The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-07-13

Foster Brown read a paper before a
recent meeting of the British assOcia-
tion, on the economic features of the
coal questions, which is of special IN
terest at this time. in view of the re-
port made by Henry S. Fleming, Sec
retary of the Anthracite Coal Opera
tors association, on the possibility of
selling anthracite coal in Europe. The
paper, in part, is:
1T was difficult to induce the public
of Great Britain to realize the supreme
importance of the fact that it was only
the best and cheapest of our coal re-
sources which supplied an existing out
put. Allowing for a small gradual in
crease of output from deep and in
ferior seams during the next fifty to
sixty years, and assuming an average
output for fifty years of best Goals
within a depth of 1000 feet at 220 000,
900 tons per annum, and exclusive OF
thin and inferior seams, we should
have exhausted eleven-ffteenths of our
best resources about the year 1850, and
arrived at a stage when our whole
annual output would be composed of
IL rapidly decreasing proportion OF
deep, thin or inferior Goals, and a pro-
portion of our cheapest worked Goals
would rapidly decrease. 1t would be
apparent, however, that at the end of
fifty years they would still have coal
resources remaining workable, it was
true at a gradually cost,
but sufficient for the supply of the
nation at an average output Of 100000
GOO tons year for upwards of a period
of go years.
INCREASED COST.
"But in working this very large resi-
dunn a greater cost in working, due to
natural causes, was inevitable, and
that this extra cost would gradually
increase year by year after the best
and cheapest Goals were exhaust
ed was undOubted, however success
fully the skill of the mining and me-
ChaniCal engineer might be brought tC
bear in mitigating this effect; and un'
less additional measures could bC
adopted outside the province of the
engineer TO COunteraCt it, by Cheapen'
ing the carriage of the coal on the
surface and reducing materially al
other charges, the effect of this in
.creasing cost would be of serious mo.
ment to the nation.
"The general cost Of our coal would
of course, increase in proportion to tho
percentage of thin and deep coal work
ed to the annual output. until the in
creased cost of the whole of our Goa
production due to natural causes Sucl
as depth, thinness of seams, etc
however much this might be neutral
lied by improved mechanical and min
ing would be so increased
as to seriously and permanently ham
per our progress commercially by in
Creasing the cost of navigating steam
ers and lessening thereby the amour
of our coal imports of raw materials
and food supplies, and generally gradu
ally taking from us for the benefit o
other nations our home and foreign
trade. 1t would, therefore, be con
Venient to consider in what direction
it might be practicable to improve tn
existing appliances for working Goa
and otherwise reduce the cost of work
ing deep and thin seams of coal in tn
future. The reader then enforced tn
necessity for economical improvement
in cOal-cutting machinery and i'm
provements in underground haulage.
ITO summarize, however, the posi-
tiOn of the cost Of working-whilst con