The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-07-07
lis SECOND IN COAL.
UNITED STATES ALMOST LEADS
THE WORLD IN OUTPUT.
VIII Snon Have FIRST Placc-Grcat
Britain Alone Exceeds This Country
in Amount Of Hard Fuel Production
Only Fourth as Exporter.

The coal production and consump.
tlon OF the world during the last if
teen years are presented in some ia
bles just prepared by the treasury bu-
reau of statistics. These show that
while the United Kingdom is still the
largest coal producer in the world, the
United States is a close second, and if
the present rate of gain is continued
1t will soon become the leading coal
producing country in the world. The
coal production of the United King
dom in 1897 was POP, O0O, 900 tons; that
of the United States 179, 900, 900 tons;
Germany, 81, 0CG, 600; France, SO, OOO,-
)C0; Belgium, 1000, 900; Austro-Hun-
gary, 10000, 600; Russia, nearly 10,0OO,-
900; Australasia, nearly 5000, 900; ia
pan, over 100000; British India,
1000, 900; Canada, nearly 4,000, 900, and
Spain, 1000, 900. No other country
reached 1,000, 900 tons in production.
The United States has gained much
more rapidly during the fifteen years
under consideration than has the Unit
ed Kingdom or any of the important
coal-producing countries of the world,
her gain during the fifteen years be-
ing over Is per cent and hat Of the
United Kingdom less than "a per cent.
The announcement just made by the
geological survey that the coal product
Of the United States in 1898 was 2i9,-
$4,000 short tons, against 226,2&T.000
for Great Britain, shows that the
United States will soon become the
leading c~oal-producing nation of the
world.
AS an exporter of coal, however, the
United States takes no rank in pro-
portion to its production, and stands
fourth in the list of coa~l-eXporting
countries. In 1897 the expectations Of
coal from the United Kingdom were
100000 900 tons; from Germany, 12,000,-
600; from Belgium. over 5000, 900, and
from the United States a little less than
100000 In 1898 the quantity ex-
ported was slightly above the 1000, 900
tons. Australasia comes next to the
United States as a coal-eXpOrting coun-
try, her exports amounting to nearly
c,OOO,OOO lOllS, Willie IIdilIC ga pOllCu
about $500, 600, Japan 2,000,0 900 and
Canada about 1850, 900 tons in 1897.
France is the largest coal-importing
country, her importations in 1897 be-
ing nearly ? 1000, 900, while Germany
imported 5000, 900; Austro-Hungary,
$500, 900; Italy, 1850, 900; Canada. near
ly 1900, 900; Belgium, nearly 3,000, 900;
Russia, $500, 900; Sweden, over $780,
600; the United States, nearly $780,
600, and Australasia, 1000, 900.
Great Britain is also the largest con-
sumner Of coal in proportion to her pop
ulation, her coal consumption in 1897
being 3.S7 tons per capita; that of Bel
GUM, 2.70 tons; the United States,
PAP; Germany, 1.5S; Canada, 10;
France, .9S; Australasia, 81; Sweden,
so; Austro-Hungary, 81; Spain, 10;
Italy, 10; Russia, %, and Japan, OF
of a ton per capita.
According to these figures, which are
summarized from a report of the coal
production of the principal countries of
the world, just issued by the British
government, the United States now
produces about 80 per cent of the coal
of the world, the coal product of the
fourteen countries enumerated in the
tables being in 1897 sec, 0G0, 900 tons, of
which the United States produced
179 ,000, 900 tons, while in 1888 she pro-
duced but q per cent of the total coal
product of the countries enumerated.
The 1898 figures make an even more
satisfactory showing for the United
States.