Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-08-31
THg EDITORIAL EXCURSIOy,
Tennessee Editors Away from
Home.
A Jaunt Through the Coal
and Iron Regions of
Pennsylvania. a.-

Some Facts About the Production of
Coal and IrOn-What Might be
Done for pTennessee-BFOad Top
Mountain and Its Railroad Plane
-Mauch Chunk and It's Gravity
Railroad.
To the Editors of the Union and American:
MAUoH CHUNK, Pa, Aug %, ISL
The excursion party, availing themselves
of the invitation extended by the Phila-
delphia and Reading aud Lehigh Valley
Railroads, left Philadelphia Tuesday af
ternoon for a jaunt through the coal and
iron regions of Pennsylvania. These
roads penetrate one of the wealthiest re-
gions of the State, and perhaps one of the
widest. If it was not for the coal and
iron which this section produces it would
be indeed a barren porti n of country,
for it would produce scarcely any thing
in the way OF grain, and grass. 1t is
true the lumber trade of this section
amounts to considerable sum, but that
is ga drop in the bucket" as compared
with what is dug out of the earth. The
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad has
branches, which tap the coal
regions of Scbuylkill, Northumberland,
Columbia and Dauphin counties, while the
Lahigh Valley road and it's connections
are extensive coal and iron region.
These roads furnish rapid transportation
for immense quantities of coal. 1t was
no unusual thing to pass trains of coal
cars a quarter of mile long.
or
A few statistics will show the immense
wealth of this region. There were in
SchuylkiD county in 1870, 1873 colIieries,
in which were mined and sent to market
3,13S, 429 tons of coal; in Northumberland
county, 80 collieries, which sent to market
1,O2O,7 tons; in Columbia county, 9
collieries, which sent to market 800, SCI
tons; in Dauphiu county, 4 cOllieries,
which sent to market 10 1870, 453, 8l7
tons of coal. 1t thus appears that these
four counties sent to market in 1870,
1922, $40 tons of coal. In 1870, eleven
firms mined and sent to market from
the Lehigh region, 2,155, 707 tons of
coal, and twenty four operators sent
$3.50, 49l tons, averaging 120, GOO tons
to each colliery. The total amount of
coal sent to market from the
entire State foots up nearly
90, 900, 900. It thus appears that
the region through which we passed pro-
duced nearly one halt the coal cent TO
market last year. The quantity of coal
shipped from Philadelphia last year
amounted to nearly 100000 tons, over
l, 700, 900 tons of which was sent to east
ern markets, and only 1S2, 900 were sent
south of Pennsylvania. The consump.
ton of coal in Philadelphia was over
10000 tons. The average price of
coal during the pact year was 81 80 per
ton. Including the oil product, the coal
fields of Pennsylvania yield an immense
sum, and the profits on the coal and oil
are greater than on the cotton produced
by any Southern State. 1t is estimated
that the increase in the flow of oil in
Pennsylvania since 1867 has been
nearly fifty per cent. aud with a
larger demand the flow might be To-
creased almost Indefinitely. These facts
and figures show what a source of wealth
to Pennsylvania are her coal fields. There
are employed in the counties of Schuyl-
kill, Northumberland, Columbia, and
Dauphin, $4,000 men and boys in and
about the collieries. These counties
mined in 1870, 6,166, 500 tons, of which
about l, 346, 900 tons was consumed in
those counties. This gives 1877 tons
mined to each MAJ and boy in Schuylkill
county, and 236 tons to each in the other
counties. The time devoted to labor av-
erages about seven and half hours per
day. There are employed il the cOllierit S
IN Schuylkil, Northumberland, Columbia
and Dauphin counties 593 steam engines,
having On aggregate horse power Of over
10000. There are also employed in this
district over 2, 500 horses and mules. In
Schuylkill county alone there are 423
miles of underground railroad, required
TO operate the mines in the county. The
rails used on these roads are generally
twenty-five pounds to the yard, and have
to be renewed about every four years.
These statistics will give the reader some
idea of the importance of the coal trade
of Pennsylvania.
THE IRON PRODUCT.
There are immense furnaces and roll
ing mills on the line of the roads ever
which we passed. The pig iron product
of Pennsylvania in 1859 amounted TO
692, 739 tons, of which 800, GIG tons was
in the Lehigh region, and $50, 408 10 the
Schuylkill region. 1t thus appears thas
more than five-eighths of the iron pro.
duct of Pennsylvania comes from the
section through which we passed. Penn
sylvania produces about one-third of the
pig iron made in the United States.
This branch Of manufactures exhibits
the greatest growth on the L9high.
Within the past three years fourteen
large furnaces have been erected in that
locality, increasing its capacity about
40, 900 year. The product of the
older furnaces has been increased
materially by new appliances, enlarge,
ments, etc. In the Schuylkill region the
average annual increase for the past six
years has been little over sixteen per
cent. The capacity for this region is set
down at fully $50, 900 tons.
A CONTRAST.
The coal and iron of Pennsylvania
have made this State wealthy and a great
power iu this nstion. Why may not
Tennessee become equally wealthy and
great? We have in our mountains more
and better iron, while our coal fields are
SO iDterspersed with the iron beds as to
give us a decided advantage over Penn
sylvania in this respect. the furnace to
make pig iron may be so placed as to al
most dump the ore and coal into the stack
without transportation. We need men OF
enterprise and capital to develop the iron
and coal of Tennessee, which is more
valuable than the gold of California.
Here in Pennsylvania whenever a rich
coal or iron mine is discovered and the
fact demonstrated, about the next thinG
that is done is to construct q railroad to
that paint so as to place the mine within
easy and rapid communication with Phil
adelphia. Capitalis rarely wanting to build
g road in such cases. The Philadelphia
and Reading Railroad Company have bull
dozen or more branches to afford better
facilities for transportation in just such
cases as this, The Lehigh Valley Rail
road Company are equally as wide awake
on this subject, 20 that no district in the
mining region through which we passed ii
lacking in transportation facilities. The
superiority of our iron and the inexhaus,
tlb!e quantities of both iron and coal il