The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-09-09
THE FUEL QUESTION.
Possible Exhaustion of the Present
Sources OF supply.

Sources or supply.
With the rapid extension Of the appli-
cation OF power to manufacturing, trans
portation, and all other industrial pur-
poses. the extent of our fuel resources
and the modes Of securing and using them
become Of the greatest importance. The
ease with which the different forms of
fuel have heretofore been secured in this
country has led, in many quarters, If
reckless waste and extrayagant modes OF
use, in the apparent belief that the stores
from which these sources of power have
been drawn were inexhaustible. No
greater error can be conceived than that
Of supposng the worlds supply OF fuel,
under the present systems OF transior-
nation OF energy, to be exhaustless in
amount. AS is well known, the total
available supply of English coal is rcli-
ably measurable, at the present rate of
consumption, in terms Of period Of
years which does not by any means
extend indefinitely into the future. A
very few years, indeed, have suiiiced to
practically exhaust our own natural gas
supply, although the most ruthless waste
has contributed largely to this result. 1t
is not impossible that the discovery Of
new fields may rcplenish the waning
store Of gaseous fuel, although that does
not now seem probable. A considerable
number OF oil fields have ceased TO yield
paying output, and many others have
reached the period Of decreasing produc-
ton. Although the prospect for the dis
covery and utilization of new oil centres
in different parts of the world is certain
ly encouraging, experience conclusively
shows that only limited supply in refer
ence To the worlds demands can be cx-
pected.
The case Is not so very different when
the matter Of coal supply is considered.
It is true that our soft coal is found in so
many locations and in such quantities
that it seems To be practically limitlcss;
and Mt the present rate of use it is so.
There Is every reason. however, to an
ticipate an increasingly rapid extension
of the application of mechanical power,
with a correspondingly enormous con-
sumption of fuel under the present modes
of use. If it were possible to estimate
this increased consumption for the next
century, on the one hand, and our avail
able soft-coal supply on the other, there
is no reason TO believe that the latter
would not be quite iinitely expressed in
terms of the former. Some really start
ling, though very conservative, results
were recently set forth 10y the Pennsyl-
vania commission appointed to investi-
gate the matter of waste in anthracite
coal mining. In the first place, ii was
shown that in the past not more than
about 30 per cent. of the actual coal in
the ground has been obtained for the
market by mining operations. The com
mittee believes that this percentage may
in the future he raised to 40 by rework-
ing the coal lands and by utilizing the coal
now in the culm banks. Even that gain,
however, leaves loss of GO per cent.
The full significance OF these figures
does not appear until they are made to
exhibit the total available remaining
supply in the three great anthracite dis
tricts. There remain in the Wyoming
district four and one-half times the
amount already mined, and in the Lehigh
district but two and one half times the
amount now mined, while the Schuylkill
district has been depleted of one fifteenth
only of its total store. The quantity
termed "mined" includes the 30 per cent.
available for market and the GO per cent
loss. 1t is thus seen that the supply of
anthracite coal is quite limited. Indeed,
view the whole question in any way that
we will, it is apparent that the present
system of utilizing power from its great
natural sources is such rs to make the
exhaustion oe our natural fuel supply n
mere matter of definite time.
1t is very probable, however, in fact
almost certainty at the present time,
that developments in the science of
energy will lead to direct aud vastly more
economical utilization of the power stored
in nature. The best of our present pro-
cesses are in reality excessively wasteful,
and would within definite period of
time exhaust the supply. But probably
no one can he found bold enough to pre-
dict that exhaustion and deny that fur
ther advances in science will not radical
ly improve our present methods and
virtually open new sources OF supply OF
power. 1t is only through such possible
avenues that escape from ultimate fuel
exhaustion can bc made, and they indi-
cate the way TO the most interesting and
remarkable scientific developments that
have yet been made.