Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-26
SOURCES OF HEAT.
What Will World Do When Anthracite
In Exhaustedf

From the Springfield Republican.
If the people Of the eastern United States
must have hard coal and cannot possibly
put up with soft coal. what Is to become OF
their descendants in the third and fourth
generations? For the supply Of anthracite
Is strictly Hmited-so much SO. indeed. that
engineers have ventured to compute 1t In
pretty exact figures. Three different au-
thorities conversant with the anthracite
situation In its geological aspects have at
different times In the past ten years pub
lished estimates OF the extent OF the supply
still to be mined. DIR. Peter Roberts in
his book on the anthracite industry. pre-
sents these computations. after making de-
duction Of the amount OF coal mined from
the time OF making the estimates to the
time Of the publication Of the book In
August, 1901. Assuming an average an
nual production Of 6O.O00.000 tons from
1891 on. the life of the hard coal supply il
thus variously estimated:
Joseph 8. Harris. 49,. s-x1. 4sl ezo4 $3.50
William Grifaths. I632, 6S5.o6S 90.54
The total amount mined from 1S.O to
1900. 1t may be stated in passing. has been
1.197. O6. 1S1 tons. or from one-fourth to
one-fifth of the amount yet to be mined.
1t will be seen that the various estimates
are not very far apart. They agree in lin
itfng the life Of the supply within a period
or ITO years, and the average estimate
places 1t below 100 years. And this Oh
the assumption that production and con-
sumption do not exceed 6O.0O0.OO0 tons
annually. But production even now is be-
ginning to exceed 55.0O0,0OO tons a year.
and is evidently to go on increasing with
the growth Of population in the eastern
United States. Hence a present prospect
that the Pennsylvania anthracite supply
the only supply so far uncovered in this
country and quite possibly the only con-
siderable supply in existence in the United
States-will have been exhausted at the
end of seventy years from date, and within
the lifetime of many persons now living.
Our children our children's children
bituminous coal and how to tolerate the
dirt and other discomforts attending its
employment. The soft coal supply is vast
ly greater and its extent is beyond estimate;
but there Is also limitation here, and
the wit of man must soon, in the stretch
Of years. set itself at work upon the prob
lem of discovering substitute sources Of
energy to prevent the world from freezing
and to keep its machinery going. Whittier
inventive genius will direct it's course is a
question. Necessity. that mother of in
vention has SO far been wanting as to
have failed as yet to develop any distinct
slope of the United States has served to
sharpen wits for the discovery of other
sources Of heat and power beyond perhaps
any other section OF the civilized world !;
and the extent to which the quest was be-
Ing carried could be seen in the building
at one point Of an immense radiator to
gather In and put to mechanical use the
falling rays Of the sun. and at another
point in the attempt to convert into disable
energy the rising and falling of the waters
of the adjacent ocean. But the discovery
of oil has for the present relieved Cali
fornia of the want that formerly pressed
sorely upon the Industrial ambitions of her
people and we shall not hear more prob
ably of radiator and sea experiments.
AS time passes, however, the forces of
the earth and air in their natural mani
festations will come into increasing use;
and in the waterfall. the wind. the motions
Of the sea and quite likely In the discovery
Of means Of drawing off and storing up The
electricity which pervades the atmosphere.
the human race will be able to perpetuate
its existence in increasing numbers on the
earth long after the last lump of coal has
tak