Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-08-19
COAL SITUATIONS;
I FACTS AND FIGURES
What Richmond Dealers Say
About Black Diamonds at
3-4 Cents a Pound

Coal at $15 per ton, or three-quar-
ters of cent pound, is selling in
Richmond about as fast as it can be
procured. Yet dealers do not like the
business at this price, and one of
them stated Tuesday that before he
would continue to sell the product at
this price he would go out of the coal
business. There are some who believe
the price of coal will soon be reduced
One of the Richmond dealers so stat
ed when asked about the coal situa-
ton here.
"You know" said one of them, "that
4 few years ago we could get all the
coal we wasted for $1.75 at the mines,
and the rate was $1.20, making a to-
tai cost of $2.95 to Richmond Well:
farmers and, in fact, all who wanted
4 carload could order it, and they did
to great extent. Now, we made a
profit of $105 on that coal at that
price. That's all we did make, and
this is about the margin of our profit
now. Now, would like for the far
mers, or anyone else, to get me coal,
so | could make even that margin, and
| would be satisfied; but instead of
plenty of coal it cannot be secured
with any degree of regularity at any
price"
When asked about the difficulty in
securing coal now, the dealer cOntin-
ued: /" / have dealt with more than
score of producers. l can go to my
office now and write 25 letters, and l
daresay 1 will not receive more than
one order, even though | state l want
to be regular customer. l will have
to await the arrival of that one and
take it when it comes, at any price
am asked for it, or at the present
price, although know of big syndi-
Gates who place immense orders, hav
ing them filled at once. It is not
matter of selling coal upon the part
of the producers. They report they
have already sales for their entire
production, and what are you going
to do ?"
Another said there was. no assur-
ance whatever of future shipments,
no matter what the price nor the
amount sold. "They pay but little at
tention to us, and my candid opinion
is that the small dealer is almost a
thing of the past" he said in regard
to orders, and claimed that he could
not order direct from the mines; that
there was a certain amount of cred
tape" to go through before it could be
procured at any price, and you had
to take what they sent you and be
glad to get it. The movement of the
state coal dealers to regulate the pro-
duction or shipments, anything to as
sure future business, has, it is said,
not developed anything very material,
since there is but little attention paid
to dealers.
Another said in speaking of the
manner in which the producers handl-
ed the matter, there seemed to be a
disposition upon their part to sell to
the big concerns, and "1et the little
ones ride This, it is claimed, is one
of the many facts working hardship
on the smaller cities.
AS to the reason four local men
We're unanimous in stating they YER
lily believed the increased shipping
rates (freight) which on coal will rep
resent perhaps a cost of 60 per cent,
will be a relief, and reduce the cost of
coal
This singular statement is explain
ed in this way: There is such scar
city of cars, and the shipments are
slow, and limited. The increase of
cars, which are being manufactured, |
az we'll as the stimulus, brought about |
by the increase in pay to men, will
add materially to the number of cars,
and the commodity will be more
swiftly moved. 1t is claimed that for
the same reason, the limited car ser
vice is the cause for the recent price
of grain, flour after it has been mill |
ed, etc. 1t is known that many mills, |
in the northwest, have been
operating only a part of their capac-l
ity, owing to the fact that they are
unable to yet the product in, and they
could not get it moved out in greater |
quantities if they succeeded in getting |
shipments to the mills with the pres
ent movement of cars, and the num-
Der of them.