aaihletea that TO Jan. /, his concern
lida disposed of about 5000 tons.
lie was then asked concerning the
Sli.ooo expense of doing business. He
SAID that s3liS was for general ex-
penses of the office, clerk hire. etc
S297ff for the teaming. the balance
iof insurance. interest and diseharginr-
the cafsos. The attorney general in
CURED concerning these general ex-
pehses and brought out that it in
Guided two clerks at SIS week and A.
Waterman at $40. which made a total
OF about s2oeo.s Mr.. Perry was unable
TO eXplan what the remaining s11o9
went for. few more questions
Drought out the fact that one of these
clerks was employed at an second
oti1ee in the North end, which had a
separate expense account of its own
so that the $11o0 was increased that
much.
Nelson p. Gordon of Readfield. a
aealef, explained his troubles in pro-
wang customers with coal. During
MS testimony he said that coal from
randall, McAllister & Co. arrived
short weight
One Of the committee suggested tha t
1t looked as If somebody were cheat
ing, comment which brought Nav
or Oakley Curtis to the fore. Mayor
Curtis said he desired to explain He
was allowed so to do and said:
I want TO say to this committee
that the Randall, McAllister Co. is
not in the cheating business. All their
coal is weighed by sworn weighers
and the Maine Central accepts the
figures of these weighers as correct
We guarantee that when car of coal
leaves our wharf it has the number
of tons which we charge for. 1t is
weighed by experienced men. upon ac-
citrate scales. On the way up the linz
the coal is stolen from the cars and
then 1t is weighed out by inexperienc-
ed men and upon old rusty, inaccurate
scales and then Randall. MeAllister
Co. is accused of cheat ting"
He also said he had seen so tons of
coal thrown off the cars in Lewiston
and picked up later
Other protests We're made along
these same lines.
II M Coxx,c11sc Es~L@