Morris tribune., 1916-11-24
CITY ENDANGERED
BY COAL FAMINE
Car Shortage and Lake Naviga.
ton Cause 2,5OO,OOO Ton
Deficit at Duluth

With one third of the residents of
the city without their winters supply
of hard coal and with only few tons
of soft coal in the retail coal deal
ers bins, Morris is facing the most
serious fuel crisis in her history.
"We can give no assurance of being
able to furnish even a ton of hard
coal during the next six months.
say the local dealers. "It is not a
question of price, it is question of
getting it. We have been turned
down by every coal dealer in the twin
cities, at the lakes, and in the eastern
cities. The cnly satisfaction to be
derived from the larger dealers is a
promise of small amounts of soft
coal occasionally during the winter. "
1t is to be expected that prices will
soar to unheard of heights. Last
week coal advanced fifty cents in
the eastern markets. 1t won't take
long for this advance to be felt
here. One dealer last week re-
ceived a car of coal that cost 81 go
per ton more than the October
prices for the same grade. Yet local
dealers are not making as much
profit selling coal at So as they
formerly did at Sc.
There is a diversity of reasons as
signed for the coal shortage. Every
one who is affected has a different
reason. Some in their disappointment
at not getting the coal that they need
even, believe that it is gigantic OF
beween the mines, railroads, whole
sale dealers and the retail dealers to
boost the price of coal at the expense
of consumer. The real trouble the
local dealers say is shortage of coal
at the Superior and Duluth docks. The
amount on hand at the head Of the
lakes is 10000 tons of soft coal
less than usual. There is also a
hard coal shortage of 100000 tons.
The decfit resulted when the lake
steamers freighted ore to Eastern
ports at 81 per ton this year and
turned down cargoes of Pennsylvania
coal at thirty cents a ton on the re-
turn trips because it was more profit
able to hurry back to Duluth and Sup
erior empty and load with ore again
for the eastern munition plants than
to take the time to load with coal
and then unload at the Minnesota lake
ports.
AS it much cheaper to transport
coal by the lakes than to ship by all
road, all except the coal that is mined
in southern Illinois is sent to the north
west by way of tue Great Lakes. In
surance rates for lake navigation ex-
pired November Is. Navigation will
close altogether before December Is.
The northwest coal supply must be
on hand in Superior and Duluth be-
fore the close of navigation.
With the hope of lake navigation
and cheaper rates gone the hopeful
person turns to the railroads for as
ing car shortage figures. One can
easily understand the shortage by
noticing tue freight trains pass
through Morris and counting the
great number of foreign cars that are
to be found in each Great Northern
train. On October l there were
As, GIG cars short in Minnesota.
'Poor crops caused the cars of
every railroad to become scattered
over the country and as each rail-
road gets forty-iVe cents per day for
the use of their cars while on other
lines, there is not much effort being
made to recall them" say local coal
dealers.
"The moving of the large apple
crop Oregon and Washington is
taking great many cars from the
West 70 the East" said G. S. TAFT,
local Great Northern agent, this
week. "Every day there IS at least
one long train passes through Nor
ris loaded with apples"
When asked what was the reason
for not being able to furnish cars
for local shipments some of the rail-
roads asserted that the cras they had
offered to furnish the coal mines
were refused. Tie railroads accused
the mines of taking advantage of
the situation and were pleading car
shortage in order to avoi the fulfill
ment of their early contracts for coal
shipments. The mines, the railroads
said were making no effort to secure
ears and were refusing cars when
offered to chem. A Benton Harbor
corporation. the Minneapolis Journal
says, was obliged to offer S4.1O per
ton IN excess of the regular rate to
coal mine in order to get fuel neces-