BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-10-30

region was opened up, upon the COM
pletion of water communication with
Philadelphia lby the Schuylkill Naviga-
ton Company Between 1923 and 1926
the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com
pany was incorporated, and in 1899
began to ship coal from Carbondale by
the canal and the gravity railroad.
Preparation For Market.
tRun-of-mine" anthracite consists of
Jumps of coal of various sizes, mixed
with more or less rock and bony coal.
Unlike bituminous coal, it cannot be
marketed just as it comes from the
mines or after very simple screening.
Anthracite must be broken, sorted to
sizes, and be freed from impurities.
Since economical combustion requires
that the pieces be nearly as possible OF
4 uniform size, and as the greatest
demand is for the intermediate sizes of
anthracite, the larger Jumps as they
come from the mines must be broken
down. This elaborate preparation great
ly increases the cost to the consumer.
both on account of the actual cost of
the preparation and from the loss in
cident to the breaking up of the coal.
Fine coal will not command as high
price as the intermediate sizes.
Anthracite is prepared for market in
coal breaker, which is large build
ing usually built of timber. The coal
Ii; broken by toothed rolls and sreceen-
ed in circular revolving screens or in
shaking horizontal screens. The slate
is picked our by hand by boys or old
men, who sit along the chutes through
which the screened coal passes. Theee
are also automatic slate pickers, and,
with the smaller c;.ee, thS coal aud
~,--s~ nay De separated by juggling.
Some years ago the miners were
mainly American, English, Welsh. and
Irish but at present great many ma
tionalities are represented on the pay
rolls of the anthracite field. We have
no data for tue relative numbers of the
different nationalit:es among those en-
!ployed. excepting The percentages given
by the mine-inspectors for those in jur-
ed, but as the different nationalities are
found in all grades of mine work, these
percentages will probably give a close
approximation to the actual percentages
among the several classes of workmen. i.
The Lithuanian element has greatly in
creased since these figures were prepar-
ed, and there has been a corresponding
decline in Americans and western Euro
peanS.
Future Development.
Concentration OF interests has been
the policy for the last few years. O1e
large breakers now does the work for
merly done by number of small ones.
This concentration naturally tends to
better management, a:ld to saving in
fixed expenses. These economies have
been made necessary from the fact that
there has been steady increase in the
capital and labor required to produce
anthracite, while there has not been a
corresponding increase in the demand
for it. In 1880 coal royalties were from
20 to IS cents per ton for prepared sizes,
no account being taken in many cases
of sizes below chestnut, and large
amount of chestnut was even thrown
upon some of the old culm banks. Ro
yalties are now from 40 to 50 cents, and
in occasional instances even higher, for
prepared sizes above pea, Is cents for
pea coal, and about 10 to I2M cents for
small sizes below pea. In 1877 the
average number of days worked in a |
year was 2o5. In 1897 it was only I52.
The cost of opening colliery in 1887
was $Ioo 900; now it is from SOC, 1000
to 100000.