The sun., 1919-07-31
NEW YORK TO GET
MORE COAL SOON
Operators Are Supplying Dis
tant Northern Markets Be-
fore Weather Prevents.
EAST'S TURN Is COMING
G. H. Cushing Explains His
Recent Statement to the
House Committee.

WAsHrNGToN, July 30.-George H.
Gushing. managing director of the
American Wholesale Coal Association,
says in a statement on the coal situation
that anthracite operators will concen-
trate their attention on supplying the
needs Of nearby markets-New York.
philadelphia, Washington and other
Eastern cities-after September 1. They
are now engaged in supplying the de-
mands of the Northeastern. Western and
Northwestern markets, into which coal
must be moved while The weather is
good.
When Mr.. Cushing testified before the
House Committee on Rules last week he
was quoted in Washington dispatches as
saying that the coal supply this year
would prove inadequate unless the people
bought coal now when coal Is to be had.
Mr.. Gushing explains that he said there
was plenty of coal in the ground. plenty
or miners to mine It, plenty of mines to
keep the miners employed and for that
reason there was no real need of a
shortage. But he was then speaking of
bituminous coal, having at that time
finished his statement about anthracite.
"Aoh lndl statement ABOUT
coal, ana when 1t was printed in the
Western papers," Mr.. Cushing said, "the
Western people read It to mean btu
minous' and got the idea. But when II
was printed in Eastern newspapers, the
eastern people read II to mean 'anthra-
cite coal and got the wrong idea While,
therefore, 1 was correctly quoted, the
omission of the word 'bituminous' on my
part and In the newspaper quotations
gave the Eastern people the wrong idea.
Since then have received dozens of
letters. some anonymous and some
signed. Most of them so far have come
from the East My correspondents say
they have tried TO buy their coal early.
But they are Informed by their dealers
that they cannot get the coal from the
mines. That is true, and this fact leads
me to explain as best can what Is the
anthracite situation.
las early as the middle Of last Feb
ruary the Independent anthracite op-
orators were worried over the very light
buying of coal by retail dealers and
householders. This was resulting in n
very small production OF coal I became
aware OF the situation and took alarm
at 1t. Therefore in February I began
both 70 write and to speak publicly IN
the interest of an early buying move
pie. instead of buying more, burned what
coal they had on hand. The storage
piles soon became exhausted and we
came to the first of April without hardly
n pound of reserve coal anywhere.
I'm April the people of the East be-
gan to buy. A month or so later the
people IN the Middle West and the West
began to show some interest in the coal
situation. We were at that time ar
rived at the point where the operators
found II was going to be difficult to mine
all the coal that would be needed this
year The railroads were in none too
good condition to carry coal because
the number of cars out of repair was in
creasing rapidly.
The miners were leaving the mines
and still are-to return to their former
homes in Europe and those who remained
were far more interested in the wage
question than they were in a larger rro-
duction OF coal AS a consequence the
Independent anthracite operators saw
that We were entering n period Of inten-
sified demand. with both the miners and
the carriers in no position to produce or
move the desired tonnage.
"Since 1t was to be a struggle to get
to the people the coal that was ur-
gently needed the Independent an
thracite operator-and l believe the
large companies also-began to satisfy
first those demands which came from
markets furthest from the mines. There
is market in the extreme northeastern
part of the country which must be
supplied a certain amount of coal and
to which. in winter. it is always hard
to move coal. While the weather was
good the market was stocked up The
same in a sense Is true of the Western
and Northwestern markets
when the operators thus put en-
phasis upon satisfying the far away
demands first they caused naturally a
slow movement of coal TO the nearby
markets such. for example. as New
York. It was believed, and truly, that
New York being so close to the mines
It could be supplied by shipments from
the mines from day to day. wherea:
the same could not and would not be
possible with far away markets.
while, therefore. It is true that the
retailers as a whole are better stocked
than is customary at this time of year
il Is true that the markets nearest the
mines are perhaps more poorly sup
piled with coal than Is usual.
"As I understand the situation. the
anthracite operators will. after Sep
TENDER /, concentrate more attention
upon the nearby markets. such as New
York, Philadelphia. Baltimore. Washing
ton and othern Eastern cities. They will
ship most OF their coal TO points within
easy reach of the mines. This will be
possible because their far away demand
vii, have been satisfied in the main"