New Britain herald., 1916-05-15
GOAL $35 A TON
 IN BUENOS AIRES
And at That Price it Is Hard to
 Get

Buenos, Aires, May 15-Coal for
 ordinary consumption in the Argen-
 tine is now $35 gold per ton, and hard to purchase even at that figure. To prevent the reduction of the present meagre supply, he national govern
 ment has ordered the principal steamship companies not to put on board any outbound vessels more coal than necessary to carr yto the near est Brazilian port of call. This coal is the property of the steamship com- panies stored here as a precautionary measure and the fact that the gov- ernment has been obliged to place an embargo on this private property is indicative of the seriousness of the fuel problems in this country.
 The railroads likewise have been forced to economize by cutting down the summer timetables of trains and in the meantime they have placed or ders for 100000 tons of hard wood for fuel. But even wood has gOnc up $5 a ton within a week, and Is now quoted at s33 paper, or s14 gold. Charcoal which Is largely used for domestic purposes is also $5 a ton dearer.
 Naval Ships Short.
 The situation is such that even the ships of the Argentine navy are de- clared to be impotent owing to the lack of coal. The American-b built battleships Aivadavia and Moreno were constructed to burn oil, but ap- parently the oil problem is nearly as serious as the coal situation. Crude petroleum from the Argentine wells is being offered in limited quantities at $SO paper. s34 gold. per ton. AL though reported inferior only to the best Rumanian oil the Argentine gov ernment and people have displayed sceptical attitude toward the native oil
 The deposits have been said to be unlimited, but despite this the out put has been small and neither the navy or manufacturers generally avail themselves of the native product. The German Electric Light and Power company, which supplies this city and suburbs, and which formerly used coal exclusively, began to use the Argentine oil after the outbreak of the war but has lately discontinued that and is now burning the Mexi- can product. This notwithstanding the recent grant by the government of S15, 100000 to develop the Argen- tine oil regions.
 Water Brought Thirty Miles.
 An official report of conditions pre- vaillng in and around the Comodoro- Rivadavia oil area shows some in efficient conditions under which the development of the field is being undertaken. Water is lacking in that which the development of the field is being undertaken. Water is lack ing in that region and has to be brought from a place more than thirty miles away, and labor is also scarce. Being a government mono poly, and heavily fiscalized, the op- erations have been elaborate and costly, but, it is charged, extremely inefficient. It is said to be doubtful whether the oil fields will ever re- spond to the elaborate hopes based upon the casual discovery of them in 1907. A government inspector just returned from the district, expresses his surprise that the locomotives plying to and from the petroleum zone are still being fired with costly coal.
 The peat deposits of Tierra del Fuego are declared to contain in eHhaustlble supplies of that fuel, but with scarcity of coasting vessels and the difficulty of securing labor for that bleak region, it is more than oouotful whether it will ever pay Of wood there is an enormous supply, put 1t grows in the remote and gen. erally lnsalubrious regions
 As for American coal, the freight charged, 90 shillings per ton, rules ,t out of consideration. in view of the tact that the British product is at $50 a ton. This can be done because freighters are sure of picking up profitable charters in the river Platte for England or France
 To give an idea of the manifold ways in which the lack of fuel af- tects the currents of commerce, 1t IS sufficient to note that the great hotel proprietors have met and de- liberated upon the best course of &C., ton in view of the increased kitchen ana iauhdfy expenses, which arc nearly double what tbev uero