Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-02-21


interesting:
"a short time ago we we're Informed,
with much natural citation, by the ship
ping agent Of the Pocahontas Coal CON-
pany, that be had sent This famous fuel
20 Quebec. going past the Nova Scotia
mines, and competing wish them In
their own market"
mature has given our favored land
the cheapest mined and the best coal In
the world, and a large part Of the
worlds markets win undoubtedly draw
their supplies 10 the future from our
mines. P0cahontas need have no fear
We see, indeed. from a circular just
received, that the great speed or the
steamer Majestic, TO the recent voy-
age across the Atlantic, 10 which she
beat the famous New York By several
hours, was made wish PocahOntas coal,
as have been aIl the recOrd-breaklng
voyages.
The REGISTER has found that among
the coal operators Of the State many OF
the best Informed have no fear Of free
coal and some of them think Il would
increase their business, while the ma
jority Of those who oppose il are Re
publicans. or the Democrats who are
lighting the Wilson bill on account Of
the coal schedule many have doubtless
been misled bg erroneous statements or
insufficient investigation, or are Ike
one prominent operator who told the
REGISTER that he had been a
Democrat for thirty years and is
one now but that be would confess be
hadn't the sense 20 see why competition
with Nova Scotia coal would not hurt
his business and therefore he wanted
the tariff kept on coal. Scattered
among the New and Kanawha river
operators are many Democrats who are
not In sympathy with those who are
protesting against free coal, but are
not taking any active part In the fight,
J for the reason that they do not con-
slider shat their business will be affected
in any way whether the tariff comes OF
or not. Prominent among the number
Of those who have no fear Of free coal
is ID. @. Boyce, general manager of the
Quinnimont Coal and Iron Company, az
QuinnimOnt, Fayette county, from
whom much Of the Information given
above was secured. Mr.. Boyce is not
Only q successful coal operator, but on
account Of kis knowledge Of the subjects
was selected as
COAL AND IRON ENPEEr
Of the Worlds Columbian Exposition,
and as such was To- charge of large
portion Of the big Mines and Mining
building. He is thoroughly competent
20 speak on either Of these subjects and
his opinions, supported as they are by
facts and figures, should have much
weight. Mr.. Boyce is firmly Of the
opinion that Nova Scotia coal can never
be sold TO competition with ours for
reasons given above. The great ex-
pense OF mining coal there" he says,
''the transportation charges and the in
ierior quality OF the Goals there as
shown by analyses made by Canadian
or British chemists. will always keep
that coal from active competition with
our own "COal in this country" he
adds, sis ike wheat; we produce more
of 10 than we can consume and sell 10
cheaper than 10 can b5 imported and
sold, and 10 doesn't make a particle Of
difference TO the operators whether
there s a tariff on coal or not. What
we have 20 look after is home cOmpet.-
tiOn. A great deal OF the New River
coal is cooked aud all of il might well
be, for there rs no finer COking coal on
the continent than ours, but the prln-
Cipal coke market Is IN Chicago, 10
Pittsburg and, roughly speaking, in
that part OF the United States
between these two places, which
is almost ont Of reach or
our product. Coke being used almost
entirely 10 she manufacture Of iron and
nearly all the iron of the country being
made in the section above referred 10,
West Virginia, or az least Ia our portion
of &C., is as practically shut out from the
coke markets OF the country as though
they we're protected by a duty Of so or
Is cents a ton. Mr.. BOyCe then re-
lated Instances Of the efforts Of West
Virginia coke men 90 get their product
into the western market, told Of his
own efforts 90 introduce his coke while
be was in Chicago during the fair and
iu position 20 make the acquaintance
OF the leading coke Consumers of the
country. West Virginia coke has been
used there and 10 has been uniformly
pronounced perfectly satisfactory and
as good as any coke that goes iutO Chi
cago, but the freights are too high to
let 10 compete with COnnellsville. All
the coke which has been sold there
FROM West Virginia has been sold at
very low prices for the purpose Of in
PRODUCING and testing 10 or has been
bought by Chicago people to Brighten
the Connellsvi.le producers and rail-
roads into lower rates
you may travel through the entire
south" continued Mr.. Boyce, 'and you
will not find q single steel mill, rail
mill, structural iron works, bridge
works, plate or bar mill, and the reason
is that there is no BeSSemer ore In the
South. Nothing could benefit the South
more than the establishing of BesSemer
iron works, nothing would provide a
better market for her cOking Goals or
bring more genuine prosperity 20 the
south, and for that reason l am heartily
ia favor Of the free iron clause in the
Wilson tariff DIN.
''In 1850 four States In the Appalach-
| ian field produced 9Sl per cent of all
I the coke made In the Union, viz: Penn
( sylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee and
Ohio. ranking in the order named.
I Pennsylvania made 2,S2l,3S4 tons in
1850 and S,32-6l2 tons in 1892, an in
crease OF 195 per cent and the amount
produced in that State in 1892 was 81
Der cent of an the coke made in the
United States. West Virginia made
/ has. 155 tons in 1850 and l,O34,75O tons
I in 1892, an increase Of G45 per cent.
l Notwithstanding this great increase
West Virginia surrendered second
place 90 Alabama, and
FELL BACK TO THIRD.