Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1920 — TROUBLE WITH COAL PRICES [ARTICLE]

TROUBLE WITH COAL PRICES

Too Many Middlemen Must Take , Their Toll in Advance. People who lay all blame on the local dealer for the outrageous prices for coal are barking up the wrong tree. While Jasper county and the city of Rensselaer have contracted for mine run and screened Linton coal from $2.80 to $3.35 per ton, f. o. b. mines, local dealers say they are unable to make any such contract. Ih fact, except for steam making purpose®, not much Indiana coal is sold here for local consumption, our best soft coal coming from Kentucky and West Virginia. The bane of the coal business at the present time Is the coal speculator. It is said that some carloads of coal have changed hands as many as a dozen times after leaving the mines before It finally reaches the local dealer. And each owner has mlade a profit on the coal, too. That many of the mine owners have a stand-in with these speculators is apparent from the fact that the local dealer find® it almost impossible to buy direct from the mines. One of these speculators offered Oity Light and Water Superintendent Chamberlain a car of coal last week at $8.50 per ton, f. o. b. mine, when the city had a contract direct from the mines at $3.36. This is the same sort of game that vras played in the sugar hold-up and is now being played in the print paper steal. The Republicans have had the , congress in both branches for the past two years but they have enacted no adequate laws by which these hold-up men can be prosecuted. / The last ipecdal session of Governor Goodricii’s “best legislature in 50 years” enacted a state coal control law, but the governor and members of his family are largely interested In coal mines and this law has already been attacked in the courts by the mine operators, so it 1s probable that little or no relief r > - v. I ■■ >•

will be had from this source. It is very apparent, however, that the local dealer makes but a very small part of the big difference between the price of coal at the mines, as paid by the county and city, and thjat paid by the consumer.