Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-28
PRICES DECLARED
TREbLED At MINES
u. S. Fuel Chief Also Suggests
"Very Handsome Profits"
Made Here.

Gus operators or W est ' lTEitii ih
trehled the prices of 'smokeless' coal
since the anthracite mines shut down
and the statement of one expert that
prices to the consumer in Washing
ton would suggest very handsome
profits for the retail dealers was intro
duced before the joint congressional
committee investigating coal prices
here Yesterday.
George s Pope chief engineer ct
the Government fuel yards here. took
the stand yesterday at the invitation.
Of Senator C1pper. chairman ~ u"
Senate District committee, which in
aucurated the present probe Mr.. Pope
had with him a brief case bullying with
figures and facts concerning The deal
ingS of both sides of the coal business,
and for two hours he poured these into
the ears of the investigators.
Buys 100000 Tons Annually.
Mr.. Pope said that he buys annu-
ally about 2T0.000 tons of coal. or
this all but 5000 tons is bituminous
coal. most of il in run-of- mine grade
for use in the Governments big CEN
trail hea ting and power plants. but
some of il is in the specially pre-
pared domestic sizes which most
Washington consumers are burning
In place of anthracite. When he be
gan supplying figures on prices he
had paid for the prepared goal. he
was asked to give them in Terms of
the long ton, which Washington
dealers are obliged by law to sell.
Mr.. Pope declared that last March
he mad bought single car of pre-
pared "SmokelesS" coal from mines
In Fayette and Mcdowell counties
of West Virginia for Sal. After
the public had been obliged. how
ever to turn TO bituminous coal for
It's main source of fuel supply. he
tried to buy the same coal in large
quantities and found that the price
had jumped to from s6.16 TO $3.50 a
ton. That was in November.
In December, however. when mild
weather prevailed for SOME days. he
again went into the market and found
he could purchase this fuel for $3.50.
Early this month, when hope of the
anthracite miners and operators sign
ing peace agreement was high. 1t
Yell to $4.I6. and now. according TO
best information, is ascending rapidly
again peace signs having once more
ppeared.
Cost 50 Here.
Asked TO take November as a case
for argument and add freight costs.
Mr.. Pope found that the coal which
cost him SS.16 at the mines would
cost retail dealers 50 a ton on the
tracks Ill Washington. Mr.. Pope said
the cost of hauling his coal from the
yards 10 the curb of his own plants
was about 81 cents a ton. MIR. Pope
was asked if he could state what the
operating costs of Washington dealers
would be. He answered that he had
heard them quoted all the way from
$3.50 to So
Continuing this line of testimony,
ne said the Government had made an
investigation in 1922 and computed
the actual costs of many cities.
Washington, however. was not in
cluded among these cities and Mr..
Pope said the committee would either
nave to accept the word Of local deal
erS or guess as to this expense on
the basis of other cities. Philadel-
phia's margin, he cited az an in
stance. is gel. which he declared
was the closest he could come to
Washington. The Government fuel
administration gave s2.16- as a fair
average margin.
Every Handsome Profits"
Under examination Mr.. Pope de-
clared that if the s221 margin esti.
mated in Philadelphia were appica-
bic TO Washington. if all conditions
We're equal and operating expenses
had not increa sed since 1922. The
prices charged by Washington's re-
tail coal dealers would net them very
handsome profits" Pressed for a def
mite statement whether he thought
profits here were eXorbtant. he re-
peated that if all conditions were
equal he believed local dealers were
Charging too much
In answer to a question Mr.. Pope
said this 1921 did not allow any mar
gin for degradation of prepared coal
In transit and it was developed that
some other matters of operating ex-
pense were not figured in, these ex-
emptions not being cited. The coal
dealers, however, asserted that in or.
der to sell really prepared domestic
coal they were obliged to rescreen
their fuel upon arrival and lost from
20 TO 30 per cent through breakage in
transit. Mr.. Pope said the Govern.
ment did not rescreen its fuel and that
those receiving prepared sizes were
obliged to accept it las is
Admits Price Increase.
An argument developed over whether
E. j. McFann, counsel for the Smoke
less Coal Operators Associa ton of
West Virginia, had testified that not
more thar 10 or Is per cent of degrada-
ton was sustained in transit. Reference
to the record showed that Mr.. Nc
Nann mad not so testified. but when
pressed to do so had pleaded that he
was incompetent and referred the
committee to retail dealers for that
fact. Mr.. McVann added after the
hearing had closed. that he was will
Ing to go on the stand and admit that
the price of smokeless coal at the
mines had materially increase since
he had testified.
Continuing his testimony under ex-
made a careful study of the feast.
bility of community coal Yards.
whereby either municipality or in
dividuals purchased coal direct from
the mines and distributed 1t on a
cooperative basis at cost He said
this investigation had disclosed that
the plan was altogether impracticable
and that in the end the consumer
usually found he could deal with the
r retailer at no more expense, and
sometimes for less. Price huctua-
tons at the mines are too great, he
indicated, for community buying to
become paying proposition.
Profteering Outside ID. E.
Senator Glass challenged the right
of any municipality as such to enter
any business in competition with Its
own citizens and taxpayers" He de-
clared he thought it would be I'M
lawful for city government to take
such step. Senator Glass also eX-
pressed a belief that the days testi-
mony had developed that profiteering
seems to be going on somewhere else
besides Washington" Frank Z. Boal,
newspaper man from Pittsburgh,
had told how he and eight neighbors
had purchased a car of PENNSYLVANIA
high volatile. run-of-mine coal at a
great saving.