The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1917-11-23
UNIFORM PRICES
FOR COAL TO BE
FIXED FOR CAPE
County Fuel Administrator,
L. B. HOuck, to Confer
With Dealers.
COAL is SOLD AT $40
TON AT MINES, HE SAYS
Retail Dealers Entitled to Fair
Profit in Addition to Their
Expenses.

A uniform price OF coal in the city
will be fixed in the near future in 4
conference between Col. L. B. Houck,
county fuel administrator, and the
coal dealers of the city. The price
will be regulated so as to allow the
dealers a fair profit after paying their
expenses in hauling the coal from the
mines to their yards.
Fuel Administrator Garfield has is
sued drastic orders in an effort to
reduce the coal price for the consum-
ers to the minimum, and these orders
will be the guidance in fixing the
prices for the city coal dealers.
Col. Houck said yesterday he had
visited several coal mines in Illinois
whence the local dealers derive their
supply and had found that the price
per ton was $40 at the mines. Add
ing to this the 80 cents charged by
the railroad for hauling the coal and
the expenses the dealers have in get
ting the coal from the freight cars to
their yards it is reasonable to assume
,fficial canvass made today by the
State Executive Council.
The canvass, made on the initial
count Of the ballots. showed PA ,693
for the amendment and 2154625
against.
that the small dealers must be allow
ed B. certain amount to defray these
expenses.
Although there is no shortage OF
coal in the city, Col. Houck said yes
terday. he believed that the whole
supply would be exhausted within
week if the weather necessitated
heavy consumption of coal in the resi-
dences. The shortage of freight cars,
it is true, he said, is a handicap in
transferring the coal from the mines
TO the dealers, but no actual short
age of fuel is caused by the small
number of freight cars available for
the shipments.
The fact that a great number OF
persons have to live from hand to
mouth, Col. Houck said, and that these
citizens can not afford to buy a large
supply at one time, would cause a
coal famine in the city if a severe
cold spell would reach the city unex-
pectedly. The dealers would not be
able to get sufficient coal to fill the
orders for coal.
A canvass of the city and of the
large plants of the city made by Col.
Houck several days ago revealed that
all factories were we'll supplied with
coal at this time, and with their reg
ular shipments of coal would not ex-
perience any hardship even with the
shortage of freight cars for coal ship
ments.
The heavy expense of demurrage
the coal dealers are forced to pay, if
they want to avoid the unloading of
coal and sending it to the coal yards
was. advanced as another reason for
allowing the dealers an advance on
price. If the demand is not heavy, then
the coal dealers must either haul the
coal to their yards and again load 1t
into the wagons for later delivery or
else pay demurrage, if not taken from
the freight car within certain length
of time. These circumstances, he said
should be taken into consideration In
fixing a fair price for coal charged
for the consumer.
Col. Houck's duty as fuel admins
traitor for the county is chiefly an in
vestigation into complaints made by
the individual and by the factories ID
the city. Complaints are Forwarded
to the state fuel administrator whose
duty it is to see that the coal ship
ments are not held up without reason
able excuse, but are forwarded to the
dealers without delay. Col. Houck was
given the appointment by Lieutenant
Governor Wallace Crossley weel
Iago.