The Commoner
DECEMBER, 1921
Lincoln's Municipal
Coal Yard
The municipal coal yard, established in the
city of Lincoln the latter part of September, is
flourishing notwithstanding the difficulty it had
in getting under way and notwithstanding the
efforts of the private coal dealers to prevent it
from selling coal to the people of Lincoln in
competition with the twenty-one private coal
companies.
During the forepart of last January, Charles
W. Bryan made an investigation of the coBt and
selling prices of- coal in Lincoln and recom
mended to the city council the establishment of
a municipal coal yard, which he maintained
could reduce the price of coal $4.00 a ton on
first class bituminous coal known as the Frank
lin County coal from southern Illinois and still
sell coal at a reasonable price, or in other
words, sell coal at $4.00 a ton less than the reg
ular coal dealers were selling it and make a rea
sonable profit. ,
Although the figures presented by Mr. Bryan'
to the city council of which he was not a mem
ber and the figures presented by him through
the daily press clearly indicated that the coal
dealers of Lincoln, as elsewhere, were engaged
in shameless profiteering, the city council re
fused to embark in the coal business.
In the last spring's city election Mr. Bryan
announced a municipal program which provided
for a municipal coal yard, a municipal public
market and a municipal ice plant, and being un
able to induce substantial business men to file
for commissioner to fill the ticket, he filed for
the position himself with "a view to the mayor
ship on the platform mentioned above. Mr.
Bryan was elected, and although receiving 652
majority more than his opponent and more than
400 more votes than one-half of all the votes
cast at the election, the city commission, com
posed" of five men, refused to select Mr. Bryan
for the position of mayor, which the preference
vote morally obligated them to do, but they gave
him the position of superintendent of streets
and public improvements, believing that that
would retard his efforts on behalf of his munici
pal ownership program.
As the city commission stood four to one
against a municipal coal yard and the other mu
nicipal enterprises advocated by Mr.' Bryan, it
was deemed necessary to organize public senti
ment for the purpose of bringing pressure to
bear on" the council to induce it to give the peo
ple what they had declared for in the election.
Before introducing the municpal coal yard ordi
nance in the council, petitions were put in cir
culation under the initiative and referendum to
establish a municipal coal yard by direct vote
of the people at a special election, and petitions
were also put in circulation' to recall two of the
city commissioners and replace them with men
who were pledged to Mr. Bryan's municipal own
ership program. With these petitions in circu
lation and being rapidly signed throughout the
city, the coal yard ordinance was introduced, and
after being voted down one week was brought
forth again the next week, and the public senti
ment that had been aroused by the -first defeat
of the coal yard ordinance so influenced the
council the following week that the municipal
coal yard ordinance was passed although four
out of the five members of the city commission
were known to be opposed to it. The municipal
coal yard was placed in Commissioner Bryan's
department, and he was given direct charge and
made responsible for the success or failure of
thQ municipal "coal yard's activities.
