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Show SHIPPING COAL FRBMAUSTRAUA Harriman Purchasing Fuel for His Locomotives in the Antipodes. FIFTEEN THOUSAND TONS FOR THE SHORT LINE With Coal at Our Doors, Yet We Have to Ship It 7000 Miles. Although there are mountains of coal practically at our very doors, W. H. Bancroft, vice-president and general manager of the Oregon Short Line, is purchasing coal in Australia to keep in operation, the locomotives on the Harriman Harri-man lines. With coal less than a hundred miles away, yet it is necessary to go 7000 miles away to buy fuel to keep a railway system running. One is almost forced to the conclusion that it is a reproach to our development of our natural resources that such a thing is necessary, but still it is a fact. In the month of June Mr. Bancroft orderod 5000 tons shipped from Sidney, Now South Wales, and this month ho doubled tho ordor, making a total shipment of 35,000 tons. This coal is for locomolivo consumption on the Oregon Short Line, and it is shipped across tho Pacific ocean to supply power. And this is a costly business. Each ton of coal has cost from $S.50 to $9 per ton. Taking tho former figure as an average, this 15,000 tons of fuel has cost the Harriman management manage-ment in the neighborhood of $130,000. It comes high, but they must have it. Tho coal Bupply on the Harrimau lines under the jurisdiction of Mr. Bancroft iB only some 20,000 tons today. In former years at this time something like 100,000 tons have been stored up, so Jthat it is readily seen that stores are in a seriously depleted condition. The coal supply this year has fallen oft mightily. Labor troubles, a shortage short-age of laborers, lack of development develop-ment of coal properties and numerous other causes have contributed to this condition; nor are there any, signs of improvement. With the railroads shipping coal from Australia for their own uso, the outlook out-look for the winter's supply for domestic do-mestic uses is. certainly very gloomy. |
