Evening star., 1917-11-24
LOCAL COAL NEEDS
MANY TONS HIGHER
Due Largely to Increased Pop
ulation, Says c. F. N. Fade
ley in Talk to Club.
MOST SALES IN WINTER

Last year Washington burned between
100000 and $4,000 tons OF anthracite
coal. The tonnage cannot be figured
exactly because certain unrecorded
amount Of coal came into the city from
dealers in Rosslyn. Chevy Chase. Ia
koma and other suburbs. This year
Washington's requirements will be c5.-
900 to $4,000 tons higher. due to the
fact that because OF the increased popu
lation 1000 to 5000 houses which were
vacant last year now are occupied and
have to be heated.
The above are some of the interest
ing facts brought out in a paper on the
local coal situation read recently be-
fore the Rotary Club by c; F. NJ Fade
never has taken advantage to the ex-
tent Baltimore and other cities have
of the reduction in prices during the
summer, months.
"The retailer here looks upon his bust
ness confined to seven or eight
months of the year." he said: Our
records for the past five years show. on
are in the fve worst months of the
year. November to March. inclusive. in
each of which we are apt to experience
freezing. icy weather.
Unloading Costs Higher.
ly believe that the cost of unloading
alone in these months is twenty to
twenty-five times as great as in the
other seven months Yet in extreme
weather. with the coal frozen. 1t takes
ten men FIVE hours. on our trestle. to
unload a shift of fifteen cars carrying
200 to 500 tons. whereas in summer one
man will dump. then clean oAt every
lump lodged on the braces ana rivets
of each car. and close the doors and be
ready for another shift in half an hour.
Thus under extreme winter conditions
the labor and cost of unloading is one
hundred times that required in the
warm months.
III the Washington consumer was on
the JOB the reverse would obtain. Two
thirds of the coal would be purchased
and handled in the seven good. not in
the hye worst months. of the year.
In the spring and summer coal is
cheaper, of a better grade, better pre-
pared. because with longer days the
breakers are lighter and are then free
from the rush of urgent winter de-
mand. Few appreciate the fact that
the breakers are in higher latitude.
where in winter the daylight Is over
by o'clock. and in rush times opera
tions continue when it is too dark to
properly prepare the coal. In spring
and summer the retailer and whole
saler are not rushed and coal is closely
inspected and when not up to standard
1t Is refused. All of last winter, and
pretense OF inspection. The demand is
such we cannot turn down any COAL
And scarcely is there a winter but at
times the consumers needs are such
that the whole question is one of ton
mage, regardless of preparation or
quality.
Very Little Anthracite in Stock.
y year ago washington's stock of
anthracite was sixty to seventy thou
sand tons. today 1t is less than a tenth
OF this. Yet the anthracite producers
have in the six months, April to- Sep
tember, inclusive. Of this year. shipped
seven and a half million tons more than
in the same period last year-a gain Of
e3 per cent While our sales for the
seven months ending October 81 show
gain OF 30 per cent over the same
period last year. II our records are
representative Of general conditions,
they indicate that instead of the usual
In these seven months. they have re-
ceived 43 per cent of the seasons con-
sumption. This gain was in the first
i've months. September and October
sales show a loss over last year, due
to the shortage of coal Last October
we carried a full stock the entire
month: whereas. this fall. shipments
August on. and by the middle of Oc-
tober were entirely out of every size.
The first OF last November our stock
was over 5000 tons. this November
every bin was empty"
Now that lake navigation has closed
the supply promises to be more ade-
Quate. but there Is little prospect that
there will be anything better than
hand-to-mouth buying during the win
ter months.