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TRAFFIC TIE-UP 



CURTAILS COAL 



At the time when greenhouse men begin to store coal for the succeeding 

 season, the curtailed supply, coupled with congestion and inadeqvMe facil- 

 ities on the railroads, makes conditions least favorable for obtaining ship- 

 ments. Special efforts will be demanded of growers to secure their supply. 



F I cannot get coal now," 

 asked a florist the other 

 day, "what will be the 

 situation in the fall?" 

 Truly a query deserving 

 serious thought. And it is 

 being given much consider- 

 ation by the greenhouse 

 owners in all parts of the 

 country, save those fortu- 

 nate few who have a local and certain 

 source of supply. Just now the florist 

 who goes to his coal dealer with the in- 

 tention of laying in a part, at least, of 

 next season's supply, finds he can get 

 no satisfactory quotations and no as- 

 surances in regard to delivery. If he is 

 not an established patron of the coal 

 company, the florist is likely to obtain 

 no hearing at all. And if he has been 

 a regular customer, he gets little real 

 satisfaction from the coal dealer's re- 

 plies to his questions. 



No Storage Coal Now. 



On one point he is given reason to be 

 sure,- namely, that there is no coal to be 

 had now for storage purposes. All that 

 there is available is demanded so 

 strongly by manufacturers whose fac- 

 tories have been partly or completely 

 shut doWn for lack of fuel that the 

 price is so high that no one wishes to 

 pay it who has 'notf immediate and 



urgent need of fuel. Under such cir- 

 cumstances the purchaser for storage — 

 the role of florists at this time — feels 

 inclined to postpone his requests in an- 

 ticipation of more favorable conditions. 

 Even a buyer who will pay the price 

 asked receives no assurances in regard 

 to delivery. The dealer expresses his 

 desire to get the cars along as soon 

 as possible, but, if pressed, admits his 

 inability to do much about it with the 

 railroads in the situation which exists 

 now. Even after the cars are on the 

 way, the dealer usually has no idea how 

 far they have traveled and can only 

 conjecture as to when they will reach 

 their destination. 



Transportation the Cruz. 



The root of the trouble lies in the 

 trafiic congestion caused by the switch- 

 men's strike, though several other 

 causes have contributed to an aggrava- 

 tion of the coal consumer's difficulties. 

 Naturally it takes time to get into move- 

 ment all the cars that were side-tracked 

 when the switchmen walked out, par- 

 ticularly when the railroads are as poor- 

 ly equipped as they are reported to be 

 at the present time. It takes a still 

 longer time to catch up with the trans- 

 portation of commodities which was de- 

 layed during that time. And just when 

 the job of doing all this is in hand 



comes the time when the grain crops de- 

 mand cars for movement eastward, ad- 

 ding to the strain. 



The result is a bigger load than the 

 horse can carry and, consequently, the 

 load is not carried. Coal waits at the 

 mines for cars to move it away. Miners 

 are idle because there is no way to 

 transport the coal they might dig. Pro- 

 duction has fallen to thirty to forty 

 per cent of normal, a rate that spells 

 high prices for the rest of the year and 

 a certain fuel shortage n^xt winter if it 

 continues. 



Moreover, the facilities for moving 

 the coal which will be needed for next 

 winter show no signs of early improve- 

 ment. Many of the men who ivalked out 

 during the switchmen's strike found 

 employment in othe* i5.dustries. The 

 prolonged strike and the good wages in 

 these other industries caused these men 

 to remain at their new jobs after the 

 strike finally came to an end. 



Shortage of Bailroad Workers. 



Hence there are now, it is estimated, 

 only seventy-five per cent as many yard- 

 men, switchmen and similar workers on 

 the railroads as there were a year ago. 

 Included in this number are a good many 

 new and inexperienced men. They re- 

 quire instruction and supervision by the 

 older men. Consequently the actual 



Average Daily Production of Bituminous Coal Shows Basis of PredictioD of Inac'equate Supply. 



a I I I I II -I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 



Jan. Feb. Moir. Aor. Mav June Julv Aua. " 



May 



June July 



Aug. 



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Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 



