The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-11-30
Strike in Anthracite Fields Gave
Permanent Impetus to Btu
minous Industry.
PREDICTS YEARS RETURNS.
Mr.. F. E. saward Thinks Total OF
Soft Coal Will Be -Four
Times as Great as That
of Hard Coal.


REPUBLIC SPECIAL.
| Baltimore, Md, Nov. 2s.-Never before
| was the bitumInous coal trade of this ccun-
try. in which the South is so deeply inter
| ested. given such an impetus as during the
! strike in the anthracite fields. In the view
of Mr.. +. Z. Seward. the well-knoWn Goa
expert. this activity seems likely to con-
tInue. Writing in this weeks issue OF the
Manufacturers Record. he says:
1T Is not unsafe to say that, when the
returns are in for the year 1892, the total
Will show a production of bituminous coal
four times as great as that OF anthracite
and when one considers that 1t is not SO
many years ago-in the life Of an industry
or of a country-that they were on an equal
footing, SO FAR as tonnage Is concerned, this
statement must have a great bearing upon
the situation.
of activity. and the cry Of short car supply
is heard throughout the country, the one
significant fact being that the railroad COM
panies are and have been large buyers.
They are taking the maximum tonnage al
lowed by their contracts. and some have
been buying in the open market, thus pre-
pairing for the winter and possibly acting
on their knowledge of an insufficient car
supply"
ACTIVITY SURE TO CONTINUE
Mr.. Seward points to the very happy ton
mage Of rails. plates ard shapes booked for
next year; and to the evidence hat the rail-
roads will be as busy in rehabilitating their
lines in 1903 as they have been this year.
together with the extensions under way. as
coal lands throughout the Western. part Of
Pennsylvania. in the virsinias and in other
Southern States. He says:
THE industry Of coal mining and distribu-
ton has taken on somewhat OF the proper
tons of craftsmanship. requiring broad
views. large ideas and foresighted vision,
and the change, as against a few years ego,
Is most remarkable. Business is conducted
on so colossal a scale that small and mar
row-visioned men are not in the reckoning
when 1t Is to be directed under the impulses
OF the new economic conditions that have
developed with such marvellous rapidity and
that are pushing men forward faster than
they desire.
The production Of coal in the world Is
now In the hands of the United States,
Great Britain and Germany, and. during the
two countries and shall maintain our po-
sition In spite of the fact that there was
considerable time lost in the anthracite
Gus districts. the production has increased
10 per cent. while In others it has shown
even a larger increase.
we are learning not only to be saving in
the amount of coal actually bought for the
purpose OF burning, but we are learning to
burn coal with greater economy, and bitu-
minous coal has shown its value in many
places during the past year. 1t is stated
that. in New England manufacturing estab-
nsiments. the economy Of fuel has reached
20 per cent within the past twenty years.
and that is largely owing to the change
for 't the I port 'e Of Bo stone; show aSs that ths s ta'es as
much bituminous Is now received there an
nually as anthracite. whereas a few years
ago .pt ' IL gb we're 1ro~ on an =, even I'VE m 1GSfing m.c,,,.rv
used In oftuminous mines in this country
which has enabled the bituminous produc-
tion to increase as 1T has. SO. that, in the
ten years from 1891 to 1901. the machine