The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-02-07
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY Z, 1918
The Municipal Coal Pile.


suggested municipal coal pile. This
is not suggestion that the city go into
the coal business. 1t is simply a sug-
gestion that the city as municipality
protect its people against the possibil-
ity of another winter Of anxiety if
not suffering such as it is now pas
sing through. 1t is a suggestion that
the city write little insurance against
the closing of school houses next year
and against cold homes and suffering
babies. 1t has nothing to do with whe-
Their municipal handling of coal is right
in theory or practice.
The suggestion must be treated as an
emergency measure and as such it is
entitled to the very careful considera-
tion of the men who are city officials.
The emergency nature of it demands
a very early consideration of it.
Most of the troubles of Kenosha over
coal just at present are due to the fact
that the men who sell coal or at
least most of them - learned too late
last year that coal was not going to
be a drag on the market this year.
Many of these men declined to buy
coal when coal could be bought. Some
of them declined to buy because the
price was too high, others refused be-
cause they believed that government
regulation Of the output of the mines
mud of 4ba +rousnnp+o+;o,, re S,,ab ont
put was going to make it impossible
for the coal dealer to earn profits
which would pay him interest on in
vested capital and reasonable ex-
pense for handling the coal.
We are passing through a winter of
government management of the coal
business. So far as we can learn no
coal dealer has been forced to give
up any legitimate profit. So far as we
know the profits of the coal men have
been just as large or larger this year
than in former years. Tt has cost them
moro to handle the coal but they have
received more for the coal.
4 There is mt any use looking for in
surance on man after he is dead. He
must get the insurance when he is able
ito pass the physical examination and
if Kenosha is going to GO out as a
municipality and write insurance
against coal famine it must do it at
a time when such insurance can be
secured.
! Kenosha demands about so much coal
TO take care of its demands for the
winter. Tt did not have this amount
of coal this year. There was time
when it could have had enough coal
stored away to provide against any
serious emergency, time when coal
trains would have brought it to the city
without delays and time when boats
could have been secured to handle car
goes.
The proposition that is now being
made to the city is not one for pro-
fit but one for protection If the city
of Kenosha goes into the market in
February and places an order for fifty
thousand tons of coal Of various kinds
to be dumped on the docks over at
the Simmons Play grounds it will pro-
badly be able to have the orders ac-
eepted and filed. During the lazy
summer months boats can come into
the Kenosha harbor and put coal
enough on the island to meet the emer-
gencies of the coming winter.
There is little chance of the city
sustaining loss unless the bottom falls
out of everything. Kenosha has great
industries which must have coal, not
for this year alone but for future years
and if the city has coal pile too big
for the demands of its residents it is
certain that market for this coal can
he found in the big industrial plants.
If the city has no money to buy a
coal pile the city's credit is good and
it can get the money advanced to it
by local banks. The important thing
is for the city to decide now what it
is going to do to get this insurance. It
will be of no value to decide next Oc-
tober that the coal supply of the city
is short, and that the city should buy
some. BY that time coal cargoes will
have all been eaten up and if the city
was able to get coal at any price it
would be higher price than the peo-
pie would want to pay.
Tt may take little service on the
part of officials to handle this matter
but this is the time that service is ex-
peeted of officials. Even though it
cost the city ten thousand dollars for
this insurance it is an excellent way
to spend the money of the tax payers.
AT any rate the commission should