The municipal coal yard has now been in op
eration a little more than two months. The pri
vate coal dealers, after failing to shut off the
city s coal supply and failing to discredit the coal
yard by attempting to make it appear through
the press that -the quality of coal the city was
selling was inferior to that sold by the retail
coal dealers and that no money would be saved
uy buying at the municipal coal yard, fifteen
coal dealers joined in an effort to have the mu
nicipal coal yard-put out of business through a
restraining order by the district court on the
r,r?Un2 tbat the city charter which is a home
nue charter does not specifically authorize the
municipality to engage in the buying and selling
tLCoa1, The district judge refused to grant a
temporary restraining order but set time for
linn 8Q to bQ "toard. The hearing has since been
"em and the court has taken the matter under
nS?e ment aM nas notot handed down an
"Pinion, in the meantime the municipal coal
Bta&jffa.110 best
priroeof mS ?n Thie mun!cIPal coal yard on the
price or coal in Lincoln is very apparent Whnn
the movement was commenced for tmunicinal
coal yard the quality of coal now hand? dby
hvenSUnCilT1,Coal yard was filing for $14.50
Lyil?nhe dealer8' Tuo prIvatG deak are now
the faV th8?1ffiC0al ? n-250 withstanding
nwLf ! at l?is Rrado of coal cstB 60 cents
more at the mine than it did when they wore
Sif, $1450' Th0 municipal coal yard's
livered Sam Srad COal at ?10,5 do
The amount of coal bought and sold for the
first sixty days by the municipal coal yard and
the items of expense and profit on the coal
handled thus far are as follows:
Total sales during Oct. and Nov 2,777 tons
Amounting in dollars to $29,027 51
Average selling price per ton de
livered to the consumer's bin $ 10 45
Total cost of coal f. o. b. Lincoln .... $22,82g!o4
Cost of delivery 5 2,771.80
Overhead expense ....!$ '95414
Total net profit to the city $ 2,472!58
Average cost at mine per ton $ 3 85
Freight rate per ton $4.32 (or $4.18 1-2)
War tax per ton . .13
Average cost per ton f. d. b. Lincoln . . ! ;8!20
Unloading and demurrage expense per-
ton ; 14 1-3
Shrinkage and shortage per ton ....,., .08 1-2
All other overhead expense per-ton . . . .20 1-3
Delivery expense per ton 1.00
Total net profit average per ton to city
on 2 ,777 tons of coal 89
The public is receiving a benefit of $4.00' a
ton for all .coal bought from the municipal yard,
and are the gainers by about $2.00 a ton on all
grades of coal sold by the retail dealers as a re
sult of the establishment of a municipal coal
yard. The direct saving to the public patrons of
the municipal coal yard the first Bixty days was
approximately $10,00(0. The total estimated
saving for the winter as a result of the munici
pal coal yard's activities, including both the coal
sold by the municipal coal yard direct and that
bought from the private dealers, will be about
$125,000.
As a means of reducing the cost of living and
curbing the profiteer, the city of Lincoln's ex
perience in the municipal coal yard business has
demonstrated that the quickest and most effec
tive way to protect the public against combina
tions in restraint of trade and against profiteer
ing is to restore competition, and that is what
the city of Lincoln "has done to meet the uncon
scionable profiteering that has been going on in
the coal business, not only in the city of Lin
coln, but throughout the country.
TEXT OF FOUR POWER TREATY
"A Washington dispatch under date of Dec. 10,
says: The text of the new quadruple treaty be
tween the United States, Great Britain, France
and Japan follows:
With a view to the preservation of the general
peace and the maintenance of their rights in
relation to their insular possessions and insular
dominions In tbe region of the Pacific ocean.
Have determined to conclude a treaty to this
effect arid have adopted as their plenipotentiar
ies The president of the United States of America.
His majesty, the king of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British
dominions beyond the seas, emperor of India and
for the dominion of Canada.
For the commonwealth of Australia. t
For the dominion of New Zealand.
For. India.
The president of the French republic.
His majesty, the emperor of Japan.
Who having communicated their full powers,
found in good and due form, have agreed as fol
lows: Jf .
1 The hieh contracting parties agree as be
tween themselves to respect their rights in re
lation to their insular possessions and insular do
minions in the region of the Pacific ocean.
If there should develop between any. of the
high contracting parties a .controversy arising
out of any Pacific question and Involving
said rights which is not satisfactorily settled by
diplomacy and is likely to affect the harmonious
accord now happily subsisting between them,
they shall Invite the other high contracting par
ties to a joint conference to which the whole
subiect would be referred for consideration and
ad2Ife?he said rights are threatened by the
aggressive action of any other power, the high
nnntractinff parties shall communicate with one
Mother fun? and frankly in order to arrive at
. r
an understanding as to tho most efficient meas
ures to bo taken, Jointly or separately, to meet
tho exigencies of tho particular situation.
