New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-27
'PETTYCOAL CARS
ROB CITY'S POOR
Thousand Cellar Dealers
Pay 81 a Day to Backers
in Syndicate.
TENEMENT JEWELLERS
CHEATED BY WEIGHT
Conspiracy Charges VIII BE
Outcome of Selling That
Brings $50 a Ton Profit.

A we'll organized syndicate. that has
more than thousand coal cellar deal
ers In it's service working on system
that charges the poor $40 or s25 a ton
for coal which costs about s4.5O a ton
and is sold By honest dealers for about
ST retail, has been uncovered By Com
missioner Joseph Hartigan OF the De-
partment OF Weights and Measures.
There are twelve directors for this
syndicate. In addition 10 their proits
as wholesalers. they exact a tribute
Of 81 day from each Of the dealers
In their system.
THE twelve work on the padrone
plan" Mr. Hartigan said yesterday.
Most of their dealers are Italians,
Greeks and Armenians, whom they
grubstake, renting a cellar for them,
stocking it and supplying it with coal.
They control these dealers absolutely.
"The prey of the syndicate are the
poorest classes in the city, folk who
live in cold-water tenement houses and
who Of necessity have to buy their
coal supplies in lO-cent pailfuls. 1t Is
by Notwithstanding in these infinite
numbers of small sales that go TO make
up a ton that in the long run the
price obtained from the poor runs up
to $50 or S25 in the aggregate for a
| ton.
Evidence of Conspiracy.
eve have evidence tending TO show
! that the members Of tha syndicate
school their subservIent dealers in
WAYS to conduct this cheating, so that
| they will be able TO pay them their 81
a dav tribute money. II We can get
this evidence in proper form con
spiracy case will be presented TO the
District Attorney, and we shall make
an effort 20 break up this particular
method of thievery."
! Mr.. Hartigans men stumbled across
| the trail of this new crook syndicate
during the recent campaign In Brook
| lyn and the present crusade IN Man
| haitian and The Bronx against dlshon-
est cellar coal merchants. This al.
ready has resulted in many arrests and
the couhscation and condemnation OF
/ hundreds ofSllegal scales.
/ Inspectors under Chief Albert Lut7
! assigned to hunt down short weight
/ and measure coal dealers visited IN
three days $50 coal cellars, inspecting
| 500 weighing and measuring lnstru,
ments, of which eighty-siX were FOUND
10 be crooked There were thirty-twc
arrests on penal charges and a number
/ of civil actions started.
But the most interesting point IN
these visits was the way knowledge Oh
+ the syndicate was gradually revealed
Frightened by the repeated searches
OF the inspectors and by threats OF ar
rest. many of the dealers said that
/ thew were not bosses, but received or
/ ders for everything they did from the
| bic bosses in the syndicate. The names
/ OF the leaders were obtained wherever
possible by the inspectors, and when
/ they came TO compare notes they FOUND
/ the names Of twelve certain men con-
stantly appearing.
From official and unofficial reports
furnished me | am convinced of the
existence OF syndicate headed by
these twelve men, three Of whom we
know positively and one of whom "a
ready to help u.s." Mr.. Hartigan said.
II shall do my utmost TO bring them
20 book. It is not only an added i'm
position on the poorest of our people,
but its operations are putting a pre-
MUM on dishonesty.
Premium on Dishonesty.
The cellar man Is forced to pay
this syndicate tax because the syndi-
cate starts him in business, giving him
an option of final purchase at a price
which he seldom finds himself ever
able to pay. He is bound by written
contracts. and goes on pinching here