Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-05-11
Ho. tie Eaqu're'
J,ETTERS,
ON THE RESOURCES, IMPROVEMENTS N COM
MERGE OF vlRGLNTA.

me HtCEWoN" wa
Uses.
cortior;tv 70 cos,. or the means Of cheap and ready
ACCESS. at all seasone, is essential to every manuiactu-
ring and commercial community, ana inueeo 10 d."
where wood or other tuei IL scarce u
TO the manufacturing Industry especially IL coal al
item of vital importanee-without its AID the peculiar
wants of the nineteenth century conio NOT Do supPNeu
the potent virtues Of fire and water could not Do
fully realized; the mighty resources ~nion Nature
has placed at our disposal would remain undeVeioPeu'
II has been shown that tie tide. water cities OF 'lr'
eipis possess the advantages Of contiguity or access
to immense coal fields in a peculiar manner yet
are painfully aware that but ittle' II any oeuent 10
va, derived from the fact. This demands an investl'
cation. 1t appears strange that the pennsylvania
GOAL ia ussd to a greater extent 10 Richmond, and even
Lvnchburo. than our home Goals; that coal should be
brought 500 miles, from the mines OF Schuylkil coun.
~, Pa, and deposited here, almost at Inc NOUN VI
our pits, to the injury OF our own trade; that otuini'
mona coal should retail in Richmond higher than II
does in New York, though it is mined quo miles further
from the latter than the former city; this Il truly
astonishing, aud must appear strange indeed to those
not acquainted with the causes. 1t is not singular
that this fact should be urged by our rivals against
the claims of Richmond for manufacturing adVah'"'
pes. or that Alexandria should speculate on bringing
,b.;r cannon iron from our mountains, through Rich'
mon to supply the National Foundry ~ when aP'
noers N lie between us. But fortunately the remedy
of the evil ia az plain "a is causes, and We 90 mol Ill
ticipste any difficulty in proving, in the most satisi"''
,orv manner, that both coal and iron can aud Will oe
nrodu,sd in Richmond, nith fair profits to ihe pro-
drcsr. at lower prices than they can be delivered -"
,os, n snv other tide.water city in tho United States
The causes, or some of them, which teha 10 Keep up
the price Of coal in ichmon are:
lat. The quantity of coal mined ny each operator
ia too limited to pay even the extraordinary expenses
of deem mines, the drainage, ventilation, and the
steam power required for various purposes
ID. The quantity of coal produced is too limited 10
cheap transportation, since the carrying
companies must, like the miner. do a certain amount
of business before it can be- profitable.
Sd. The operator who has invested $lo,ooo, s"o'o'o
or 800, 900, in the coal business, must have his per
centsoe or profits. If be mines s, 10 or 2u,0OO tons
per annura, he must realize over 81 per ton on his
coal before his business will pay. II he could double
bls business he could materially reduce the price OF
his coal.
4tb, The modes Of drainage, of raising coal, and oil
ventilation, are, or have been, imperfect, faulty ana
very expensive.
5th. The system of mining and delivering the coal
from the "chambers, !" ~''upsets," "brea'ts' or lace
however locally named, to the bottom OF the pit or
slope, is old, expensive and slow.
9Th. Mining, az a science, scarcely exists IN the re-
zion; the services of mining engineers are moi VAIN,
ed, because they are not understood; correct plans Oh
mining operations cannot be obtained, therefore,
of tons of available coal have been lost,
and the miner ia always in danger from fire, black
damp" and water.
7tb. Hundreds of thoueands Of dollars have been
ipjudlciously spent in sinking shafts where they were
not REQUIRED, or where they were vhlueless IRON er'
ror in Locations; and this Improbable expenditure haS
resulted principally from an imperfect knowledge oil
Tho oaoloov of the coal field. Occasionally, the best
.no 49,. ..,oy erT, sno souetiioo 49, .---
NAV limit the operations Of the most practical, OF
scientific: but those causes should not be general.
We might add more, but the preceding will be
epougb to convince any one that we have room Tor
Improvement; and, with 80 many Inducements, and
an mapy advantages to compete with other regions
wa can ANTICIPATE notuinS wv
PRODUCTION of the same rays and means now EN-
ployed in other mining districts which enable Them 10
"serd their coal to Newcastle tRichrnond.) Inc
remedy then, il plain. IL the means and modern an
,rop,ueuts in mining, enable our n%eighbors TO pro-
Once coal, which is harder to dig, from mines equally
"a deep as oure, and transport 1t over 3oo mues 10 our
markets at a cost of nearly s. for transportation
alone, it is evident that the came means and I'm.
nroyernests, il employed here, would not only enable
ma n keen hack foreign coal, but TO send our coal 10
other markets, since we have the advantage OF the
Eastern markets over all other competitors. But In
order to uss this advantage we must mine coal ss
cheap az others. We will figure up, and see how the
comparison will stand; but, fret, we will state three
distinct propositions, or facts, since they must DC ad-
mItted. Anthracite coal costs more to mine, the world
over, than bituminous coal. The actual cost OF both,
respectively, delivered in boats or care at the mines'
ready for transportation, without rents or royalty,
stands thus: In France, bituminous costs an average
of 81 90 per ton; anthracite 81 Is. In England, bi.
costs IS cents per ton; anthracite 81 Co.,
AT the Frostburg, Maryland, mines, the actual cost OF
putting coal, (biturninous,l in the cars ready for snip
ment, ranges from GU to IS cents per ton. AT ftts'
burg, il is about the same. Anthracite, prepared
from the deep mines of Pennsylvania, costs about
81 90 per ton; from the mines absve water level and
from the larger seams, the cost is from IS to % cents.
Those items include every cost except profit, rent,
transportation anu transhipments.
The second proposition ia, that the price OF labor
ia higher at the mines of the North than at the Sonth.
White miners at the North generally average 81 81
,z.l.n Slauao poet tho pmnlnvar If hirpd. from
Is cents to 81 per day. The third proposition is this:
cost of establishing a colliery i'll the anthracite
regions is greater, at present, than the cost OF es'ao-
fishing one here, from the great sxpenee which the
m machinery for breaking and cleaning coal incurs. A
coliery there, capable of producing from seventy hve
to one hundred thousand tops per annum, would not
cost less than the same number OF dollars or even
more in the deep basins. A colliery here, capable OF
doing the same business, would not coat more than
from fifty TO seventy five Thousand dollsrs.
We will now compare this region with that, CD a
par, since our coal eearns are not 80 regular as the
coal seams of the anthracite formations are.
In getting at the actual cost Of producing coal, in
order to find out where or in what item We lose, We
must 90 into detail, and analyze the modes and cost
of mining in both regions.
Ii we will select a deep slope, a shaft near Pot'F-
vile, Pa, and take the average cost, for a series OF
years, il vii stand thus:
Cost of producing Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal:
Per ton.
Cost of mining teScavating, coal in the mines, so,35
Removing and raising it to tho surface, 10
and material, dead work, &c, 10
Drainage. ventilation, wear and tear. 60, 10
Rreak;po CLEANING and shipnjnp. Is
erinteudence, contingent, expenses, &c. -
Actual cost at the mines, without rent, ~
Cost Of producing Richmond Bnuminous Coal at
present:
Per bushel. Per ton.
Cost of mining coal los $O.45
Removing and and raising to surface LOO 80
Timber, material, dead work, &c. u Is
Drainage, ventilation, wear and tear,