Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1859-08-18
The Coal Trade of Pittsburs.

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take the subjoined interesting and satisfactory
article upon "1he Coal Trade of Pittsburg."
The Gazette it will be observed, goes min
utcly and deliberately into the matter, and
makes the grand aggregate of the coal trade
of Pittsburg for the last year, including "lo-
cal stations not far from the city" 2,0G4, 594
tons. The Gazette says:
MIR Thurston, the Secretary of the Pitts
burg Board of Trade; estimates the coal min
ed in the vicinity of Pittsburg,' in 1858. at
81 III ,22o bushels, or 3,306, $40 tons. This
the Philadelphia Mining RcgiStc, disputes, as
being enormous, and says:
Our accredited aggregate for 1858 of | AZ.
27s may be somewhat below the genuine az
gregate of the entire coal trade at Pittsb,rg
for that year; but that the genuine aggregate,
if ascertaned, would represent the quantity
put down by T., to wit: 3,30S,S49 tons, or
near one-half that quanty, we have not tho
rcmotcst belief.
And, in expressing this opinion, we have
not the least intention to underrate the mag
nitudc of the coal trade of Pittsburg, which
is stupendous and magnificent trade, even
when limited to its real totals; our sole pur-
pose is to discourage practice Of exaggera-
ton in many cases Fundamentally INDUCED,
no doubt, yet which even by this occasional
exercise, teuds to Drug reproach and discred-
it upon the entire department of statistical
matter,
The register suggests that the true way OF
arriving at the figures, is To ascertain the a
mount really received here from all sources
by river and by rail-and the amount used
for manufacturing and local purposes, and
thus show in aggregate, the amount mined
within the region near the city. Noting the
wide difference between the two estimates, and
believing the one as much too high as the other
is too low, we have put ourselves to some
trouble in hunting up statistics on the subjcct.
and they justify our convictions.
The amount consumed for domestic pur-
poses cannot be ascertaiued, positively In
the city proper all the coal sold to domestic
consumers is sold by weight, and is weighed
upon the city scales. This does not include
coal delivered Oh con tinuous contract to man.
ufacturers and other large cos sinners, the city
ordinance exempting all coal $, delivered
from its operations. In the returns made by
the weighmaster at these scales, for the year
1853. we have therefore, the amount of coal
delivered to domestic consumers during that
period, within the nine wards Of the city
This amount according to figures obtained at
the Controller office, was 2 500, 720 bushels.
Outside of the city, coal is delivered by the
measure of the vehicles delivering it, of which
no record is kept; but as the population out .
is about equal to that of the city proper, we set
down domestic consumption at the same as
the city proper, making the total 1885, 4i0
bushels.
The amount consumed by manufactures,
we are enabled to learn pretty correctly by
4 tae .n t;...;.e
burg as it is. From that VIC learn that in
1867 the rolling mills consumed G,1s7, 515
bushels; the glass factories, 1920 sos bushels
and the other factories of various sorts, g.
S47, 5S4 bushels. There has been an increase
since then, both in the plumber Of factories
and the amount consumed; allowing ,OOO,-
900 bushels for this increase, and 100000
bushels for the amount used by steamboats,,
gas factories and water works, and we have
a grand total of 1855, 767 bushels used in
manufactures. &c.
The Monongahela Navigation Company
brought down in 1858, 25,G9G,GG9 bushels,
of which 81 81 500 bushels were for export
below. There was also shipped in boats and
barges from below the dams OF the Navigation
Company, 1921 ,66G bushels, making the to-
tai shipped below, %, 1913, 235 bushels.
Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad Company
carried west from the city, during 1858, 3d.,
$50 ton; the Pittsburg and Cleveland Railroad
carried west 2S,8 tons; the Pennsylvania
Railroad carried east mot exactly from Pitts
burg, but from local stations not far from the
city, 1885 tons, and $4,000 tons for its own
use; and the Beaver and Erie Canal carried
$4,000. Total, 342, 100 tons which at 26ss
bushels TO the ton, gives us s, 400, 423 bushels.
We have not included in this estimate the a.
mount mined and used in manufacturing in the
large number of factories and furnaces scatter
ed over Western Pennsylvania within so miles
Of the city because, firstly, we have no data
and secondly, it does not so properly belong
to the total as the items we have enumerated
We have also omitted the amount brought
to the city by various railroads, because the
amounts so received were either locally con-
sumed or shipped west, and therefore includ-
ed in other computations.
To sum up therefore, we append table of
the various items given above:
Shipped west by river 25,lss,2 2s5 bush.
d" north by canal 1871, 900 /"
" east by railroad 2,316,302 "
Consumed by Pennsylvania
Railroad 2,1o7 600 "
Local domestic consumption $3.50, 44O "
Local consumption in facto-
ries 14,s55,7s7
Total 64.367.632 /"
Which, reduced to tons, gives us grand total
of2,o64 .694 tons. We believe that this is a fair
approximation to the actual figures close an
approximation as it is possible to get As the
heJisfer says, the total il n large one from