HOUSEWIVES COMPLAIN OF POOR QUALITY COAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26781, 26 May 1948, Page 4

HOUSEWIVES COMPLAIN OF POOR QUALITY COAL

Indignation at the quality of some' of the coal being supplied by Dunedin vendors was expressed to. the Daily Times by several householders yesterday—the majority of them women who depend on coal stoves for cooking purposes. So irate was one woman that she brought along as evidence the half-burned gleanings from her grate, together with samples of a grey, stone-like substance which she said she had received with her last coal order.

Many Dunedin residents, it appears, are familar with the type of coal seen at the Daily Times office yesterday. In some instances this poor quality product is delivered in huge lumps, one seen by a reporter yesterday being approximately 18 inches in length and over 30 inches in girth. Heavy blows with the back of the family axe or a sledge hammer are needed before the lumps can be reduced to a suitable size for use in the average grate.

The heat of the fire had no more than h/alf-consumed the samples of “ ash ” submitted by one of the complaining citizens. It appeared that there was a large percentage of stone in the coal. Inquiries l'evealed that, in most instances, only isolated lumps were as poor as this, although some householders claimed to have had full bags of a most inferior product delivered.

is a keen demand from the public for Westport and Runanga coal, in spite of the fact that freight charges cause these brands of coal to be sold at a higher figure. There were, it appears, some cases of over-booking on the part of vendors. The Daily Times was informed yesterday of an instance in which a regular customer was refused delivery of an order put in before the colder weather brought an increased demand for winter fuel. The firm in question accepted a number of half-ton orders, but later 'announced its inability to fulfil them. The shortage of bright coal has meant a continuance of the custom of rationing supplies. In most cases would-be purchasers of bright coal must take a certain number of bags of dull before qualifying for a proportion of faster-burning coal. Such a procedure is necessary in the interests of the public, according to the merchants, who contend that supplies of hot coal would speedily be exhausted and that many people would have to go without if some measure of control were not in force. Those people who kept their coal bins full during the summer months are now reaping the benefit of their forethought. Not only are they better supplied with coal, but, it is alleged, they are supplied with better coal, as it is claimed that there has been a falling off in the quality of dull coal delivered by some merchants since the winter began.

It was suggested that a lack of adequate supervision at the mine was the reason for the infiltration of poorquality coal into the supplies being received in Dunecfln. It is understood, however, that local merchants haye not observed any notable decline in the quality of the commodity coming forward from the mines, and that there has been no complaint about consignments received recently. One coal company executive suggested that when wet conditions prevailed in the mines, or when the weather was wet during loading, it was extremely difficult to assess the coal content. An experiment made by a reporter proved the point, as a lump of almost pure stone had a marked resemblance to coal when wet. The supply position this winter shows little difference from that prevailing last winter, although vendors are finding it more difficult to obtain supplies of bright coal. If anything, the Southland output is higher . this year, but there has been a decline in the output of the Kaitangata mine, according to Dunedin merchants. There