The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923, February 01, 1922, Page 7, Image 7
r' FEBRUARY, 1&2 The Commoner tw M unicipal Coal Yard Below will bo found a report made by City Commissioner Charles- W. Bryan to the city council of Lincoln, Nebraska, covering the ac thtles of the municipal coal yard that was es tablished in Lincoln, October 1, 1921. When the contest commenced in Lincoln one year ago to establish a municipal -coal yard for the purpose of curb.ng tho profiteers, the price of the high grade bituminous coal from south ern Illinois, known as the Franklin County Dis trict, was selling in Lincoln for about $14.50 per ton delivered. The effect of the municipal coal yard has been to cause a reduction of $2.00 a ton on all grades of coal sold by the retail coal dealers m the city of Lincoln and a saving to those who buy coal, direct from the mu nicipal coal yard of about $4.50 per Ion. Tho municipal coal yard is selling the Franklin County, Ill.nois, District coal delivered to the consumer's bin at $9.90 per ton. Mr. Bryan's report to the council follows: February 4, 1922. To the City 'Council: "Sumbitted herewith are figures and informa tion showing the activities of the municipal coal yard for -the four months of its operation, which include the months of October, Novem ber, December and January., Tho general re port is followed by the purchases, sales, etc., for the month of January. Total number of Cars of coal bought and sold during the four months up to Jan. 31,. 12 5. Number of tons bought, 5,8 46, Total tonnage-on hand Feb; 1,147. - Number of tons sold 5G29. Total shrink between the Lincoln railroad track Weights and scale weights, ,70 tons. Per cent of shrink, 1 2-10 per cent. Loss by shrinkage per ton, 10 q. . Total receipts from sales, $57,149.52. , , Total cost f. o. b. Lincoln, $47,951.29. Amount paid to haulers, for delivery, $5, 635.62. Overhead, $1,784.3&. Number cars egg coal handled, 8. Egg coal costs at the mine 25 to 35 cents less per ton than lump' coal. However, owing to limited demand for egg coal,' cars of egg coal must be unloaded at a cost of about 20 cents per ton and re-screened when sold' from the bin. The cost of unloading and the loss in screen ings necessitates egg coal being sold to tho con sumers at the same price as lump coal. "Out of 125 cars of coal handled, adjustments were made on four cars on account of re-screening and adjustments made on one car on ac count of re-screening and grading. In each in stance tho amount of screenings separated from lump coal was sold as screenings, and the dif ference between the screening price and the ump price charged to tho shipper; also the .la bor expense of grading and screening one car was at shipper's, expense; and coal sold to Lin coln customers was the same high grade Frank lin county district coal and all sold at the uni form price in effect at tho time. "Total number orders of coal sold during four months, 4,283. " - "Number of complaints out of 4,283 orders on account of negligence in screening and load ing at the coal yard which were satisfactorily adjusted approximately, 6. r. "Number of complaints out of 4,283 orden wbere coal was taken out and money refunded, "In these two cases. coal was returned to the municipal yard, inspected, and finding it to be ine same grade Franklin county district coal as all other handlod by tho yard, this coal was re-sold to other customers and no dissatisfaction oi any kind expressed by the purchaser. the uniform quality of the coal received nr, , !10 mines and toe very small number of complaints in view of the" large tonnage 5, 840 handled and distributed- in 4,283 orders a remarkable showing for quality, service ana satisfaction with the output of tho mu nicipal coal yard. nnrUpplementlnS tho above statement as to Si, Reparation, adjustments, tc, of coal N?Mn i o herewith is an "affidavit from the saim.;, upply company, operators and wbole Wn ' tur,oush whom the municipal coal lias een supplied. Citv nl0ln' ,Ne.b- Jan- 26 122. "C. W. Bryan, braska m er' CIty of Lincolu' Lincoln, Ne- chn?i th Writer understands it, you have pur yar,i L a11 t your coal for tUe. municipal coal """ uom our company during, tho season of ipix ays :-a To the best of tho writer's knowledKe thoro has been between our company and