Show THE COAL criminality let us ui hypothesize for a moment inome Bt the majority of the residents of t this city are in moderate circumstances aud and have to buy their necessary articles in smaller quantities than the more fortunate few can with the approach of cold weather they have hare to purchase more fuel two or three times time over than during the summer and thle this item thus thug becomes one of considerable importance to them if they were able to buy a carload it would be a great gain as they would at least got get the benefit of wholesale rates and approximately correct measurement but they cannot do this and their al most moat universal unive raal resort la is to the middleman whose terms and treatment they must put up with whether it suite thorn them or noh dote people in want vant of coal in this abi weather are not prone to argument over losses sustained stained eu or injuries inflicted they mut must do the beat they can and do it at once or there will be other injuries which will not be so easily repaired repair ec inflicted at home suppose wa retake take what edema a fair average case A citizen goes to a dealer and orders a ton of coal which he mail have with reasonable dis dig patch and pays paye for it at the time of ordering otherwise no attention is paid to him so he hands handa over in each cash as a consideration for 2000 pounds of fuel most moat people at a distance knowing that aoh such an amount to is oz e 9 acted for an article that exists in clent quantities to supply the uni united states state and almost within gunis gunshot hot of 01 the city would be tempted to ask if there are any grand juries in this part dart of the coun country tryg and if go BO if casy they themselves should not be indicted for nonfeasance non but no matter as aa to that for the make lake of the argument but fo for no other reason we will admit that the coal to la worth the paid after tile the lapse of four or five days day and tile the buyer h has perhaps been oui out of coal for my ay half that time the fuel I 1 delivered not the 2000 pounds that he cola contract tract ed and paid for but 1500 pounds pound this adds addi 1371 to the price on invest lira tion the buyer finds buda that about twenty per cent ot of his purchase in dut dust and dirt utterly unfit for any purpose under the sun except to keep up the th dealers dealer profits profit this little circumstance adds addi more to the cost coat so BO that counting nothing as a loss for the two days day that he be has baa had bad nothing to burn he has baa paid practically 8 for f on enough ough fuel to last him t vo or three weeks with the greatest economy this kind of thing does not dot re represent pret an isolated case here by any means meane on olk the contrary it la Is quite co common vamon and it leonly one phase of the evil the railroads first and then tile the dealers have us completely at their mercy we can got get nothing of oo co sequence to burn except at their any hands and upon their terms suppose a man has a coal mine of his own owl not far away but too farto enable hira him to have its product transported by wagon and team at I 1 profit the railroad tariff in go Pro prohibit hibi a I 1 tive that it to is less of a loss long to him to patronize patr onise the monopoly outright and as the lesser of two evils he be does he realizes that he is being robbed not net no go only by the protective tariff li or of exor bitant freightage bub bu by those hose who stand near to the barons and virtually control montral the whole traffic lo but what ca he do if he protests pretests he is informed can by the chief and the secondary robber in concert that he be is in not coin compelled polled to tn take their coal it if he dont like their ferpas terms and goods and that is a hard fact one of those hard stern fact which sometimes make a people fat together and devise means for their get own that is ir what must be done here cheap transportation is of course the only means brans of untying the gordian knot to have this we must have line of ratio rails and some rolling stock a connecting with the nearest coal measure of sufficient proportions proportion to insure a h constant supply this line must be held and owned by the people directly or indirectly and it must be so arranged that it can never be absorbed by a trunk line or other commercial cormorant fifty thousand people in this city would patronize it at a very low estimate ton ten cents a month each for transporting coal alone and its other business ought to amount to as much more would not a month patr patronage onRO insured for a short narrow gauge road which need not rush things very much and could be inexpensively conducted after being built and equipped pay the interest interact on mortgage bonds and a good dividend besides add to this thin what the foundries and the mills and shelters smelters em sm elters consumes consume hemsi nil than son consider sider the constant increase 1 a the railroad population and popular f 0 basna to look like a little begins as aa well well as a great equalizer there is nothing visionary in the it to la something that will to be done sooner or later and the bay the earlier will the earlier braier it is begun hour of emancipation strike As aa it is there is noab ing to prevent the barons from doubling their prices or grablin trebling 9 them for that matter before the winter and we would have to submit la over to 1 thet n just the same bame the only present X recourse is to the law mag as against abnot the dealer and when we pay the tribute des ta by the monopolist let us see bes to every middleman who resorts it that to shrinkage by byone one means meanor or another made to enow answer et the same flame as for an any y la is theft and compelled to make full other restitution besides and then jet have the movement inaugurated at us looking to relief r from further once tribute to eth either er the lord of the manor him hie squires or five dollars and a half for an al d ton of coal when there would lebed profit in it evoid even when the h good ffoyd be was b onsets honest at halt half that figurel measure allure Lue just think of III |