Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 268, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 November 1920 — REPORTS ON COAL SITUATION [ARTICLE]

REPORTS ON COAL SITUATION

SUPERINTENDENT CHAMBERI LAIN MAKES WRITTEN STATEMENT, i The regular bi-monthly ineeting of the Rensselaer City council was held Tuesday evening with all members present except Councilman Fred Waymire. < Superintendent C. S. Chamber- ! lain, who had been sent by the i council to Indianapolis to go before the. Indiana Coal Commission, made the following report in writing: To the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Rensselaer: I respectfully submit the following report on my recent trip to Indianapolis in regard to additional coal supply on our city water and light contract that some five hundred of our good citizens petitioned the Mayor and Common Council io have the coal tonnage increased on our city contract to such an extent that we could furnish coal to our citizens for domestic purposes. The results of the investigation as follows: I met by appointment the coal company’s officials Saturday morning in their office. I submitted the petition of our citizens to the Mayor and Council to them, and on asking | for' additional coal, was promptly shown their books, including their working sheets for several months, I which showed that for the past several months, owing to several causes which were enumerated on their sheets as follows: Lack of mines, miners’ train 'not arriving on time, car shortage, shortage of water for steam power purposes, no rain in the vicinity of the mine since July, and various other reasons over which they had no control, were responsible, for the coal situation in the state. These troubles have cut the output of the mines to such an extent that they have not been able to fill at all times their orders for contract coal. In addition to the above troubles, these mines are having to fill their own orders, they are receiving priority orders from the coal commission to ship coal to people they have no contracts with and with whom they have never done any business. Consequently this is what is happening in order to avoid trouble with the commission, they are filling the commission’s orders and permitting the contract coal orders to run short. _ . , x The morning I arrived at the coal company’s office I found twelve cars ordered by the commission to be sent to various points. Out of these twelve cars one was -taken from the city of Rensselaer’s allotment for the week and diverted to other points. , I immediately called on the coal commission in the the State and submitted the petition with some five hundred of our citizens names signed to it, and asked the commission to issue me a priority order for coal on our coal company or any other coal company, so that we could comply with the petition of our citizens now ’before us. He refused to do this on the ground that at that time there were six carloads ordered by them to be shipped to the several coal dealers of Rensselaer and to one township Lnistes. I then proceeded - to show him what the commission was doing. By issuing orders on a coal company, such as we buy from, who have their output contracted for, to ship coal to points where they have no contract, when they were already unable to furnish enough coal to take care of their own contracts. The commission official promised that they would refrain in the future from issuing orders to miners such as ours and avoid confiscation of contract coal, as such a policy would not lead anywhere and would simply compel them to continue to run m a circle if they continued issuing such orders. In other words, such a practice would simply be the robbing of one to pay another. The only relief the Mayor or Common Council can render our people at this time, as the sees it after investigating, will be for us to make every effort to keep up the tonnage on our contract coal and in case of a surplus orof dire necessity turn over our coal to our people .for domestic use, even if we are compelled to reduce light, power and water service. Respectfully submitted by. C. S. CHAMBERLAIN, Sunt. City Water and Light. City Treasurer Charles M. Sands submitted his report as follows: FUrtrir Light Fuad. On hands Sept. 30 310,692.68 Recpt. for October Total - _|12,884 54 October Disbursements -- 4,776.94 Balance Oct. 81 8 8,108.60 Water Fund. On hands Sept. 80 8 8,804.16 Oct. Receipts —..— a-— 1,825.96 Total J -810,180.96 Oct. Disbursements ---- 41.45 Balance Oct. 80 —-410,08837 Library Fund. On hands Oct. 1— 8 684.62 Oct Receipts 638 Total 8 590.90 Oct. Disbursements —251.44

Balance Oct. 80 6 889.46 Corporation Funi • On hands, Oct. 1 88,695.46 Oct. Collections: — Flush Sewer, -—.3 4.00 House Rent 10.00 License 10.00 Int. State Bank -- 8.99 Int. Trust 10.00 F. & M. Nat. 15.22 88.21 Total - 83,758.67 Oct. Disbursements 2,567.32 Balance Oct. 80 -—-—11,186.85 Road Fuad. — Debit Bal. Sept 80 81,676.88 Disbursement —; -— 525.58 -Total 82,201.91 O&. Collections: — Loan Light Fund 82,000.00 Sale St. broonta 82.50 Sale Horse 8 20.00 2,022.50 Debit balance --8 179.41 Washington Street Brick lap. Debit Bal., Sept 80 —8 46.28 Oct. Collection 152 Debit Bal. Oct. 30 8 44.76 Petty Cash. Debit Bal. Sept 80 8 189.72 Oct Disbursements — 758.78 Total Debit 8 948.45 Oct Collections 620.31 Debit balance —8 828.14 Alley Thru Block 9 Balance Sept 30 i- 8 75.60 Oct Collections 2.08 Total ---• 77.88 RECAPITULATION. Credit Bal., Sept. 80.--821,857.87 Oct Collections 6,228.87 Total -828,086.24 Disbursements — 9,120.41 Total 818,965.88 Banks— First Nat 84057.20 State J 8,871.24 Trust 5,290.44 F. A M. Nat__ 4,398.77 Library _ — 838.96 Cash -L* 1,014.17 Cash, short — 06 818,964.88