the mu n) iiPal cal yd, no question of quality on any shipments and the allowances made by us havo thToorV1, cars where !t appeared thlt mfal hadfnt been Properly screened at the mines, and in these few instances, the writer thnpdnn tan?SHthat the muleIPal yard re-screened the coal at their yard and we allowed them for the slack they took out of tho coal and sold to steam plants for steam coal. "Wealways stand ready to protect the qual ity of the products we soil and are making this statement to you as we would to any of our customers. .We assure you that your experience in the coal business is no different than that of any retail coal dealer." JANUARY REPORT "The following is the report on the activities of the coal yard for tho month of January, 1922, as provided for in the ordinance: "Tonnage bought in January, 1,446. "Tonnage on hand January 1, 581. "Tonnage sold in January, 1,826. ' ' , "Tonnage on hand, 147. "Balance cash on hand January 1, including revolving- fund of $15,000, $15,081.99. "Cash received on sales, $17,509.88. "Paid for coal, $9,062.90. "Paid for delivery, $1,412.93. ."Paid for overhead, $297.15. "Cash on hand, including revolving fund $22,598.8.9. "Balance in improvement fund, $202.69. . "Increase in tonnage sold in January over tonnage sold in December, 800 tons. "Out of 1,826 tons Franklin county district coal sold in January, no complaint received as to quality, and only one received as to the pre-' paration of the coal, and this complaint has been satisfactorily adjusted." MR. BRYAN'S NEW BOOK "IN HIS IMAGE" The lectures delivered by Mr. Bryan, during tho past year, on Darwinism and other challeng ing issues, have stirred public opinion in an ex traordinary way. They have caused, and are still causing a perfect furore all over tho coun try. Mr. Bryan is, and has, a most magnetic personality. A man may read, or listen to thp pronouncements, or opinions of twenty men' of prominence, and go his way, uninfluenced, un impressed. But Mr. Bryan will compel him to listen, to declare himself, to take s'des, to agree or disagree. He has a way of being able to force one's heart to one's sleeve. Never has Mr. Bryan displayed his power of forcing an issue in larger measure than in the present series. Every chapter is a challenffinc provocative, uncomprising c.onfession of faith. One is4never in the slightest doubt as to where Mr. Bryan stands, and is either for him, or against him. Not for a moment has he (Mr. Tffryan) tarried in Half-Way House. Lecture I. In the Beginning God. With great eloquence, Mr. Bryan pleads for a deep seated, whole-hearted belief in God. This he holds to be an imperative condition for the real- ization of man's highest destiny, for the attain ment of a life lived on the levels of truth and righteousness. Not to a First Cause or to an Eternal'Energy does Mr. -Bryan direct his read ers, but to God as revealed in Christ; to a God that is 'gracious; to a God that is Love. Lecture II. The Bible. Mr. Bryan stands four-square 'on Scripture as the inspired Word of God. He holds tenaciously to the position that that no school of Christian thinkers worthy of the name, would dream of abandoning the inspirational theory of Holy Writ of beating such a foolhardy retreat. He has a faith in the Written Word no criticism, higher or lower, can kill and defends it with characteristic force and elZctoofinrVhat think To o Christ? Time and atrain, the bitter and barren agitation which questions the deity of Jesus has had a way of coming around again, masquerading in some modern guise, as thouch it were something new. S rea ty, it s very old, and always the same iSst as it was in the days of Marcion and Celsus. Tt reou res however, to be smitten -repeatedly, bin and tlHgh In his third lecture, Mr. Bryan S& about llh1m will lusty vigor For him .Chris is the Everlasting Son of the Father, fun or Le'ctTre IV.The Origin of Man. Here Mr. rvnn discovered as the uncompromising op Bryaf of the theory of Evolution in general, IZ Darwinism in particular. He does not hesi tate S ?cot . their acceptance as defined by scientific formulas. Tho evolutionists may know something of phonomona, but nothing of real ity. Thoy occupy themselves wholly with the visible effects ot their theory in all its phases, never dreaming, apparently, that in