This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ...an actual coal shortage, but a shortage of coal at circular. Considerable data on retail prices were secured by the Commission from 14 retail companies in Boston. A summary table presents in a brief form the minimum and maximum of the purchase prices, sales prices on different classes of business, and the gross margins on each class of business. (See Table 33 below.) It also shows the average cost of all coal sold during-the four months. In Table 34 is shown the purchase price of coal in the yard, the sales price, and margins for each of these 14 dealers: This information is by grades and sizes and by months from September to December, 1916. The classes of business covered are (1) household trade, being sales to domestic consumers, the prices being those for sidewalk or chute delivery, in the zone of normal length haul, without charge for carrying into the cellar; (2) industrial contract trade, being sales to industrial plants, institutions, hotels, apartments, etc.; (3) yard trade, where sales are made at the yard, usually to peddlers, and consequently exclude any charge for hauling. For two companies (Nos. 13 and 14) sales prices were secured in the form of a weighted average price on all delivered business, and for these two companies and for company No. 12 they were secured in the form of a weighted average price on business of all classes. Though included in the following summary, these items do not refer to all 14 companies but only to the companies indicated. In the summary table the gross margins are in each case the gross" margin on the class of business just preceding. Thus, in September, on broken coal the first minimum gross margin shown ($1.54) is that on household trade, being the margin between $4.79, the cost price, ...