Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-10-31

even, A fair average for this year on pres.
ent costs would be- l believe around 81 50
per ton. Any retail coal dealer who could
average net profit of so per cent per
ton would be making more money than he
has ever made, and yet no one, l venture,
would say he was making more than a fair
percentage, based on the cost of coal.
From the gross income a dealer makes
must be deducted all items of expense en-
tering into his business, such as salaries
wages of yardmen and teamsters, clerical
force, yard maintenance, taxes, insurance,
interest on money invested, depreciation on
plants and equipment, depreciation and
wastage of coal, etc, per ton and what
ever balance Is left will be the net profit
Any business man knows that certain Of
the items enumerated above are fixed or
overhead expenses, which continue from
day TO day, regardless of the volume of
business done. This is particularly true
of the coal dealer. He does not carry
different articles that are sold at different
times of the year. but an article that per-
tains only to about one-half of each year;
for the other half the overhead continues
and his cost per ton advances by leaps
and bounds.
The gross income which the retail dealer
Is now receiving, based on the method or
dered by Doctor Garfield, the fuel admin
istrator, varies from approximately S1.7O
to $2.20 per ton.
AVoldable Expense
With the greatly increased cost of doing
business and with shipments of coal as
uncertain as they are today, this gross
income does not permit a fair return on
the capital invested.
The best months for the retailer are
December to May 81 even in his busy
months there are many items of expense
which the consumer does not consider and
many winch could be avoided if the con-
sumner would use a little forethought
Among the first may be mentioned lev
streets and during and after heavy snow |
storms. In the summer one horse can haul |
one ton and two horses from two to three !
tons and more. With snow and ice on the |
streets 1t takes two horses to a ton of |
COAL and even then valuable time is lost by |
the care necessary to drive on icy streets |
or shoveling snow so teams can reach the !
sidewalk. 1t is often necessary TO send an |
extra man, when in summer one would do |
The same applies with equal force to de-
livery by autotrucks
Among the avoidable expenses for which
the consumer is responsible two important |
ones can be mentioned, First, the habit of
ordering from one or more yards at the
same time. q have known of cases where an
order for one ton has been placed with five
different yards for immediate delivery) The
yard making the delivery first naturally
puts in the ton and makes the delivery
while the others are put to the same ex-
pense without any compensation
The second is the customers habit Of
waiting until no coal is left in the cellar
and then demanding immediate delivery.
(This habit is not confined by any means
to the persons who cannot afford TO purchase
ahead but TO the well-to-do, who can well
afford to always have a stock on hand) To
try to take care of this trade extra teams
are necessary. When warm spell of
weather sets in during the winter months,
or even few warm days, coal orders al
most stop and our teams are left idle but
Just as soon as a few snowfiakes begin TO
fall or the temperature drops It seems no
one has any coal. and the poor dealer is at
his wits end TO try TO satisfy even half Of
his customers.