3 This agreement shall remain in force for
ton yoars from tho time it shall take effect, and
after tho expiration of said period it shall con
tinue to bo in force subj'ft to tho right of any
of tho high contracting parties to termlnato it
upon twelve months notice.
4 This agreement shnll be ratified as soon
as possible In accordance with tho constitutional
mothods of the high contracting parties and
shall take effect on tho deposit of ratification,
which shall take placo at Washington, and there
upon tho agreement between Great Britain and
Japan, which was concluded at London on July
13, 1911, Bhall terminate.
THE SEARCH FOR MONEY .
After ovory violent chango in price levels, :
especially the sort of chango wo have had late
ly, look out for the money reform. Henry Ford
took his friend Edison down to Muscle Shoals
the other day to pass judgment on his project
of taking over the power plant which tho gov
ernment built there during tho war. In the
presence of that great torrent of water Mr. Ford
outlined his money scheme. Gold has shown,
by its violent fluctuations, Its unfitnoss to bo tho -measuro
of tho world's values. For gold ho
would substitute power. Power, not raonoy,
makes the mare go For a unit of exchange Av.
Ford would have a currency representing power.
For his day's pay a laborer should receive 1 f.s
pay in energy comparablo to the energy which
he had expended. A note entitling him to a
certain number of kilowatt hours of energy out '
of the nation's store might answer. Commodi
ties would find a price lovel in decimals of kilor
watt hours approximating tho energy which their
production entailed.
There are details to fill in, of course. Thoro
are cases where men receive Incomo without
yielding any energy in return. Such, for in
stance, as tho family of foreigners who collect
rent for the use of several thousand acres of
unimproved Nebraska land. Perhaps their sharo
would come, just as at present, out of the ener
gies of their tenants. These matters could
doubtless bo adjusted under Mr. Ford's money
regime as well as they are under the reign of
gold.
In their gilded dens far to the east tho samo
fellows who laughed at Mr. Bryan are laughing
at Mr. Ford. Well, then, let them turn their at
tention to the more conservative Professor Irv
ing Fisher. Professor Fisher proposes not to
abolish the gold dollar, but to stabilize it. Ho
would do this by diminishing its size, thus in
creasing its number, as prices fell, and by in
creasing its weight, thus diminishing its num
bers, as prices rose. By this sort of thermosta
tic action he thinks money temperatures can bo
kept at a predetermined normal. Thus wo shall
escape these Irritating, revolution-making prico'
fluctuations.
If those who stand pat on their sacred 25.8
grains of gold are still dissatisfied, let them con
template the prospect that Europe, seeing most
of its gold in the vaults of the American sub- '
treasury at New York, may find it necessary to
demonetize gold altogether and pin their faith
to silver. Nebraska (Lincoln) State-Journal.
, , '..,
MR. BRYAN'S CONFERENCE REPORTS
Hon. Frank A. Day, in Fairmont, Minn., Senti
nel: Millions of people are dally devouring every
word William J. Bryan writes in regard to tho ,
disarmament conference. He always had great
audiences but in the present case the world
is his forum and every word he writes is '
freighted with wisdom and candor. The com-
moner stands unchallenged . as tho , greatest
moulder of public opinion of this day and age. '
Secretary Wallace is of the opinion that it
will take at least five years more for the farm
ers to recover their former economic status, due
to the fact that they have been .compelled to
bear the brunt of the price readjustment so
far. By that time cooperative marketing
ought to be fairly well established, and with
an orderly march of wheat and. hogs and cattlo
to market under a. system that bids fair to ho
well financed the farmer ought not to be again
caught in the gamblers' trap.
That man Einstein, who invented the theory
of relativity, said that it wag so Involved that
only five other men besides himself understood
what it meant. Yet we venture to say that inost
any farmer who observes the market pi Ice of
corn and looks over his costs of production
could explain what entire absence of relativity
means,
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