Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1921-01-02
MANY COAL CONTRACTS
CANCELLED BY FOREIGNERS
Orders for Millions OF Tons Re.
vokcd in Pittsburgh Area
Last Two Weeks.
EXPORT PRICES MAKE BREAK
Extreme High OF 'SIl IL Ton Two
Weeks Ago Slumps to $500 10.
day. With Producer Now Hunt.
ing Buyer.
Uy lnternatIonal News Service

Wy lh'"Gnatiohal News Scrv!CcI
PITTSBURGH. Jan. 1.-The sud
den collapse az the coal market In Tho
itSt TWO weeks has resulted IN the
can""ling az contracts FOR million.
OF tons Of SOFT coal made by foroip,
| nnEcrS vita operators In Western
pennsylvania and northern West Viz
mia. II is IA" most disastrous SIun:,
ever known and tho market is pretty
well dcmoral.Hcd.
Tho ITi..n of export coal has hc.u
, broken from the extreme hi.i of SIJ
Il ton several weeks ago To around
$500 ton today. aui in some M
stances even lower th.n that De
lnAnd Is very light Nnw the pro-
Queer hunts tn" buyer. Formerly inc
buycr went hat In hand hunting pr0-
Guccrs who could nci! him coal a,
almost any price they might demand
hanitcrs attribute the unsettled in
tcinhtlonHl credit situation. improved
railroad trnnsportnt aud Increased
'""i production as responsible Cor the
present situation.
operators sag the situation cannot
become inuh worse o., there Wal! be
q Suspension of production as ,licy-
cannot mine coat under !" a ton
TOOL ~. tn" grad" OF coal FOR which
thtiI has BEEN an unprecedented de-
!nahd 10y exporters during the last SIX
months, Is now a drug ON tn" market
rms coal ~ mined iu western Penn
SNlvania and West Virginia In
'''1l t'N received bE local operators in
iIrntr that inc expert buyers are de-
voting h.ir attention almost cNclu-
Siv"ly To- tn" TocahontaS tW VaD
grad" OF que! known To the trade as
pool 80. ! and .
Contracts for about 5000. 900 tons
az lhiS coal wer. reported signed i'm
pittshurCh early this week ~ the
French and Italian sovcrum"u;a AZ :,
price OF SN.2t aEG Sh.Th a gross ton
iId'watcr. The contracts cover long
period as TO delivery
rHI>c Huge ..o-..
orders cancelled Tor the so-callcd
To'i 81 Goa! mean Il loss % SirG.JVG.-
GOO, according 10 The .stimat. OF one
PITTSBURGH operator
The tremendous break in the coal
market recalls the boom days in the
cary stages OF the world war.
WITHIN a radius OF s"ycnty-nvc
miles OF Pittsburgh Is tho greatest
soft coal producing Cni,lcr in the
world There are thousands Of mines.
hig and littl" Along about 1916 and
1917 the demand WAS ten times The
supply Men wh" knew something
shout tho GOAL game. anI som. who
didn't made fortunes In those days.
They dug W "a horse or two, u WAGON
ana opened uu = onc-man mine along
side OF somc hill. II WAS "a common
Thing Tor these one man min" outfits
to clean NJ tloc l. $3.50 a day. No
body disturbed them. They were
looked upon as playing 4 pik"r game
10y the big coal PRODUCING outfits.
Anyhcdy that could produce - pound
81 coal found twenty buyers FOR every
ton he could produce. The little fell
lows rolled in wealth quickly some
were cftcrpr!sIuG and soon some OF
tn" Ou"-Inau mines developed into
two ana three aud even half II dozen
mon mines ana the profits We're cuor-
nous. Though they We're greatly
Handicapped for lack ~ modern la
Dor saving devices. the little fellows
made fortunes with their tcams haul
ing coal 10 the railroads and loading
one car at a timc. Through western
J.. iusy lvanin there are hundreds.
probably thousands. who ainasS"d
root-siZcd fortunes during tho boom
DAYS in coal
Then The big operators later Shut
down on The li;,lc fellows and
squeezed ;he,n out. The last straw
came whcn. after long and hitter
fight. the PENNSYLVANIA Public Serv-
ice Commission ruled that mines that
didn have tipylcs NoadlnG shu;cs)
couldn't get cars
But those VINO save! their money In
the boom days ur'G not worry for the
rcst OF their lives. They viii have
enough.
Nov II !s tho turn Of the hir pro
dGccrS TO b" squeezed aud HqGcc&cd
hard. coal n $500 a ton is virtually
back To prc-war prices.