The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-21
THE WORLDS FUEL SUPPLY.
219 to 22s Emplre RuIlding.


| Observation-Disclosures for Coal.
Washington Letter I'm New York Post
'The worlds fuel supply" said an
officer OF the Bureau of American Re-
| publics. to-day. has recently been
| made the subject of an interesting
study by DIR. Ferdinand Fischer OF
Gottingen, Germany, who has collected
with much care all the available data
| as to the coal resources of the globe
| His findings are made of peculiar
value by the anthracite strike here,
with its focusing of American atten-
| ton 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 1t is yet
| available for steam power. 1t Is
| largely used by the Chinese, but main
| ly in the regions where 1t is mined.
| TIE land routes are so poor that 1t
| does not pay to haul coal more than
twenty-five miles. Unless a mine is
within this distance of water carriage.
| the area of the distribution of the out
! put is confined to the immediate neigh
| borhood. Steamships at Shanghai are
| to-day filling their bunkers with coal
| brought from Europe, because II is
| cheaper than coal extensively brought
| from Chinese mines in the interior.
In DR.. Fischer's opinion. Germany
has 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 fifty years, and certainly within
| this century Great Britain, at the pres
ent rate OF consumption, will exhaust
| her coal resources. She certainly cam
not go on supplying the larger part
of the worlds export. The total pro-
duotion OF coal in Great Britain in 1901
amounted to 219,046.945 gross tons,
| against 225, 1S1 300 tons in 1900. Japan
has large coal resources, particularly
in the southern province of ISiushiu.
| Borneo Is rich in coal formations. as
| Is also New South Wales a fact that
is enabling Sydney to forge ahead of
| the other Australian cities in industrial
| development. Africa and South Amer
| lea are poorer i'm coal than any of the
other continents; but the development
of coal-mines In South Africa bids
fair to supply the industrial needs of
the country.
Coal In the United States.
According to returns to the United
States Geological Survey from produce
| ers representing fully 81 per cent. OF
the entire coal output Of the United
States, the production In 1901 amounted
to 2s2,240,75S short tons, valued at
$34S, 813,S31. AS compared with 1900,
| when the output amounted to 269, $751;
827 short tons, worth 1906 S91, 1854, this
represents an increase Of s per cent.
in quantity. and 1876 per cent. in value.
| The production of Pennsylvania an
| thracite showed phenomenal increase
from 51,221 1853 long tons In 1900 to co.
| 242, $50 long tons in 1901. This repre-
| scented gain of liz per cent, the
largest percentage of gain made by the
anthracite trade in twenty years. Part
of this increase was due to the strike
| in 1900, which re elced the output that
year by over $500 900 long tons. The
| increase in the value of the anthracite
product is still more striking, the
amount received at the mines last year
| showing gain of more than 81 per
cent. over that of 1900. A period of
| prosperity enabled consumers generally
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
| States increased from 212,513. 9I2 short
| tons in 1900 to 224, 1853, 091 short tons in
| 1901, indicating a gain of about per
| cent. The value OF this product
| amounted to 1926, 300 81, as compared
with 1921. ,513 in 1900, an increase OF
| Sic, 176,2e8 or a little less than per
Sehe' AHe price VI the piluHinous
Vance IN ION
THE coal nroduction of the rtr,tad
States last wear was nearly 20 ner cent
more than Great Britain's. nearly 90
Der cent. larger than Cernanv's. near-
ly seven times that of Austria Hun
gary. and more than eight times that
OF France. England. howeve continues
TO export more coal than ali 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 sen that she il able To
ship II less extensively than any other
exporting nation. Owing 10 the more
extensive use of coaI-mining rnachin-
cry, much of the United States coal
at the Dit mouth does not cost as much
as British coal when raised to the sur
face. but by the time II is shinped on
the ocean II usually costs more than
British coal. England has speciaf adj.
varltaces for the exporf coal trade ard
she improves them to the utmost In
spite of the fact that economists as
sert that the present century will see
the end OF her coal resources.
x,. ..
s ""1 =" Hhs-
land
comparison of the coal resources OF
Great Britain and the United States
was recently made by A. s. e. Acker-
mann, who shows that the area of coal
fields in the United States is about 225.-