Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-18
NEED. OF THE CANAL
Emphasized by the Present Situation
of the Coal Trade.
OPERATORS OF WEST VIRGINIA,
With Cheaper Production, Reaching Out fol
Lake Business
LOWER FREIGHT RATES WANTED NOW

Said gentleman interested in the coal
ginia operators are playing the deuce with
Pittsbnrg operators who ship to Lake Erie,
and the only thing that will prevent disas-
ter will be reduction in freight of 20 cents
| ton by the Pennsylvania Company
Freight charge must come down 80 to 20
cents, or Pittsburg operators will be obliged
to give up the lake trade. A very
slight knowledge of arithmetic, added
to ordinary intelligence and common sense,
will explain how it is that the operators in
the West Virginia fields near Morgantown
and bordering on this State, including such
powerful capitalists as Senators Davis and
Camden and Secretary Elkins, can get away,
hands down, with Pittsburg.
"In the first place, Pittsburg coal costs
the owners from S1OO to $500 an acre, while
West Virginia coal is only 500 an acre. Sec
ondly, Pittsburg operators must pay 70
cents ton for mining. while West Virginia
operators pay 80 cents ton, and at that
price their miners can make as much
money as Pittsburg miners. Thirdly, Pitts
burg coal veins are but four feet thick,
while these West Virginia veins are Z
to 10 feet thick. Fourthly, it costs as
much in the way of machinery to operate a
try ways cost as much in developing a f.
foot vein as in 10-foot vein.
The Same Amount of Work Required.
'It requires as much work on the part of
a miner to cut under a 4-foot vein pre-
paratory to dropping his coal as to do
the same thing under a 1O-foot vein.
A 4-foot vein yields 1000 tons to the
acre, while these West Virginia
mines yielded from 1000 to 10000 tons.
Finally when the mines are worked out
your tipples and other machinery necessary
to abandone has put out double the amount
of coal in West Virginia as in Pittsburg
territory. Pittsburg coal costs the oper-
ator in some cases 10 cents a ton, while the
West Virginia operator at $40 an acre gets it
for a quarter of a cent ton.
Snow all these things taken together
enable the West Virginia operator to lay
down coal in Cleveland at 81 II per ton.
coal over a 214-inch screen, and, taking
freight into consideration. he can compete to
an extent that leaves but S71z cents net for
Pittsburg coal over " screen. As mining
costs 79 cents and the coal 10 cents you see
there is a loss of IL cents per ton in compe-
tition with these West Virginia people.
The Difference in Quality
'It is true that Pittsburg coal is superior
for both gas and coke-making to the West
Virginia article. Coke can be made of the
latter, but it is of poor quality, but for
making steam and for heating purposes
generally it is superior, at the price at
which it can be laid down at the lake, to
Pittsburg coal. As said before, the Penn
sylvania Company might relieve US by re-
ducing freight 20 cents ton, but that is
the only thing that can save us. for the
West Virginia miner can make as much
money mining coal there at 80 cents ton,
or even less-he really gets but cent
bushel-as the Pittsburg miner can at 79
cents a ton, and if the latter be squeezed
down to lower rate of compensation the
former will also be reduced to correspond"
In view of this statement, the need of
ship canal to the lake is more than ever ap-
parent. By canal coal could be sent to
the lake for 20 cents ton and ore could be
brought back for the same price, and when
it is considered that Buffalo and the lake
cities generally are determined to wrest from
its manufacturing supremacy if
possible, an expenditure of $40, ,000, 900 would
be mere bagatelle in the way of preven-
lion.