The sun., 1916-11-24
PLOT TO FORCE COAL
PRICES UP CHARGED
Apartment House Owners Of
Upper West Side Com
plain to Swami.
PHONE TIPS FOR DEALERS
Mitchell Suggests Plan to Aid
the Poor by Using
City Carts.

Apartment house owners OF the upper
West Side yesterday sent a delegation to
District Attorney Swami to appeal for
help from coal dealers who, they charged,
have formed a we'll organized ring TO
advance prices. A system Of sending
tips by telephone Is used. they said. by
which each dealer notifies the others of
every prospective purchaser In imme-
dIatc need Of delivery. so he may he
forced to pay even more than the regular
rates.
A committee Of three from the Real
Estate Owners Protective Association
OF the West Side presented the grievance.
They were IL. Strauss. 1875 West 104th
street Edward Downey. so Manhattan
avenue. and Frederick H.. Pepper, 606
West 18th street. Mr.. Strauss was
spokesman for the party.
when an owner finds he cannot get
delivery from his regular dealer" he
said. the owner calls up another con-
Germ II asks quotations. The first
question asked Is. Arc you q regular
customer here" IL the answer is no. the
owner is told he cannot be supplied at
the figure quoted. II he then calls up
any other dealer In the district he finds
the price has gone up Is cents or so II
ton everywhere. 1t Is don't all at once
Freschi Offers to SIT.
Apartment house owners a month ago
were forced to pay si2.75 a ton for their
coal. he added although last winter the
rt,n - : .aa. .A,.tIasAl ah,Nrtat
Now IL costs from sS.75 to 50 a ton,
whether the load IL II ton or a hundred.
District Attorney Swami explained
that he had been too busy with the food
question to attend to oal inquiries. lie
did not see Magistrate McAdoo about his
proposed John Doe inquiry and was too
busy t. interview Michael T.. Burns. the
dealer who is to produce his books as
evidence In the inquiry. Late in the
day. however. the District Attorney noti-
fed Mr.. Burns that he might call at his
convenience at the District Attorneys
office to-day.
Although nothing was done with the
Chief Magistrate regarding a hearing.
Magistrate Freschi OF his own initiative
called or Judge Swami and offered to
hold a John Doe proceeding at night
after his regular session OF court.
Commissioner Hartisan OF the Bureau
OF Weights and Measures hit a blow at
the small basement dealers who are be-
licved TO be reaping Illegal profits from
the situation. when II OF his inspoc-
tors procured the arrest OF Francisco
Petrogelli, n dealer at 20l East ll5th
street. Petrogclli was accused OF hav-
ing sold a bag OF coal weighing sixty
pounds. representing II to bc n nun
dredweight. lie was held In Yorkville
court for examination to-day.
Would Use City Carte.
Mayor Mitchell. after a conference
with Commissioner Hartigan. Commits
sioner OF Accounts Wallstein and Police
Commissioner Woods. issued a statement
yesterday containing a proposal that
the carts OF the city Department OF
Streets be used to furnish coal for the
poor at cost from "A supply TO lie pro-
vIded by certain philanthropic individ-
uals. George W. Perkins, head of the
Mayors Food Commission, has volun-
teered to raise this fund.
Il have reached the conclusion that
some dealers In the city have taken
advantage OF an apparent shortage IN
the supply OF coal and have boosted the
price. especially to those people who
buy It by the bucketful." the Mayor said.
The wagons of the Street Cleaning
Department now take the ashes ana
garbage from the very people who buy
coal In small quantities. They car;
ashes n garbage to the river front
and dump II there and 20 back into the
city empty. They therefore can be
very readily used to take coal from the
river front to the very people from whom,
they take ashes and garbage without
losing any apprcciable amount OF time
from their routine street cleaning work,
THE Dock Department would co.
operate by providing docking facilities
for tho barges and storage facilities
along the bulkheads. The Street Clean
ing Department would cooperate by
having its carts carry the bags ~ coal
on return trips from the dumps instead
Of returning from the dumps empty. as
now.
The Police Commissioner would have
policemen detailed to mako certain that
only actual consumers n not dealers
were permitted 10 purchase the coal"
DETROIT, Nov, e3.--Detroit coal dealers
to-day were summoned before a Federal
Grand Jury which began an inyest!ga-
ton Of the high cost Of living In this
district, Testimony Is being taken be-
hind closed doors,