The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-15
COAL PLENTIFUL;
PRICES THE SAME
Will Be Delivered at U. s.
Price Until Dealers Exhaust
Their Supplies.

There is an abundance of coal in
Memphis and the demand Monday
morning was relatively light. In car
load lots, anyone could get coal that
From the reserve supply held here
by the regional fuel committee, from
which 1t has been awarding coal to the
essential industries and urgent needs OF
retail dealers there were still III cars
on hand Monday, and with all restric-
IONS OFF this Is ready for immediate
delivery TO the first claimant. But the
requests for this coal Monday morning
WIRE not neaply lsns.gaeas as had hjsea
The lifting Of the restrictions left
much coal IN transit on railroads en-
tering Memphis The local Yards OF
some OF the roads are badly congested
with coal. For the most part, 1this coal
IS billed to the Bush lines west of the
Mississippi but with the flow of coal
from the Illinois and Kentucky mines
again started, some of this is expected
to. be available for delivery for indus
trial uses, where needed
The Southern railway has perhaps
900 ears Of Virginia coal on its Mem
| phis division. The n. c. & st. l.. yards
are said to be almost blocked with coal,
The l.. & N. and Frisco also have big
movements of coal. Great quantities
OF coal are said to be on the sidetracks
and along their lines.
The Rock Island railroad has no sur
plus coal but arrangements are said to
| have been made to divert to it an
| abundant supply.
Nearly all of the big users of coal
| here have their coal bought and now
| that coal Is being billed as ordered.
their receipts viii quickly become nor
NAL.
| Through the policy Of the federal fuel
| administration and the federal railroad
| administration in speeding up the de-
| livery of coal for few weeks just
| prior to the strike, and in taking over
| the entire output of the mines during
| the emergency and holding ii for dis
| tribution under its supervision, the sit
uation was such that the country would
| have been protected from suffering even
had the strike continued indefinitely.
Memphis dealers and industrial con =
Germs were relatively well supplied with
! coal in advance, as strike had been
! anticipated for months This Is shown
| by deliveries of coal over the L, & n.
| for November, and similar conditions
are said to have been true on other
| lines.
To Memphis proper, tn i. & n. de
| livered during November over 800 cars
Of coal. as compared with less than
half that amount for November Of 1918
| The coal delivered to other lines for
| points beyond Memphis by the l.. & n.
| during November was nearly three
times the amount for the same month
| Of the previous year, The figures for
| December are not yet available but de-
| liveries were very heavy through the
period OF the strike, since the produc-
ton of the mines on the Henderson di-
| vision OF the L. & N. were above nor
NAL, many miners going there to work
| from districts where the strike was ef'
| fective.
Coal dealers continue the sale of Goa
at the prices fixed by the fuel admin
! istration, which were lower than the
prices in effect when tho strike was
called. There Is much confusion and
uncertainty among the dealers as to
| the present status Of the pr1ce regula-
| tions. The fuel administration has an
nounced business as usual" but the
dealers have received no instructions in
regard to prices.
The retail price OF coal will advance
to the former charges as soon as the
price regulations are suspended and the
| operators begin billing coal at the rates
in effect before the strike. It is the
purpose OF local dealers to deliver al
coal bought at government prices be
fore revertng to the former schedules
The Missouri Pacific railroad is still
so tied up with the movement OF Goa
that the embargoes placed on the &C,
ceptance Of certain classes OF dead
freight have not yet been removed.