OCR Text |
Show I ' The Coal Situation I H Ogden Paper Makes Caustic Comment, and Hj Certain Suggestions. H Mte .loiiriml, Ofiien m Ever since Utah lias been a. state the M ' legislatures have been constantly lm- M portuncd to refrain from passing any H so-called "freak legislation." The members thereof have been Informed H that capital is "timid" and will not M settle down on a nest where anything m contrary to capital's Interest is en- M Hence, Utah has been especially M lenient with coiporatlons, more cspc- M dally lenient toward those engaged In M the business of common carriers. If M any man lias noon dating enough to fl wggest a measure calcnlated to assist H I the chances of the people getting M I lower fares or railroad rates on freight, M ' he has been dubbed :i "populist" and H a "crank," and the icsnlt has been M that the vvlsesolons hac htinted their M holes at the beck and suggestion of M the agents for the corporations, who M have slept with one eje open dining M every session. M Well, here we ate, up against It. H Ogden Is shot t of coal, cl Utah has ! coal until fmther orders, while across the line east of us arc mines galore. Ask why we cannot get con I, and the M railroads will tell us that It is due to M a shortage of cars. Vet at the same H time thcvarchatillngcooiibkius, pump- H kins, carrots, lemons, chain pumps, M barrel staves, cannon, square thnbei, M sheep pelts, lirldo material, ore, corn- H meal and c.tery other bloom I tig com- M modlty trainload after tr.tlnload. M Kxactly eighteen days ago the writer M oidercd some coal of his dealer. Nearly H everyday since he has asked the dealer M why in well, never mind he didn't M deliver it. Thatgentlcnianhasthiovwi M up both hands arid said that he could M not get it. 1 'ending calamity in the M shape of froeltin, ho has bought coal, fl three sacKs ut a time, of another deal- M er, who sells only by tho sack. Yestci- 1 day this last dealer ran out Could H ( not even supply a sack. The man who M sells by the ton says he hopes to have M a car hi today. Meanwhile the house B Is cold and the family is cooking oer B i a lire made of kindling wood at iwo- M . bits per sack, and the sacks are not fl large ones, elthei . H J N'ow, there is plenty of coal, and c H ought to have It. The railroads should M i be compollcd to deliver It. (tight up M , here In Coalville are mines adequate M tosupplythlsstatc. Those arc closed. H Why? Ilccuise this man Hurrlman H tlnds it to the advantage of the Union 1 I'acitlc road to keep them closed, pays H i for keeping tlicm closed, and mean- M I while cinches the dear public forabout 1 three prices or hauling and Uikes his M J time about delivering the shut. M I Awful Price Here. M Coal In Denver is W.'X per ton. So M advertised. Coal In Ogden is M.li'i and M you cannot get it at Uiat rate, yet M Ogden Is closer to coal than Denver. M i Ogden, with Us willing vlctlms,pays M 2 per ton more than Denver, and yet B Ogden is cold and cheerless, while M Denver is warm, merry aud happy. H Is there some man in the coming leg- m J Islaturo great enough to rise up In his M , place and demand home relief for the oppiesscd and grafted public? Is thcie one inat laigc-bralned, large-hearted large-hearted and fearless enough to tell the railroad companies to go to the devil witli their little sixty-day pass to and fiom the session and Insist that Utah get a Miuare deal ut the hands of the corporations that have been riding her to death, milking her farmers and business men, robbing her Industries and retarding her development' Let us hope so. for If such a man exists, all Utah Is going to rise up and designate desig-nate him as blessed until he cannot rent By reason of discrimination, Utah is denied access to easterns markets that California leaches with ease, lly ret-sou ret-sou of disci (initiation, Utah Hour Is kept out of the Orient, while Minneapolis Minne-apolis gets hers there at a reasonable llguie Oiegon shunts strawberries to the eastern market, while Utah eats lieis hcisclf. California Hoods the New York restaurants with tough celery: Utah waits until her supply ficeesgoo,l and crisp and makes soup of It It Is pietty near time that capital, "timid" when it wants something, but bolder than brass after It gets It, was taught a lesson or two. Tills coal shortage Is without excuse and without with-out icason. If tllse loads occupy rights of way and have concessions granted them by this state. It seems as If some returns ought to bo made (Jovernmcnt has glen them the coal lands foi almost nothing, and what wasn't given them they took, and now, witli million vud millions o, tons available, the labor supply .idcp ite for all the needs of the mine owners who are nothing but the railroads mas (luciariliigundor another name comes this famine In coal Railroad Commission. What this state needs is a laihoad commission, made up of about three men who do not care a Jigger about politics; who will not work for petty partisan advantages, but with an eye single to the welfare or the people of Utah, and we suggest In all candor to the next ldglslatuieth.it it createsuch a commission and put it to woik. Other state have them and they do well. No state has been ruined by a railroad commission's work, and the roads run tialns and pay dividends. Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota and several otheis hate brought the recalcitrant anil purse-proud otllcials to time, and it is very nearly, If npt quite, time for Utah to get busy and demand something In return. The constitution contains a piovlv ion diiectlng that uniform rates shall be established, but as yet no political party has had the ncrvo to carry out that provision. The republicans are in complete control this winter; there isnosenator to elect; there need be no political Jimmying, and we expect to secure some relief at the liands of the party If tUe people do not get it, there is going to be a kick made, and we are not going to be at tho tall end of the procession, elthei |