doing so, thoy havo got hold of tho last word thoy arc able to say. Mr. Bryan points triumphantly "to tho fact that evolutionists nro compelled to leave to tho theologians tho task of defining creation. It is ovidently none of tholr affair. This lecture is bound to raise a storm of con troversy throughout tho entire country. It is a wonderfully virile effort. Lectures V., VI., VII., VIII. and IX. Tho sub jects are as follows: Tho Higher Life, The Value of tho SouL Throe Priceless Gifts, His Government and Peace, Tho Spoken Word. These are all ably conceived, finely-phrased addresses, exhibiting tho manifold gifts of tho Groat Com moner and reflecting on ovory page tho play of a mind passionately and supromoly convinced of the traditional, primary facts of Christian belief, and able to vJndicato them under tho full glare of modern destructive criticism. To sum up: Hero is where, in these lectures, Mr. Bryan stands unflinchingly: When every form of modern criticism (scientific or pseudo scientific) has done its work, it exhibits no coherence, no commanding or convincing author ity. ' It has no foundation but tho subjective mind of the critic, and fails utterly to account for either the physical or spiritual phenomena that has resulted. And this in addition: The utterances of sceptical scientists and Iconoclastic critics are inevitably and permanently con demned by the plain fact of their being noth ing more than finite attempts to describe tho In . finite. Not all tho modern theories, restatements, postulates and formulas, put together, express a hundredth part ot what tho humblest and simplest believer feels and verily believes, about God and Christ, about Salvation and Eternal Life. From announcement in "Revellings," by Fleming H. Revell Company. BANKERS APPROVE BANK GUARANTY LAW An Omaha, Neb., dispatch, dated Jan. 19, says: Four hundred state bankers of Nebraska adopted a resolution Wednesday at tho. Fon tenelle hotel approving tho presont depositors' guaranty law and opposing any amendments or changes in it by tho coming special session of the legislature. Governor McKelvio, who had Included con sideration of the guaranty law in his call for a special session, oponed the meeting by stating ho would be guided in his attitude toward tho law by tho decision of tho bankers' mooting. The outcome was received with gratification by those who attended, and the result vas ta'k" on definitely to dispose of any likelihood that the law would bo altered in any way. Though the subjoct still is in the special session call, it can be disregarded. Tho resolution, introduced by George W. Woods of the Lincoln State bank, as adopted is as follows: "The present depositors' guaranty law has been in oporation for eleven years, during which' time not a single dollar ha3 been lost to a single depositor in a state bank in Nebraska. "The law has established and maintained-the confidence of the people of our state. "It has successfully met and been tested by the severest price declines and business disturb ances ever experienced in this state. "It has enabled tho depositors in failed bapks to receive in cash over $3,000,000, which other wise would havo been lost to them. "It has provided by means of assessments on solvent banks with $80,000,000 capitaf stock, for the constant recouping of the guaranty fund. "As a result of this process and after the payment of $3,000,000 out of this fund, it now contains $2,250,000 in cash on deposit in sol vent banks; it owns approximately $5,000,000 in notes and mortgages taken over from failed banks and now possesses the largest resources the fund has ever contained at any period in its history. "It has stabilized banking and business condi tions throughout our state. It commands the confidence and hearty support of the bankers themselves "who havo organized a great corpora tion to help make the law function more ef ficiently and to promote higher standards ol banking in this state; therefore be it "Resolved by tho State Bankers of Nebraska, in convention assembled that "We favor and approve the present guaranty law of this state and that we are opposed to the enactment of any amendments or changes in the law by tho coming special session of the Nebras ka legislature."' i .. J "IX .' ,7e Mi - 't T Jf4i ., i vO iU2i "-ftMriirtfftt"