The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-07-21
THE COAL SITUATION.

The coal situation does rot i'm
prove. The railroads, or some OF
them, are disposed to call the coal
miners black, while the coal miners
return the compliment. Whatever
the trouble, and whoever is RESPONSE
BILE for the present status, the re-
suits to industry and the people gen.
orally are the same-there is no coal.
No doubt the great development OF
the last few years has overtaXed the
railroads. The roads were in the
hands of the government during the
war period and of course in that pc
riod there was little expansion IN
equipment. While this was true with
the railroads it was not true with
business. The high prices offered and
demanded for all kinds of raw and
manufactured products have stimu-
lated production everywhere, with
the result that much more freight is
being offered the roads for transpor-
tation than heretofore, while the
money received by the people in the
way of profits has enabled them to
travel around to see the country to
an extent not heretofore practiced.
But there are some remedies which
may be applied. The Goa; miners
saw that one of the chIef OBSTACLES
in the way of securing coal cars ls
the fact that brokers and spectators
are buying coal and under the ord
ers permitting reconsignment of the
cars, these cars of coal are being re-
sold many times before they reach
the ultimate consumer. - car Is
bought by brokers in Knoxville, we
in Chattanooga, and is reconslgned
will say, it is sold to another broker
when it reaches Knoxville to the
Chattanooga purchaser. When 1t
reaches Chattanooga it has been re-
sold to an Atlanta broker, and is re.
consigned to him, and thus the car
wends it weary way for weeks, when
if it had been sold directly to the
person or corporation who actually
uses it finally, the car would have
reached it's destination in ten days,
been unloaded and we'll on its way
back to the mipes. In the time it
takes to carry it from one reconsign-
ment point to another, and then on
to others, it might have made two or
three trips from the mines to con-
sumers and thus might have per-
formed two or three times as much
service as it in fact does.
Ic prevent this waste of carrying
capacity the Interstate Commerce
Commission has msds an order that
a car Of coal can be reconslgneo uu.
once after the initial shipment. This.
is good so far as it goes, but the
coal miners say that there IS no rea-
son for even one recons;gnment,
and the original consignee should be
forced to unload the coal at its origi-
nal destination, and thus put the car
back to work for the consumers in
stead of making it the Instrument of
speculation, and thereby conIribut-
ing to the extort;oaate prices now
being demanded and received for
ccal. If the people are so convinced
they have the privilege Of writing
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion at Washington complaining Of
the practice and asking FOR further
order preventing and forbidding re.
consignments Of coal at All.
Another thing which makes n
scarcity of coal cars is the use Of
these cars fer hauling other kinds of
freight than coal, All kinds Of
freight, hurrying to it's destination
in order that the people may make
little more profit while the, getting
is good is being loaded into these
ccal cars and is being carried by
them over the railroads. This prac-
+ice may be forbidden by me Inter-
state Commerce Commission too.
The people who buy coal should
Luy from retailers who buy direct
from the mines or should themselves
buy wholesale from the :a:nes. The
nractice of buying from. brokers' is