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Jolt 8, 1920 



The Florists' Review 



19 



r.ilueed in price. Indoor valley is 

 ji;;ain on the market, but the quality is 

 poor. A few late peonies ai;e still on 

 the market. 



Various Notes. 



The annual picnic of the Rochester 

 j'iorists' Association will be held at 

 G-and View beach August 5. All em- 

 i.oyees, members of their families and 

 f icnds are invited, but it is required 

 t' at everyone purchase a ticket in ad- 

 V iiice, so that dinners can be ordered 

 1 r all who attend. 



Fred Thomann is on his vacation. 



Mr. and Mrs. E. 0. Armbrust motored 



to Nathcuis Glen, N. Y., where they 

 spent July 4. 



Hart & Vick are over the rush of the 

 seed trade and are now closing at 5:30 

 p. m. 



Word has been received of the safe 

 arrival of Horace J. Head in England 

 June 11, after a pleasant ocean trip of 

 thirteen days. 



The exhibit of the Rochester Rose So- 

 ; ciety, June 28 and 29, was considered by 

 John Dunbar, president of the society, 

 a great success. Some of the best va- 

 rieties shown were Juliet, Old Gold, 

 Aurea, Los Angeles, Duchess of Welling- 

 ton and Lady Ursula. 



Salter Bros, have a unique summer 

 window display in their east Main street 

 store., A pond forms the central fea- 

 ture, with a miniature house on a hill 

 behind the pond, surrounded by many 

 plants. 



Jacob Thomann & Sons have begun 

 cutting the first of their White and 

 America gladioli, which are of fine 

 quality. 



Miss Lillian Wheeler has been ill for 

 over a week, but expects to return to 

 work soon. 



George B. Hart's commission house 

 will close at 5 p. m. during July and 

 August. E. C. A. 



COAL PRICES STILL SOAR 





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WHAT THE COAIi MAN SAYS. 



Shifts Bespousibility. 



The fuel situation seen from the coal 

 (li'aler's point of view is somewhat dif- 

 ferent from what it seems to others. 

 But the points the coal dealer makes 

 are valuable for florists to know in such 

 a condition as now confronts them. The 

 following letter from a coal concern to 

 a Chicago grower contains statements 

 of much interest to those puzzling over 

 next season's fuel problem: 



"We note that you want us to ship 

 y()il a car whenever we think it is the 

 most opportune time to buy. We also 

 have made a memorandum to the effect 

 that it will be necessary for you to have 

 twelve or fifteen cars in storage before 

 the end of October. If you will pardon 

 us, we would rather not assume the re- 

 sponsibility of selecting the time for 

 shipping this car, neither do we wish to 

 go on record as telling you point blank 

 not to buy at this time if such action 

 would be contrary to your best judg- 

 ment. The market is much wilder than 

 seems necessary and the panicky buy- 

 ing of people who ordinarily would not 

 come into the market before September 

 has driven the price up beyond the 

 bounds of reason. The matter is en- 

 tirely beyond the control of the fair- 

 minded wholesaler. Consumers and 

 steam users are bidding the price up on 

 themselves and the operator cannot see 

 the duty or wisdom of maintaining a 

 priee level which does not fairly screech 

 with insanity. 



Contributing Causes. 



' ' Let me state a few facts so that you 

 ni.iy be in a better position to decide 

 for yourself when to order your coal 

 f';r\vard. To begin with, the shortage 

 "f open-top cars is greatly magnified. 

 I'l fact, it is far more a shortage of 

 r;iilroad men and motive power than 

 ^'•>Ts. Also, the priority order which is 

 n<,\v in effect and which is diverting 

 11' st of the open cars into the coal trade 

 ^'"uld make a decided improvement in 

 ^' " coal industry. The country is pro- 

 '1 'ing at the present time approxi- 

 1" tely 10,000,000 tons weekly, which is 

 w thin 550,000 tons of the required 

 ^ '^kly average and about 2,000,000 

 t' IS in excess of the weekly production 

 ^' ~ the same periods of normal years. 

