The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-12-29
The end OF ANTHRACITE

Fron the Spring
Ii the people of the United States have hard coal
and possibly put up with soft coal what become of
their descendants in the third and fourth generations For the
supply of anthracite strictly miedso much indeed that
engineers have ventured compute in pretty figures
Three different authorities with the anthracite sua
in its geological aspects have different times in the past
published estimates of the of the supply still to be
mined Dr. Peter Roberts, in his book the anthracite industry
presents these computations after making deduction of the
of coal mined from the time of making estimates
the time Of the publication Of the book August 1901 Assum
ing an average annual production of 6ooooooo tons from 1901
the life of the hard coal supply thus variousy estimated:
Authority. Tons yet to be mined. Years duration.
Joseph S. Harris ...... 532Q45I,4o4 $3.50
A. d. w. Smith 65I21677o3 1858
William Grifiths ...... 48326S5668 1854
The total mined 1900 may be stated
passing has been 97o6 1871 tons, or from oneourth to
fifth OF the amount yet to be mined
1t will be that the various estimates very apart
They agree in limiting the life of the supply within period
and the average estimate places below years And
this the assumption that production and consumption do
exceed oooooooo annually But production is be-
ginning exceed 55oooooo yeal, and evidently
increasing with the growth of population in the United
states hence present prospect 'a ne eiHSy wanna anhra
cite upphe only supply far uncovered in this country and
quite possibly the only considerable supply in existence the
United Saesw have been exhausted at the end OF 70
from date within the lifetime of many persons living.
Our children cidren children will thus time have
to learn how to bumnou coal and how to tolerate the dirt
and other dcomors attending its employment The soft coal
supply vastly greater and its is beyond estimate; but
there also limitation here and the wit of
the stretch OF years. itself work upon the problem of dis
covering substitute energy the world from
freezing and to keep its machinery going Whittier inventive
genius will direct question Necessity that mother
of invention has far been wanting have failed yet
develop any distinct cews The absence coal on the Pacific
slope of the United States has served sharpen the dis
other heat and power beyond perhaps
other section of the civilized world and the extent to which the
quest being carried could be the building point
immense radiator gather in and put mechanical
the falling rays of the and another point in the attempt
to convert into disable the rising and falling the waters
of the adjacent But the discovery of oil has for the
relieved California of the that formerly pressed orey
upon the industrial ambitions of her people, shall hear
probably of radiator and experiments
AS time however the forces of the earth and air in their
natural manifestations will into increasing and in the
waterfall the wind the of the and likely the
discovery of of drawing off and storing the electricity
which pevades the atmosphere the human will be able
perpetuae its existence increasing numbers the earth long
after the last lump of coal has been taken from it.