Evening star., 1923-09-08
|CL0SE FUEL YARD
|0R SELL TO ALL US.
CLERKS, WORK SAYS
Government Should Make
Privilege Equal or Quit,
| Coal Men Told.
DEALERS HERE SEEK
| ABOLITION OF PLAN
No Final Decision Will Be Made
Before Exhaustive
Study.

The government either should gel
out of the business of selling coal a.
retail to certain employees of the
federal government. or 1t should oper
its retail sales agency-the govern
ment fuel yard-to every federal en-
ploye in Washington. and not permit
only officers of the service branches
to obtain coal at practically cost.
This Is the opinion of Secretary Of
the Interior Work. anwering peti-
tions filed by local coal merchant:
and by retail coal dealers in most o,
abolition Of the government fue
yard.
Secretary Work. who is charged
with the business of administering
one of the few government retail
yard-has been approached severa
times by representatives of retail Goa
merchants here and in many states tt
abolish the fuel yard.
No FinaI Decision.
He has made no decision in the
matter. he said today. and will make
none until he has gone into the sit
uation at length and has made an ex
haustive investigation of the entir,
subject. First approached last sprins
shortly after he became Secretary o.
the Interior, he has received Severa
personal requests for abolishment o.
the yard, and since has received man.
letters asking the same thing.
DR.. Work. he admitted today. is no
thOrONRhly COnEerSanf with the sit
uation. He believes. however. tina
government competition with a pri
vate business enterprise Is bac
thing, speaking generally. and tina
the government should get out of pri
vate business as much as possible.
Cites Inequality.
At present. DIR. Work added, officer.
of the Army, Navy and Marine Corp.
are the only persons authorized b,
law to receive coal at PRACTICAL!
cost from the government fuel yard
He would either expand the yard Il
q much greater plant than the pres
snt one and throw the buying priv,
or he would close the yard and pu
the government retail coal yard ou
of business. As to costs, Dr. Work II
not thoroughly familiar with the intri
cacies OF the coal situation, but he real
ICES that az present. on government sal
aries, clerks and minor officials find /
difficult TO purchase fuel at presen
prices.
Enlargement of the, fuel yard t,
throw the purchasing privilege oper
| the expenditure of "a considerable sun
Of money and added Legislation b!
Congress. The yard capacity wa:
increased last year to meet an addi
tional demand for coal by the in
creased work of the government
-ata IL, III,
quired by law to purchase their Goa
from the yard.
Purchase Authorized.
The Secretary of the Interior, b,
the appropriation act of January "a
1929, was authorized to acquir,
| through purchase or condemnation
proceedings land now used by tn,
! fuel yards for garage and other pur
poses in connection with the yard.
knowledge of this reached the own
| ers of the property-the Pennsyl
| vania railroad-and the price wa
raised to about 81 a square foot, &C
cording to DR.. Work.
Several Investigations into the cos
of buying coal from private dealer
and from the fuel yard have heel
made. the latest an investigation b.
| the budget bureau. in which the thel
that the private dealers could sci
coal to the government at Il lowe
cost than the fuel yard.
Ask for F1ve-Year Control.
The dealers. according to Dr.
Work. have offered to put up a bon,
of a dollar a ton that they cal
underquote the fuel yard on govern
| ment business. They asked for
| fve-year contract on this basis
lreply has not been made to this propose
Opening up to the entire group o
| federal employees of the facilities o
| the fuel yard for purchase at retail
| Of coal would mean a substantial
saving to the consumers of Washing
| ton who could purchase from tn
government. The fuel yard does no
| obtain lower prices at the mines thal
| the local dealers. The freight rat
is the same. $3.zS q ton. But tn
fuel yard operates on a margin O
about 8S cents a ton, while dealers
margins run from 81 to $3.50. Deal
ers charge from so to rs cents a to-
| to the bin, while the coal var
charges SO cents a ton. Other charge
are proportional.
The dealers claim that II they wer
given the government business the
] could imm ediately reduce their cost:
| because their business. which Is sea
| sonal, could be sustained throughou
| the summer months by goverpmen
| purchase Of coal. At present the
must be made up by higher cost
during the winter. These statement
were made in the course Of testi
mony before the United states Goa
Commission last January.
| ------------ --------------