The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1902-11-19
WORLDS FUEL SUPPLY.
COAL RESOURCES HERE AND IN
OTHER COUNTRIES.
Differences In Mining Mcthods - subsii-
tutes tor Coai-so,id Petroleum Hand
led Like Coke-The Po.s biitties OF the
t.e Of Peat a- ucl III the Future.

Use of Feat "a ucl III the Future.
The worlds fuel supply" said an
officers of the Bureau of American Re-
publics, has recently been made the
subject o. III iuterc sting study by Dr.
Ferdinand Fischer of Guttengen. Ger
many. who has collected with much
care all the available data as to the
coal resources of the globe. His find
ings are made of peculiar value by the
recent anthracite strike here, with its
focusing of American attention
on fuel"
1t Is a curious commentary. that
while China. so far as is known, Is
richer in coal than any other country
in the world, almost none of IL Is yet
available for steam power. II Is large
ly used by the Chinese, but mainly in
the regions where It Is mined The
land routes are so poor that 1t does
not pay to haul coal more than 25
miles. Unless a mine is within this
distance of water carriage, the area
of the distribution of the output is
confined to the immediate neighbor-
hood. Steamships at Shanghai are to-
day filing their bunlSers with coal
brought from Europe. because It is
cheaper than coal extensively brought
from Chinese mines IN the interior.
In Or. Fischer's opinion, Germany
has a coal supply that will meet the
needs of that country for about 1000
years. DR.. Fischer also reaches the
conclusion that probably within the
next 30 years. and certainly within this
century, Great Britain, at the present
rate of consumption. will exhaust her
coal resources. She certainly cannot
go on supplying the larger part of the
worlds export, The total production
of coal in Great Britain in 1901
amounted to 2l9046945 gross tons,
against 225, ISL 300 tons in 1900. Japan
has large coal resources, particularly
in the southern province of Kiushiu.
Borneo is rich in coal formations, as
is ais New South Wales. fact that
is enabling Sydney to forge ahead of
the other Australian cities in industri-
al development Africa and South
America are poorer in coal than any
of the other continents, but the devel-
opment OF coal mines in South Africa
bids fair to supply the industrial needs
of the country.
According to returns to the United
States Geological Survey from produce
ers representing fully 81 percent of the
entire coal output of the United States,
the production of 1901 amounted to
292 ,240,75S short tons, valued at $34S,-
S13,S3l. AS compared with 1900, when
the output amounted to 269,S3l 1927
short tons. worth s3O6, ,S91 1864, this rep
resents an increase of 3 percent In
quantity, and 1876 percent in value.
The production of Pennsylvania an
thracite showed a phenomenal increase
from 81 POI, 1853 long tons in 1900 to
60 PAP $50 long tons in 1901. This rep
resented a gain of II 1-2 percent, the
largest percentage of gain made by the
anthracite trade in 20 years. Part Of
this increase was due to the strike in
1900, which reduced the output that
year by over 100000 long tons. The
increase in the value of the anthracite
product is still more striking, the
amount received at the mines last year
showing a gain of more than 81 per-
cent over that of 1900. A period of
prosperity enabled consumers general
ly to pay higher prices for their fuel.
and a railroad monopoly made them do
so.
The production of bituminous coal,
Ignite, camel coal, etc., in the United
tat oh NJ
tons in 1900 to 224 ,769 ,091 short tons in
1901, indicating a gain of about per-
cent. The value of this product
amounted to $2SG,3O9,S11, as compared
with 1921, 1858 in 1900, an increase
of s15,11o.29S. or a little less than I
percent.
The coal production of the United
States last year was nearly 90 percent
more than Great Brltain's; nearly so
percent larger than Germany's; nearly
seven times that of Austria Hungary,
and more than eight times that of
France, England, however, continues
TO export more coal than all other
countries. 1t supplies far more coal
ing stations than any other country.
The business of selling coal abroad
is usually very profitable, and one rea
son why England surpasses all COM
petitors in this line is because her coal
is so near the sea that she is able to
ship it less eXpensively than any other
exporting nation. Owing to the more
extensive use of coal-mining machin-
cry, much of the United States coal
at the pit mouth does not cost as much
as British coal when raised to the sur
face, but by the time it is shipped on
the ocean it usually costs more than
British coal. England has special ad-
vantages for the export coal trade,
and she improves them to the utmost,
in spite of the fact that economists
assert that the present century will see
the end of her coal resources.
A comparison of the coal resources
of Great Britain and the United States
was recently made by A. S. Il. Acker-
mann, who shows that the area of coal
fields in the United States is about