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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 1907)
9 WE WANT EVERY READER OF THIS PAPER TO PERUSE THE LETTER REPRODUCED HEREWITH, WRITTEN BY A "SLABWOOD DEALER" IN OSTRANDER, WASHING TON. WE ANTICIPATED THE GENTLEMAN'S WISHES AND SAVED HIM THE EXPENSE OF RUNNING AN ADVERTISEMENT IN THE PORTLAND PAPERS, FOR THE REA SON THAT WE WISH TO HAVE EVERY PERSON IN THE CITY KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING BEFORE HE INVESTS A FIVE-CENT PIECE IN THE STOCK OF THE CONSUM ERS' COAL COMPANY. WE ALSO ASK YOU TO READ THE LETTERS PRINTED HEREWITH, WRITTEN BY RESIDENTS OF THE VICINITY WHERE THIS COAL MINE IS LOCATED. WE ASK YOUR CANDID OPINION AS TO WHETHER THIS PROPOSITION IS CORRECTLY STATED IN OUR ADVERTISING. IF YOU ARE STILL IN DOUBT AND ARE SUFFICIENTLY INTERESTED IN THE INVESTMENT, GO WITH US ON QUR GRAND FREE EXCURSION NEXT SUNDAY. WE WARNED THE PUBLIC TO BE-S "VARE OF "KNOCKERS' AND OUR WARNING SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN WELL TIMED. THE -MORNING OREGOXIA3J. - FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 1907. EVERY A THIS ONE IS NAILED FOR A CERTAINTY! ' KELSO, Wash. The Consumers' Coal Co. Portland, Oregon. Dear Sirs I will say that I burned the coal which you are now about to open up for shipment on the Cowlitz River for two Winters in my own home. I can say that it gave good heat and made no smoke to soil or blacken the room, as many other coals' do. It is perfectly clean to handle and had good lasting qualities. As a domestic coal, we consider it all right. Yours respectfully, JAMES WALLACE. Mr. Wallace is one of the origiilal owners of the townsite of Kelso, Washington, and one of the most respected' men in that thriving little city. THIS OUGHT TO SETTLE IT STATEMENT MADE BY WILLIAM WEIGHT, MIKE EXPERT, OF OREGON CITY, FOREMAN OF THE MINERS THAT DROVE THE -MAIN TUNNEL FOR THE ANCHOR COAL COMPANY. AND STATE MINE INSPECTOR OF WASHINGTON IN, 1889-1890. "I was foreman of the mn who drove the lower tunnel for the Anchor Coal Company in 1892. I found plenty of good coal there. You say that there is 500,000 tons of coal in that property. I tell you that there is that much under two acres of it. That coal can be properly mined, shipped to Portland, and good money can be made by doing so. The coal in the 6haft is excellent, and there is a vein of five feet on the incline that gets better and better the farther back it goes. WILLIAM WEIGHT." ' HERE IS ANOTHER ONE THAT IS NAILED I KELSO, Wash., June 6th, 1907. The Consumers' Coal Co., Portland, Or. Dear Sirs With reference to my experience with lignite coal, I wish to sa that I have used it in my home in Kelso one Winter, at the time the mine located about two miles north of here was being operated, and the coal proved to be a very satisfacory fuel. It has good heating qualities, and is very clean to handle, much more so than any other coal I ever used, besides being much ' cheaper than any other, the coal at that time costing me only about $3 or $4 delivered at my house. Yours very truly, , S. S. STRAIN. Mr. Strain is president of the First National Bank, of Kelso, Washington, with a capital of $25,000. ' ACCOtHTa, ewsvs l..eumi. .. mmm mmmmrn ' J. ft. ...t.T.HT m.m, IIVCN TCRLT. . I MHtN. tarv OSTRANDER R'Y AND TIMBER COMPANY T,mtx tiunn, ,, LOS a TIKBERS k SPECIALTY June 4th, 1907. Tae Oregon rally Journal, OSTtAIPtR. WAS., 4 " Portland, Or. Dear "Slrsi- X notice a full-page ad of the Coasunere Coal Co la your paper xtf of yesterday, exploiting their property which is between this place and Kelso. Tale Is the property that was twned hy the Anchor Coal Ce about fifteen yr age and on which they hlw in considerable money, probably not leee than forty thousand dollars. They had the mine opened up, a railway from nine to Cowllts river, with eoal busker on bank of river and locomotive n and ears on I?y, but .when it eas to the point where they had to sell coal, they suspended without over end lag a barge load to the market, because, I believe, they could not sell their product at cost of raining and transportation. The coal was so poor la heat and had so much ash that It was nearly irtpos slble to make steam enough to run their locomotive with It when pulling no load, and it is commonly believed that they finally had wood cut to help turn the eoal in the locomotive. X will aot question the analysis made of the eoal by Saaataa Barael, also Greenly A Crawford there are some small streaxs of coal In the vela that would give above analysts , probably, poor' as It is. but' X do say that fir Slabwood Is a better fuel than the run of mine coal in the Vela they have pened sn and of the two, the slabwood is not only better but incomparr.bly better. wither they have anything better lower down, X ea sot prepared to eaj .frost Ft 2 r Or. Journal from Ustrandrr and TtmBrr Company, Oau knowledge, "but as Z spent some money prospectlag for eoal for ourloeeoiva use In various veins not far frora the Anchor Co property and did not 'find ' anything equal to green fir wood. It Is to be doubted if there is any coal la that or this vicinity that would pay operating expenses when opened. X do aot know the