PLENTY OF COAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17845, 28 July 1921, Page 6

PLENTY OF COAL.

SHORTAGE DISAPPEARS.

BETTER OUTPUT SECURED.

MINERS MORE NUMEROUS. I j [BT TELEGKATH. —OWN" CORRESPONDENT.] i CHKISTCHTJECH. Wednesday. 3 The shortage of hard coal for the time ] being has entirely disappeared, and stocks c are held by merchants which in the pre- § sent stata of the demand will take a long period to distribute. What effect will the i present surplus of coal have on prices? i There is always the chance, of course, that i there will be a certain amount of under- i cutting on the part of those whose finan- ( cial necessities force them to endeavour < to quit, but on the question of a perma- i nent reduct : on the position is a little in- i definite. On Maitland coal there has been 1 a reduction of a few shillings. i 1 Mining costs in the Dominion have no* ' s on the face of things been reduced in any « way. Reports, however, are to the effect that miners are now more plentiful than has been the case for years. The slump in the sawmilling and other industries has - forced many men back to the mines- 1 Mining interests state that the men are < giving a much better return in the matter , of output than was the rule when labour j was scarce, and work is proceeding with ( little interruption. All this actually means a lesser mining cost per ton. ] Even should the present retail prices be maintained however, the public will reap ( a financial advantage in another way. j From now on they are in the position to 4 get a much better quality of co;'l on the , average. During the period of scarcity < they were compelled to take ail manner t of poor heating and burning varieties at ] the same prices prastically as for high- < class coal. The poor varieties are now , < a drug on the market. , The opinion among merchants is that j even should the present period of plenty < be maintained the restrictions imposed < during the time of scarcity forbidding the i screening of household coal will not be \ lifted. At the present wages paid to s labour the screening of coal would be a. i costly matter, and this would be reflected I in prices. In any case, the public has got j ( used to unscreened coaL j <