Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-07-18
big SHORT AGE HERE
IN DOMESTIC COAL
Dealers in Suburbs Unable to
Fill Orders Placed as Early
as April
LATE ORDERING is CAUSE

There is a shortage in domestic sizes
of anthracite, especially stove and egg.
Dealers big and little are feeling the
shortage. 1t is most marked in the sub
urban districts, where it has been i'm
possible to fill some orders placed as
early as last April.
Experts blame the shortage on failure
of consumers generally to order their
coal in the early spring.
c. f. Lcsher, of the Federal geo.
-sa logical survey, testified before the House
rules committee at Washington that lack
of demand had kept production down in
the spring months. and expressed the
opinion that unless remedy were
found, coal might go up So or Sc ton
this winter to the householder.
In conflict with the statement that
production was kept down by lack of
demand, Frank Morrison. secretary of
the American Federation of Labor, told
me joint session of the House and
Senate labor committee that between 80
and 40 per cent of the coal miners are
now out of work because of large ac-
cumulated stocks of coal.
Dealers Don't Foresee Price Rise
: Dealers here do not foresee the great
increase in price indicated by Mr.
Lesher. They agree with him. how
ever, that consumers have not ordered
their coal as early this year as they
did a year ago, and believe that it
may become very difficult to supply all
demands later in the summer and fall
IL people fail to get in their orders i'm
mediately.
In the suburbs. however. dealers COM
splain that at no time have they been
able to get sufficient coal to fill early
orders.
In the suburbs - per cent of GUS
toners order their coal in April and
May, according to dealers. Through
out the suburban districts it has been
hard to get coal to fill these orders.
The result in some cases is heavy
loss to the coal man, who feels bound
to fill orders at April or May prices.
although he is himself paying more for
the coal he sells than he did in the
spring.
William p. Brandreth. of the Crowder
Coal Company, operating yards in Ger
mantown and Oak Lane, explained the
situation today.
This City Can Wait, Is, View
I'VE have fair supply in the Ger
mantown yard" said Mr.. Brandreth,
but not so much in Oak Lane. In
fact we have nothing but pea coal in
the Oak Lane yard today. The eX-
planation is that the shippers are send
ing their coal to other points. They
say they want to fill the faraway or
ders first. This city is so close to the
mines that it can wait until later.
The situation is not so bad for the
downtown dalers. They do not fill so
large a proportion of their orders in the
spring and summer as we do in the
suburbs Our busy season is from April
until September. when 20 per cent OF
our trade always fill their bins. Last
month we had to close both yards for
few days because of lack of coal. we
have an avalanche of orders waiting TO
be filled. If we get all the coal we need
from now on it will be Impossible TO
make the last of our deliveries petore
September We get no satisfaction out
of the shippers when we complain.
1.-The worst feature of it, from the
dealer's standpoint, is that many OF
these orders were taken at April prices
Coal is costing us more every month,
have placed one order for stove coal
at S7.1O ton at the mine. Frelght
is 81 90 q ton, which with the war tax
brings the cost up TO Soo' ton
Handling and delivery cost us S2.lo
ton. That makes the total cost 10 us
s11 % ton. The April price for
stove coal was S1O.55-so we are losing
money on every ton. Fortunately, OF
course, we are not paying TINS price
at the mine for all our coal. we are
Getting some of it as low as S6'4o'
which gives us a small protlt.
Same Conditions in Central Part
Conditions in the central part of the
citv are somc~ hat similar to those re-
ported- from thcSuburbs.
There is a shortage in the pre-
pored', sizes of coal, used for 40
~ nestle purposes. Stove coal especlally
y ;s hard TO get. Even the largest loca
dealers report difficulty in obtaining this
size of coal.
4 some dealers are refusing to guar
antee immediate delivery OF stove coal
ii although they expect to get sunicien'
to meet the needs of their trade little
later. They emphasize the need Of
ordering Immediately, however.
Renters Hesitating
A complicating factor is the housing
situation. Renters who have only a
monthly lease-and these are now IN
the maiority-hesitate to buy theil
winters coal when there is always the
possibility of being ordered out OF thell
houses.
One coal dealer told of an instance
where a customeS of years standing or
dered his customary twenty -ive tons
Twenty tons had been put in his cellar
when he was ordered to get out. Every
mound of the coal had to be moved.
John A. Gerety, Thirtieth and Wal
nut streets, said that he had cleaned
up most of his orders except on stove
coal.
1.-THE time to place orders is past,
said Mr.. Gerety today. People woult
not believe us last April when we ad'
vised them to get their coal in. They
thought we were playing some kind o.
game. Many waited for lower prices
We could not get customers to buy
the first weeks of April The coal Cd.