gentlttien who are rushlne this project. "z As the opening ef this coal prospect would mean more money and business In our county and. in. this vlolnlty, X have no riamsa reason to hinder then and mould not if they were using their own money -would rather help them --.but soeie protection - Is duo the washerwomen, school teachers tad , working people sant and others, who mrm apt to invest their hard earned money in a project that I believe will b total failure. This leaot written- for publication, but because X think you would not continue ah M in your paper that would result In loss to your renders who would invest thereby. However you are at liberty to show this letter to the Consumers Coal Co officials and if they want to. continue their ad in your p&per and you want t& carry their ad, will ask you for apace in your paper to make a proper state ment, similar to this -and if I do not get it will probably ask sane of the Oregonlan'. in doing so. will feel that X am askfag doing a duty X owe the public, unpleasant though it will surely "be. ' ' Respectfully Yours, IS. S. Collins, the signed author of the above letter, forwarded the letter to. the Oregon Journal. That paper, for the purpose of ascertaining the facts in connection with the advertising of the Consumers Coal Com pany, submitted the communication to the officers of the coal company. The nature of the communication was such that it was concluded to show the fair-mindedness of the company by publishing the letter in toto. The officers of the Consumers Coal Company have no more wish to misrepresent this investment than the papers of Portland have to become a party to it. The Consumers Coal Company, however, wishes to call ths attention of the entire Northwest to the fact that it has stated absolute truths in its published advertisements, while the statements contained in Mr. Collins' letter ars absolutely without foundation, as proven by his own reputable neighbors. The Consumers Coal Company further states that it positively does not desire to sell one penny's worth of stock to any man who wQl not take the time and trouble to visit the properties of the company and prove to his own complete satisfaction that E. S. Collins has misrepresented facts. Following the reading of the letter above, the officers of the Consumers Coal Company dispatched several gentlemen to the vicinity of the mine yesterday for the purpose of establishing the facts. The reports from these men are printed herewith. It was learned, among other things about Mr. Collins, to the satisfaction of the Consumers Coal Company, that there is a peculiar lack of sincerity in the "knock" and alleged fondness for the "dear public" that is quite out of harmony with other developments. This, then, explains the publication of the Collins letter. THIS WILL NOT TASTE GOOD! KELSO, Wash., June 6, 1907. My recollection about the coal taken from the Anchor 'coal mine, north of Kelso, is that it averaged up well with any coal I have ever seen on this Coast, and much better than the coal I have used the past Winter from the NORTHERN PACIFIC MINES. I am in the real estate business in Kelso. Have lived here 17 vears.v THOMAS M'DERMOTT. The above communication needs no dictionary or commentary to inter pret its meaning. It is the frank expression of a free American citizen. HE WORKED IN THE MINE 18 MONTHS! ' KELSO, Wash., June 6, 1907. To Whom It May Concern: .. This is to certify that I have worked in the Anchor coal mine eighteen months; I have used quite a lot of the coal, and I found it to be a good grade of fire coal. Respectfully, GEORGE M'CLELLON. NORTHERN PACIFIC CLOSED IT DOWN! KELSO, Wash., June 5, 1907, 4 Consumers' Coal Co., Portland, Or. - Dear Sirs It was with pleasure that I saw your ad. in The Oregonian, and I am satisfied that you have a good prospect. I visited the Anchor Coal Company when the prospect was in operation, and it has always looked to me that" the Railroad Coal Company had a hand in closing it down. I wish you success, as it means a good deal to Portland, Oregon, and Cowlitz County, Washington. Yours, M. BIXBY, JR. SATISFY YOUR OWN GOOD JUDG MENT BEFORE YOU INVEST A FIVE-CENT PIECE IN THIS PROPOSITION. For the purpose of demonstrating the falsity of the statements, made in the letter of E. S. Collins, as well as to prove the truthfulness of our advertisements, and for the further reason of alio wing-anybody interested in a coal-mine investment right at the threshold of Portland, we will run a grand free excursion to the coal mine next Sunday. The train will leave the Union Depot at 8:30 in the morning via the Northern Pacific. Trains will arrivein Portland in the evening at 8:15. Our office will remain open Saturday evening until 9 o'clock, where you may obtain your free round-trip tickets. See the mine; see the coal; see the im provements that have been made; see the tramway, the grade, the road, the houses and wonderful richness of the coal deposit, manifest at almost every step one takes over the ground. ' y ' - . GRAND FREE EX CURSION SUNDAY MORNING FROM UNION DEPOT AT 8:30 O'CLOCK. TICKETS AT OUR OFFICE UNTIL 9 P. M. SATURDAY. CON ME1S COAL CO.- COMMONWEALTH TRUST CO. FISCAL AGENTS COMMONWEALTH BUILDING
