If anyone doubts this deterioration it would
be well for him to examine reports on coal and steam trials. He
will be unusually fortunate if he finds so small a deterioration as
10 per cent. The lowest that I can remember having seen reported
is 20 per cent.; reports of 30 and even 40 per cent. are quite
common. Some of it is for deterioration due to climate and length
of time in store. This, of course, is one of the inevitable
conditions of the secondary base system, the object of which is
to keep in stock a quantity of the article needed. Putting the
purchase price of the coal as low as 15s. a ton, a deterioration
due to repeated handling only of 10 per cent. on 50,600 tons
would amount to L3795.
There is nearly always some loss of coal due to moving it. I
say 'nearly always' because it seems that there are occasions
on which coal being moved increases in bulk. It occurs when
competitive coaling is being carried on in a fleet and ships
try to beat records. A collier in these circumstances gives out
more coal than she took in. We shall probably be right if we
regard the increase in this case as what the German philosophers
call 'subjective,' that is, rather existent in the mind than in
the external region of objective, palpable fact. It may be taken
as hardly disputable that there will be less loss the shorter
the distance and the fewer the times the coal is moved. Without
counting it we see that the annual expenses enumerated are--
Establishment charges L6,500
Landing and re-shipping 5,060
Deterioration 3,795
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L15,355
This L15,355 is to be compared with the cost of the direct supply
system.
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