Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-02-13
Or Two Dollars in Advance.
NUMBER T..
Tha sf.ga.asisy OF Ire Coal Trade.

4
We have read, with interest, the memo
| rial Of tie coal and iron mpanies-owners
and operators of 4ha scmi-bituminous coal
lands in the counties Of Hampshire and
/ Hardy, III Virginia, and Allegheny county,
10 Mary,nfd-for aid from the State in the
completion Of tie Alexandria, Loudoun and
land Hampshire railroad. Referring to the
valuable mineral res urces Of these eoun-
tics, they say hat during the past year,
notwithstanding the great depression in bus
mess, there las been mined ard delivered
from these counties, to the Baltimore aud
Ohio railroad, and the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal, about 100000 tons Of coal That
the superior and valuable character Of this
coal, for steam and manufacturing purposes,
continue constantly to attract CONSUMERS,
end that its recent Introduction, in this Coun-
try, into locomotives at ! saving over wood
OF 10 per cent, promises to increase de
Inand which already exceeds the means Of
transportation; thatthe Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company declared that they have
| now as much Of this freight as their ether
trade viii permit them to handle, with the
motive power at their command , and that
the revenue yielded by it to that road dur
ing its last fiscal year, was 81 $40, 000.'--
That your petitioners have large amount
Of capital invested, and are prepared to fur
nish any quantity Of coal as soon as they
have adequate means Of transportation. -
That the Alexandra, Loudoun and Hamp-
shire railroad has been commenced, and s
in process Of construction to the Cumber-
land coal field at Piedmont, and when com
pleted, by enabling your petitioners to trans
Port coal to Alexandria, at a much less cost
than to any other shipping port. viii at
once secure itself an ample revenue. That
this would make All xandr;a a great coal
depot, second only to Philadelphia, and, as
experience proves that the centres for coal
and iron, soon become manufacturing cen
tres, Alexandra viii, in consequence, be-
come a large manufacturing city"
Thc memorial above referred 10, togeth-
CT with the Interesting and valuable tabu-
lar statement suhjoinod, showing the a.
mount Of coal tfour hundred and twenty
six thousand, eight handred and three
tons.) transported from Che Cumberland
coal region during the past year, will con
vey an idea of what a vast quantity of that
material must inevitably be received annu-
ally at Alexandria, so soon as the Alexan-
dria, Loudoun and Hampshire railroad shall
be completed, its terminus being thirty
five miles nearer tide-Water than Bait
more.
It should be borne in nliad, however,
that the consumption Of this semi bitumi-
nous, IS well as all other varieties of coal,
IS continually on TIE increase and is only
limited by the price at which it can be af-
forded TO the consumer. The thousand
/ per cent increase is tie demand for miner
al fuel for our steamships, furnaces, gas
works, factories, foundrics, workshops and
fire sides, IS enough to startle the timid
mind and lead it to conceive that, if we go
on at this destructive rate of burning up the
bowels Of eur mother earth, the day is near
at hand whom she will in reality be destroy
cd BY fire.
For instance, according to the tabular
statement. in the year 1916, this Cumber-
land coal trade may be said to have com
menced. That year thc-a were brought to
tilewater only 49, 1893 tons and during the
past year the quantity had increased to 426,
SOB tons. Again, a table Of anthracite
coal statistics, before us, shows that during
the year 1920, when the anthracite coal
trade commenced, there were mined and
brought to market only 365 tons and that,
during the past year 6,764,587 (nearly
| aeren n,illion) tens Of that coal were trans
ported from the Pennsylvania mines to the
board, to supply the wants of our At
lantic cities.
These data furnish ample material for so
Der reflection on tie subject of the final
comb ustion Of cur little planet, and should
not be overlooked by those who believe in
the ultimate destruction Of all things. 70
our Legislators these statistics present food
for serious meditation on the question Of a
steady continuance and completion of our
main rail roads Rich. Enquirer