The Portland daily press., 1899-02-22
NO ANTHRACITE coal AFTER 2oe3.
Interesting Mathematical calculations
by aLsekawanna Valley Operator.

scranton, Pa, Feb. id-"Of course,
said Lsckawanna Valley coal operator.
who has q turn fol- statistics, ''it won't
make IA great deal of difference to us what
kind of fuel people then ON earth will be
using, but you may set IL down for fact
that posterity won't broii its chops nor
toast It's shins by the heat of anthracite
coal later than the year s06S. have
| figured it all out ana know what am
talking about.
Everybody knows or ought to know,
that there is no anthracite coal wor tn
speaking about outside of Pennsylvania,
and only In this favored corner of Penn
sylvania, at that Now, the boundaries
of the anthracite coal areas are defined
with such mathematical certainty that,
basing my calculations on the known or
estimated depth. dip. thickness and ex
tent of the coal deposits. l am able to
figure out that before any anthracite coal
was taken from our mines we had the
neat little storage there of 1900, 900, coo
tons to draw from.
The anthracite coal trade was horn in
1870, and, the market demand being then
as much as one ton day, the busy opera
tors then in the field sent SOS tons from
Carbon county, down the Lehigh and
Delaware rivers to supply that demand.
Then, in 1872. Schuylkill county began to
deluge the country with anthracite, and
threw something like 800 tons on the
market that year. In 1899 the Delaware
and Hudson Canal Company began tear
ing up the coal veins on the northern
boundary of the field in Luzsrne county,
"A 60 .aF
in twelve months These three counties
marketed $50, 000 tons in the ensuing ten
years, but during the ten years following
that decade they sent out over 1000, 600
tons. AT the end Of thirty yeah they had
taken out of the mines and sold 20, 600, 600
tons. AT the beginning of the civil war
there had been but so 900, 900 tons removed
from the original deposit, leaving hole
In the big Pile under ground something
like what a mouse hole in a cheese would
be in comparison. But with the coming
of the war anthracite began TO boom, and
In ten years 10000, 600 tons more were
mined and sold than had been handled
in all the forty preceding years Of the
trade. Since then the value of authra-
cite coal has been SO generally recognized
that at the close Of business in 1898 the
deposit had been reduced by not less than
l, 900, coo. 900 tons.
Just imagine a diagram TO represent
the IL, 0OO, 0tD,OOO tons that We started ous
with divided Into 800, 900. 900 tons each
or ono twenty SIXTH of the whole Two
OF these lots or squares in the diagram
would show the hole We have been sew
enty eight years III digging in the pile, 80
that you can see what thers is left for
future requirements. According to that,
it looks as If posterity would be pretty
well fixed for anthraci 70. after all, DOESN'T
1t! There are twenty-four sections left,
which, say, at seventy five years apiece
would carry anthracite fuel along for
!, 200 years to come. But, unfortunately
for posterity, we are using more than 30
GOO, 600 tons year at present ourselves,
a percentage of increase which enables
me, basing my calculations on the natural
necessities of the future, TO figure with
ease that on the LIST day of January, 1910
another section of the diagram would be
marked off, showing that the total of
!, 500, 600. 900 tons will have been removed
from the original deposit of coal. That
will leave still the comforting pile of III :
500, Oo0, 600 tons. But just see how poster
ity will get away with that tremendous
heap OF coali
~ am willing to give posterity the BEN
ett of any possible doubt on the subject
OF the future increase in the use of an
thracite and will stop at an average An
nual output of $4,000. 900 tons from the
year 1910 until the last year of the anthra-
cite age. Now, see when the year 1910
comes ne will have been ninety years in
reducing 800, 900, 900 tons of anthracite
coal to ashes and cindsrs. Then posterity
gets In its work, and in great deal less
than twice ninety years will have ex-
hausted the pile. eleven billions five
hundred million tons of coal, used at
the rate of 10000, 600 tons a year, will
last only So years and three months aud.
taking all things into consideration. pos
terity viii therefore carry its coal scuttle
TO the coal bin for the last time tsay,
about April l, 206S."