The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-09-05
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1918.
A Bird in the Hand.


bet right now is to fill your bin with
the best grade Of soft coal that you
can buy. We are not calling any one
a "liar," we are not questioning the
Judgment or the promises Of any one
but we are aware of the fact that it
is getting pretty nearly to the time
when the frost is going to be on the
pumpkin and the fodder is going to be
in the shock or to be more modern in
the expression in the silo and we know
that when the melancholy days comes
the shipments Of coal fall off mighty
rapidly. Shipments Of hard coal to
Kenosha by lake are still in the list
of things expected 1t is just pos
sible that Kenosha is going to have
soft and hard coal to considerable
amount. It has soft coal now and the
hard coal situation is one largely sup
ported by promises of more or less
defniteness. Undoubtedly the fuel adj
ministration of the state is honest with
the people when it declares that it is
going to see to it that Kenosha gets
hard coal but the fuel administration is
not made up entirely of either fuel or
transportation experts and its promises
may fail of realization. If the prom
Uses fail the administration will be
guilty only Of misplaced Judgment
but this is not going to be a great deal
Of solace to the man and woman who is
going to have trouble keeping the chill
dren warn this winter. Hard coal de-
liveries in Kenosha are thousands of
tons short Of normal right now and if
you will just take paper and pencil
and figure out the number of days be-
fore freezing weather you will see that
nearly all the teams in Kenosha will
have to be kept working over time to
deliver the coal which is going to be
demanded for Kenosha consumption.
We know that you do not like to
burn soft coal. Possibly your furnace
was made especially for the consump-
tion of the highest grades Of an
thracite The first thing to do is to
take an expert look at the furnace. Pos
sibly the reason it will not utilize soft
coal is that the fues are all stopped
up May be instead Of hard coal you
need chimney sweep.
The coal situation right now is suf-
ficiently acute to lay aside all. figures
on what you have been accustomed to
do in the past and replace them with
figures of what you can do in the
winter just approaching. Soft coal is
might good fuel and there are some
sizes and kinds of it that are mighty
good to fire furnace with. May be
you have never been introduced to
these kinds Of fuel. Surprising you
take an hour off and go and see your
coal man and talk 1t over with him.
He undoubtedly can point you out the
way to heat insurance for the win
ter and probably his way will result in
the saving of considerable money for
you.
We are not in the least interested in
the profits of coal men. What we want
is to have some reasonable assurance
that the people in Kenosha will not
suffer during the winter months. Just
at present the coal dealers are able to
get plenty Of the better grades Of BIZ
luminous coal. They can get it to Ke-
nosha for Immediate delivery and at
a fair price. If a lot Of people do not
show some foresight and get hold of
this coal we fear that they are going
to be entirely without fuel by the time
real winter comes. Then the conges-
ton on the railways and at the big
shipping points to be so great it will
be all but impossible to take> care of
their needs.
The coal situation is rapidly develop
ing into one in which safety rather than
convenience must be considered. Care
full people who are prudent enough to
be considerable Of the demands Of their
family viii get an anchor to the wind
ward by buying some soft coal so as to
insure themselves against fuelless
winter. Kenosha had some suffering
last winter but the conditions this year
open the way for infinitely more ser
ious conditions.
The people should not be lulled into
false security by promises of some
coal company, Promises like pie crusts
are made to be broken. Some people
know that they have paid for fuel now
which they have been informed that
the dealer will not and can not deliver.
They may have an action in court
against this dealer but the action in
court will not keep the house warm.
Broken promises of coal officials and
coal dealers are not much to cash on
after the season is over and they are
of less value than it comes to keeping
houses warm.
There may be few old style fur
aaces which can not be used for the
burning of soft coal but there are
mighty few of them. There are lot
u fnicky people who insist that they