New Britain herald., 1917-11-16
COMMERCIAL OAMOUFLAGE.

COMMERCIAL CAMOUFTAGE.
 is No sooner had the State Fuel Ad-
 Administrator announced the official Ioal prices for New Britain than the H0tail coal dealers here set up a howl. That was to be expected. Camou- Aagel Immediately they told stories H woo. It Is going to. be cold, cold N4nter, so far as they are concerned. AaAey will have to go out of business l3.Aey must close down their yards they cannot sell coal at the prices Oxdered by the government because these prices are, too low, and they cannot give away their commodity. In a. word. there is going to be a coal IygAy of saying, We have our doubts"
 On the very day that the New Brit Aan coal dealers set forth their feeble Cxm plaint, the Herald published hg- uKes which show conclusively that the C&l men need not suffer at all, so far n making money is concerned. They VIII get theirs, no matter which way kie wind blows. So long as they are able to buy coal at the mines and have it hauled into New Britain the people here need have no fear. And, willie the dealers were predicting there would be no chance of buying coal at the mines, along comes Fed eral Coal Administrator Garfield and says there will be plenty of coal; that the mines will be kept working over- tirne: that even contemplated strikes will not interfere with the output. The United Coal Miners of America have settled most of their differences md those that :, are, not settled are laid on the, table. While the war is Dn they are all going to be Americans, md there will be no shortage of coal
 It is sad and dreary picture the They are lashed to the mast, so they would have us believe. Yet the fig afos givsn out by the local coal com
 nAA1Aae-the committee that had some: lAang, if not all, to do with the fix IT of the coal price-show positively that the coal dealers cannot lose a cent by selling their wares at the new prices So far as we can see, the only great drawback to the 4eoal bus mess is the fact that, so many Charge 1gures'' are made public. The pub lic. if it cares toFSsit up and take notico, can know almost as much hbout the coal business as the men h it-except the amount of sales The cruel government has set a price on coal at the mines. Be 1t egg, stove, nut or pea coal. aaI one has to do is consult the list the price is known. Then overnment goes a step farther tells the freight rates. These rAfea are $2.9O to New Britain. Even worse investigation: has shown that it takes somewhere hround $1.6o, with the probability it b somewhat less, to defray all the expenses of getting the coal from the ears on the tracks to any mans cellar. If we take ton of egg coal. We find at costs $4.45 at the mine. Add the &2.9o freight rate to this and we have the coal worth $7.s5 8 gross ton as t stands on the tracks somewhere in New Britain.' Allowing the most lib eral estimate of $1.6O for carting it from the car to someone's cellar bin, We have this gross ton worth $8.95. And yet, it is not sold as a gross ton, but as a net ton, which brings the value down seventy-nine cents, mak- Ing such a ton worth $s.16. It is then sold at the governments regu- Ation price of $9.65. which gives the dealer a real profit of $1.49 ton. That Is the lowest possible estimate. 1t does not always cost $1.60 for de- livery. Sometimes this can be done lat a cheaper rate.
 So, after all is said and done, we do not see where the coal dealers of New Britain or any other town have
 o vs1y much over which to worry.