New Britain herald., 1925-09-29
SEES EARLY END ID ANTHRACITE STRIKE
President oi New England Coal
 Dealers Explains Situation

When the striking mine workers in the anthracite fields find their savings gone, they will terminate their vacation and go back to work, according 10 ". A. Clark of Boston, president of the New England Coal Dealers association, who addressed n meeting of the New Britain Lions club today at noon.
 T find the business man and gen. eral consumer of domestic fuel has, in the main, wrong idea regarding the present shut down of the mines and the causes. It is my job 10 put the cause of the retailer in the right light" he explained,
 "In the present situation. the re- tail coal dealer, merchant if you please, the same as any other mer- chant in your city. Is confronted with very serious problem. If the mines are shut down for any great length of time, he will have no mer- chandise to sell unless he sells sub sttutes. Just why tn eauthorities in your state, and the representatives of the Connecticut Manufacturers association, should imply, in a public statement. that the retail coal mer- chant would be unwilling 10 handle bituminous or other fuels, l cannot explain. The average retail coal dealer hopes to get living from his business. If he cannot get anthra- cite. the fuel you really want, he will get something else. whether it is bitumnous coal or some other fuel.
 You may have read in the news
 papers that coal from the Pocahon- tas district of West Virginia could
 be sold in Connecticut for $500 a ton. This most preposterous statc- ment. The Interstate Commerce Commission has given permission to the railroads to institute a freight
 rate from the smokcless fields of Nir
 gnia to New England points, and
 in this territory that rate is S5.oS
 gross ton. This rate applies only to screened or prepared sizes, and not to run -of-mine' or slack The pres ent price quoted in the so-called
 smokeless district of West Virginia
 is s5 per net ton, fob. cars at the mines; and that means $5.60 q gross ton, or s11.1S with the freight charge added gross ton on the track. In round numbers that means
 5000 net ton.
 You men, who are merchants in
 other lines of business, recognize that you cannot do business unless you
 receive 25 per cent or better of your selling price of your merchandise as margin. This same schedule, applied should be, means that for West Nir- ginia prepared size coal, the retail
 price would be upwards of sl4,00 a ton really nearer sl5.00.
 "Only last week I was talking with
 mine inspector from the Pocahon- | tas field, and l asked him what the | degradation loss would be to the re-
 tail coal merchant handling Poca- | hontas prepared lump direct from 1 the car. He said '15 per cent plus any
 loss that took place on the railroad l before the car reached its destina- tion;' therefore, l fail to see how the Manufacturers association, or the state authorities can back up their alleged statement, recently publish l ed, that the coal could be sold for l $500 in Connecticut.
 There are bituminous coals mined | in the state of Pennsylvania that are fully as suitable for domestic pur- poses as are the coals from the southern districts, and the freight rate is at least s1.10 less, depending ! on the destination.
 "The miners of these prepared coaIs cannot be expected to sell them
 at cost and there is no question
 whatever that these coals will cost i the dealers, or any other purchased,
 fully s10,000 a ton throughout this
 territory.
 1 "One more thing about bituminous , coal for domestic purposes There
 is vast difference In the amount of smoke, depending on the nature 1 of the coal and also on the cxpcr- fence of the man who is running the fire. There is no question that bi- | luminous coal can be used for heat 1 ing your house, and that it can be | bought for less money under average conditions than the luxury fuel, an- thracite. If you would go to as
 much trouble with the junior sizes 1 of anthracite and try 10 use them In your heater you will save much more money, as compared with stove size, than you can If you use bitum- inous