COST OF COAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 278, 13 August 1918, Page 7

COST OF COAL

WHAT THE RETAILERS SAY LETTER FROM MR. ff. A. GRENFELL The recent inquiry into the prices that tore being asked for coal and slack in Wellington by the Board of Trade has induced a response from tho lietail Coal .Dealers' Association, whose' secretary <Mr. \\\ A, Greufefl) has written to the ixwrd as follows:— "Dear Sir,—Tho committee of this association held an urgent meeting yesterday (August ft) to receive tho representations mado by you to one of its mem'bers who had been asked to discuss with ymir board the question of tho price charged by dealers for slaelc coal. It in believed by my eommittep that your board'will-not havo been influenced by tin; one-sided statements regarding tho price of coal that, according to newspaper report, have emanated from differin t sources, and from tho Mayor of the ,city. .1 am asked to say in passing that the coal dealers resent the strictures passed upon them! They feel very keenly the unfair action of the Mayor and others in publicly criticising citizens and firms who have been carrying on legitimate business for many years, without first taking any steps t6 ascertain their viewpoint, and with tho apparent intention of creating tho impression in the minds of coal consumers that the dealers nru taking advantage of the coal shortage to secure more than reasonable prolit. In view of the newspaper comments on the subject, my committee desires to place fully beforo yon their position, and trusts your board will give consideration to tho following:—

'"That all classes of consumers of coal have experienced difficulties in maintaining supplies is generally known. It has Apparently been by only the most careful manipulation of the limited available supplies that tli9 Coal (Trade Committee has been aide to equitably apportion them, and although the dealers havo not received coal either of tho quantity or quality desired, it is felt by them that the committee has dealt as fairly '•with them as it'has with other consumers. The shortage has been very materially emphasised through the action of the State Coal Department in curtailing tho quantities and shipments to the local State Coal Depot. It is believed the quantity of coal supplied to that depot this year is vastly less than in the preceding years. It is a significant fact that tho Department" has been running the depots at a loss. With tho exception of ono parcel of 150 tons, the whole of the State conl landed in Wellington for private consumers during this year lias bren absorbed -by the local depot. This on occasions has resulted in that depot having on hand large quantities of coal which r.ecessarily could not be distributed to residents promptly. Had this coal been apportioned amongst tho dealers who were without supplies, there can )>e no doubt citizens would not havo suffered to nearly the extent they did through delay in delivery of their orders. The shortage of State coal at the depots naturally meant that consumers rushed the coal dealers with orders, and as their ordinary supplies were not coming to hand, many citizens were unable, to secure necessary firing. " 'When it became apparent that there would not bo a plentiful supply of coal duiing the winter, tho Coal Trades Committee suggested to the coal dealers that, in order to eko out available supplies, they should cease re-screening - coal in their yards. This course tho dealers deciaed fo wlopt, find they aro now dclivering all cool purchased as screened at tho mi no in. the same condition as it is received by them from the ship's side. It will no doubt beknown by your board that regulations have been gazetted which make it necessary, under heavy penality,'for coal dealers to supply an equal quantity of dlnck or coke with every Inindredweight of screened coal. At, and previous to the time of the gazetting of these regulations, the shipments of coal were irregular ' and the quantities released for dealers very limited. In a number of instances this placed .dealers in the.anomalous position of having supplies in their yards wiiicn they wero imablo to deliver until tho requisite cokc« or slack was available. Now, I feel sure it will be recognised !>}' you, sir, and by tho other members of your board, that coal dealers are, general speaking, hard-working members of the community, and it is a fact that many of then; aro in a 'comparatively small way of 'business, and cannot rent large yards. That is certainly tho case with a number of city dealers. For that reason, nitd because they believe the mixiing of the two classes of slack results in better combustion, it has become « common practice with them to place all slack received from either We3t Coast or Waikato mines in one heap. This heap they havo sold at 2s. 3d. per cwt. And this leads tip to a statement of tho .costs to the dealers of the two classes of slack, which is as follows:— Waikato Slack. Per ton. • £ s. d. Cost at mine 0 5 0 Railage • 1)15' 4 Loss in transit '. 0 1. fi . Cartage to yard 0-5 0! Expenses—sacSs, labour, horse feed, 'harness, office expenses, etc '. 0 .1 0 Delivery 0 G 6.' .CUB -1

AYest Coast Coal Other than Screened. I'm- ton. •C s. <1. Cost ex wharf 110 2 Cartage 0 II 0 Expenses 0 3 0 Delivery 0 G G 2 8 "'Cartage: The difference of 2s. a ton in the price of cartage is due to tho_ necessity for shovelling' Waikato slack into tho drays from trucks _in place of lipping baskets at ship's side and to extra cartage from Thorndon station. " 'Delivery: During the period of shortage dealers were ablo to supply only small quantities at a time. This meant that six or seven calls at different residences were necessary beforo a ton vus delivered. . , , "'West Coast Coal-Cost ex "Wharf: lho price quoted (X'l 10s. 2d. per ton is the average price paid during the months of May, June, and July. Taking the aggregate price of a ton each of Waikato cqtil and West Coast coal (79a.), and remembering that these two coals have been dumped together in one heap and sold at 2s. 3d. per cwt., it must 1)0 recognised that the dealer has not been unduly profiting in securing 455. per ton oil an average profit of ss. Gd. per ton. " 'Due-other featuro of tho coal dealers business is that it is largely a seasonal one; the volume of trade during tho summer months beins about 50 jjor cent, that or' tho winter months. Haviiitf endeavoured to explain the position of the coal dealers with respect to the handling and prices of slack, my comnfitleo desires to say regarding the opinion expressed by you that dealers should retail Waikato slack at 2s. per cwt., that they have fully considered the matter, and are prepared in deference to the opinion of your board to recommend members of the association to keep supplies of Waikato slack separato from other kinds of coal, anii retail it to the public at 2s. per ewt. It has to be recognised that prior to tiic present shortage there was no demand or market for Waikaio slack, and it is believed that the mixing of tho two kinds of slack improves the burning qualities of the slack. If the suggestion now made is approved ]>y you, the matter will be at once submitted to the general body of dealers, who it is hoped will confirm 'the action of mv committee, although it is anticipated that soino of the dealers whose yard spaco is limited will find great difficulty in storing Waikaio slack bv itself. I want to add that all West G'oast. coal other than screened is king retailed at 2s. 3d. per cvt.'"

PRICE OF SLACK MAYOR WISHES REDUCTION HAD BEEN GREATER. Replying to tho protest made by Messrs. J. Mill and Co. (agents for the Taupiri mines in. Wellington) against the strictures of the Mayor (Mr. .T. V. Luke) on the prices being charged the public for slack coal in Wellington, His Worship says that the best answer is the report and recommendation of the Board of Trade, which has reduced the retail price of Waikato slack to 2s. per cwt. As the price for the article at. the pithead is ss. per toil, the Mayor regrets that the price was not fixed at an even lower rate than 2s. per cwt., as the difference between slack and whole coal here is not relative to its prico at tho pit-head. As to his statement that much of the slack coal that was being, paid such high rates for in Wellington was not from the stacks at or near tho pit-head, and was practically a waste product, that' needed no further explanation from him. The statement had been made by miners from the West Coast (who were in a position to know exactly what they were talking about) tliat tho slaet that was being sold in Wellington was practically wasto stuff from tho slack dumps on the Coast. When making the statement, he did not refer to any particular mine, but was referring to the coal industry generally. The Mayor said that he was grateful to the Minister for the action ho had taken in the matter, and only wished to say that he wished the reduction made had been greater.