, 1865-11-21
THE ANTHRACITE COAL MONOPOLY.

| a tRuk On LCdsG NO. 13+ ttOlmQc0 Fat1l
| bursted yesterday Sunday and about "
barrels OF oil ran into the creek.
| THE ANTHRACITE COAL MONOPOLY
| ENORMOUS Profits Of the Mines In East
| crn Pennsylvania,
(Ffom the Buffalo Commcrrtal Ad1crti6cr1
The first considerable enterprises In miniu
anthracite coal and sending 1t to market wer
commenced about the yeaf lS25, In the Schuyl
XII, Lchlgh and Wyoming coal fields respect
iyely- The early growth Of the coal tradc Wa
| slow, since there was an abundance Of wood i
the country, and prejudice existed agains
coal heat: There were. too, wanting the me
chnnfcM facilities for the consumption Of coal
Long since the prejudice against coal heat wd
overcome, and most OF the wood Of the c0un
Try that " as accessible and arailable for us
Is fuel has been consumed. As aconsequenc
the consumption OF coal was fesorted to I,
satisfy the now necessity; and as Invention
keeps pace with new demands, there are nov
everywhere to be obtained all tile necessar,
appliances for the consumption Of this new
fuel, from tile coa1-rnnge aud coal-furnace Il
the coal-burninE locomotive.
1nasmuch as the consumption Of coal hnl
become prime necessity It would be Idle K
consider Its advantages Al compared will
wood, and yet It may not be nmiss TO nott
the fact that lta use presents peculiar ndTan
lagos, 10 wit, more intense heat and a NOR
even temperature, aud where a limited spact
for the deposit Of fuel Is an important consfd
eration, as It is on board of steam vessels, or
the locomotive, in the city mandatory, and
and these peculiar advantages, have natural
1y and necessarily made coal = staple In out
markets, and its trade very considerable
item Of commerce
The incrcnse Of the demand for coal has
been In proportion to the growth Of popula.
tion to The increased mcans Of transportation
from the coal field to market, and To the null
tiplicatton Of inventions for its use In the arts
and IN our ateam marine. It Is proposition,
readily seen, TINT the increase OF the supply
must have been very great to keep pace with
such an increase OF demand. II the capitalist,
or the Idle traveller, will visit the coal fields
11 ron n tsa n es 1a sny apthrnSts Sh si
zee that the ahafts haye been sunk, tun-
nels driven, and coal-roads constructed Mt d
most rapid rate within the last few years,
and yet the prices Of coal, to-day, al
the pocket of the breaker md In every coal
market, show coucluslveIy that the supply is
not equal 10 the demand, or else that this
staple Is controlled BY few monopolfsts who
dictate prices without respect to the law Of
trade. There Is no more necessity for q
charge Of Gig per ton for coal in Buffalo thnu
there Is for a charEe of Sc for bushel of
what. The tnadequacy Of the supply OF coal
nccessiiatas high prices, but 1t Is evident that
this staple Is held at exaggerated rnles under
the rule Of wealthy monoPolfsts, who, few In
number, easily control the market.
Tue consumption OF coal during the war by
cur naval vessels was estimated to be equal to
the entire capacity Of the Reading Ra1lroad,
which IS tho great artery between the Schuyl-
KIN field and the city Of Philadelphia. But
10 VT
Government may not be so heavy q buyer
as belorc,) since these vessels aso either
stlll engaged rs an arm Of the National
service, OF have been transferred to the
merchant service, and are doing duty in
Our coastwise and foreign lines. The most
cursory examination will discover the tact
tSht the production Of coal is Inadequate to
that lis further production Is public nccessl-
ty. While such Is the condition of the sup.
ply and demand for this staple, there can be
no hazard In investing In coal lands and col
1ferirs- The coal developed. and the mnchin-
cry for It's preparation for market constructed,
Buffalo Elevator. Il Is as certain In It's ex-
istence and MS certain In its value. When
wheat and coal cease to be a staple Of con-
sumption they will both alike cease to be Of
any value. That period Is likely to arrive
when the bodies Of men require neither food
loI Mke+nNA 1uGl HoT uEst LOT eAleFnnl WQfInLl.
But considered financially, we state fact as
test Of the character Of tho coal trade, and
In this we nddtess the statement to the capi-
ta1ists. II la this: TINT there has been more
money mn1e within the last few years In the
coal trude than In any trade In tho United
States, In proportion to its extent and the cap
ital invested. 1t Is 4 trade more reliable In lis
product than traffic In wheat crop, varying
according as the season has been favorable OF
tnfnypfat1e Thh cna1 Inns heeY dauositc5 in
its present ssbins - for Thousands OF years, and
nothing less than convulston Of nature can
destroy 1t. The demand for It we know has
outstrippcd the supply, aud the prices have
been, and must continue TO be, under ruling
law Of trnde, when such is tho disparity In the
supply, whatever Tue producer and operator
choose to exact out.
But as results arc first looked at BY the
capitalist, We point to tue published incomes
Of the coal operators IN the coal regions, the
few who live where their operations n1e car-
ried on. The figures gre surprising, ranging
from So5, Geo to over half million per annam.
1t is to be observed that these are tie incomes,
not of the great capitalists who live In New
York, Boston. phffadejphia and Baltimore,
and have i millions invested IN int The coal fIeid
and in The Great coal railway avenues. There
Is NOT, today, we'll managed colliery in Tho
coal field which Is not payin, one hundred per
cent per annnm on The total capital Inyested.
There are feeble operations struggIinr for
want of capital. or for means of fTans6orta-
ton; and others that arc suffering from want
of convenient arrangement, or from want
Of skllful management, hut the statement
above made Is susceptible Of the clea1est
proof ASH paturcl incfient of This statc Of
ihe. coal traffic, the coal onerntnr NJ fhe
Inst few years has been increasing his invest
nents. buyinr cnal lands, snne NJ which
are beyppd railroad lines and which he az.