 ^^ luld not this indicate to your mind 

 ^' it the danger of a coal famine is 



somewhat exaggerated when it is gen- 

 erally estimated that the country will 

 not require over 535,000,000 tons of coal 

 this year? Of course, a shortage may 

 occur in isolated sections, as, for in- 

 stance, in the northwestern dock terri- 

 tory, where they should have in storage 

 approximately 28,000,000 tons of coal 

 when navigation closes, but will prob- 

 ably have only 15,000,000 tons. Even 

 there the outlook is not so gloomy as it 

 is pictured, for the people in that sec- 

 tion still have five months of good all- 

 rail shipping weather in which to pro- 

 vide for the estimated shortage of lake 

 shipments. 



"Personally I feel that $6.50 per ton 

 f. 0. b. mines for Brazil block steam 

 lump is too big a price for a greenhouse 

 man to pay four months before he needs 

 the coal, and as for me, if there was a 

 bitter pill to be swallowed, I would 

 much rather take it later on under 

 pressure than take it voluntarily now. 

 I would at least have the satisfaction of 

 knowing that I had not unnecessarily 

 contributed to a panicky condition 

 which is boosting prices to the high- 

 water mark of our history." 



CABS CAUSE COAL SHORTAGE. 



The impression Is strong that in spite 

 of the recent attempts of the interstate 

 commerce commission to relieve the car 

 shortage, which is the cause of the coal 

 shortage in many parts of the country, 

 there is really slight improvement in 

 conditions. 



Officials of the National Coal Associa- 

 tion who have been asked by public 

 utility authorities for a conference on 

 the present state of the coal supply and 

 the prospect of relief, have answered 

 that the matter is all up to the inter- 

 state commerce commission and that a 

 conference would not be productive of 

 any substantial result. 



"All over the country great manu- 

 facturing plants, public utilities and 

 other large consumers are clamoring for 

 an immediate supply of coal so as to 

 avert a shutdown of industry," was the 

 message from John B. Pratt, of the asso- 

 ciation. "It is all a matter of coal cars 

 and nothing else." 



The order of the interstate commerce 

 commission giving a 30-day priority to 

 open-top cars to the bituminous coal 

 mines has been in effect since June 21, 

 but the car supply, as reported from the 

 coal fields, shows no genuine improve- 



ment. The majority of mines face car 

 shortages anywhere from twenty-five to 

 fifty per cent of normal. 



Railroads are failing to comply with 

 the order because of the switchmen's 

 strike. Some carriers, it is reported, 

 are indisposed to comply with the com- 

 mission's order. Many roads still allow 

 coal cars to be used, as formerly, for 

 transportation of other commodities and 

 deprive the mines of equipment badly 

 needed to ship coal. 



The coal operators have urged strict 

 enforcement of the priority order as the 

 means of solving the coal shortage. For 

 lack of cars, mines in all fields are now 

 idle two to four days a week. 



PITTSBURQH COAIi SITUATION. 



Fuel conditions in the Pittsburgh dis- 

 trict are reported to be easing up grad- 

 ually. While the producers who are not 

 contracted up as yet will not make con- 

 tracts for any definite tonnage, they 

 assure their old contract customers they 

 will give them as much coal as they 

 possibly can at prices which will be fair 

 and reasonable. While this advice is 

 quite indefinite and not satisfactory to 

 a grower who usually has his coal bins 

 pretty well filled at this time and is 

 working on his winter supply, the 

 writer hears that the situation is one 

 that can and will be taken care of. 



All producers report plenty of coal, 

 but no cars. Notwithstanding the va- 

 rious orders issued by the interstate 

 commerce commission during the last 

 thirty days, the coal mines have n»t as 

 yet received an improvement in the car 

 supply and as a consequence growers 

 are all still quite short of coal. 



Advice under date of June 12 from 

 a shipper of bituminous coal from the 

 northern Pennsylvania mines reports: 

 "I would advise you to wait until 

 August before placing your contract for 

 coal, as I hear coal will be cheaper. We 

 are short on car supply and a big de- 

 mand in Canada and New England 

 states is the cause of the high prices 

 now paid for coal." 



Coal prices in the Pittsburgh terri- 

 tory last week wore from $3.50 to $9.50 

 per ton f. o. b. mine. The broker is 

 responsible for the flexibility of prices. 

 Attorney-General Palmer can find plenty 

 of work to do; so far we hear of no in 

 vestigation in this territory. Those who 

 need the coal at the high prices are 

 glad to pay for it. T. P. L. 



