Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-21
IOWA MINERAL WEALTH
The State Has Ten Thousand
Square Miles of Coal Pro-
ducing Lands.
Some Interesting Figures From
the Report OF the Geological
Survey.
Interior Fields Are All Much
Alike in Quality Of
Product.


ern interior coal field lies within the
prairie plains of the Mississippi Valley
in the states of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa
and Nebraska. The coal of Nebraska,
however, says Mr. II. f. Balm, in Part
III of the twenty second annual report
of the United States Geological survey
now in press, is so small in quantity
and so irregular in supply that the Ne
braska portion of the western interior
field may be neglected. The total area
of the field approXimates $4,000 square
miles; the probably productive areas
are: Iowa. 10000 square miles; Mis-
souri,, $4,000 square miles; Kansas,
15 900 square miles; but the coal of this
field is Enthusiastically patchy and
irregular in distribution. The usual
variation in the beds is from Is inches
to feet; but In some of the pockets
coal 70 feet thick has been found.
The development of the coal MN
ing in this field has been determined
chiefly by the location of the trans
portation lines. Thus. in Iowa, the
Fort Dodge mining district in Webster
county, the Boone county mines. the
Des Moines in Polk county. the Oska-
loosa mines in Mahaska county, the
mines from Ottumwa in Wapello coun-
ty, thru Monroe to Cleveland IN LII
cas- county, the mines in Appanoose
and Wayne counties, and the mines IN
Adams, Taylor and Page counties IN
Missouri, the mines at Huntsville,
Randolph county, the mines at Rich
Hill. Bates county, and at M1nden,
Barton county, the mines in Schuyler
Putnam, and Adair counties, the Lex
ington district in Ray and Lafayette
counties; in Kansas, the LeaVenwofth
mines, the Cherokee coal district IN
Cherokee and Crawford counties, the
mines in Linn and Bourbon and Frank
lin and Atchison and Usage counties
these have all been determined by the
main east and west railway lines and
their branches the Illinois Central, the
Chicago and Northwestern. the Rock
Island, the Burlington, the Wabash, the
Missouri Pacific, the Missouri, Kan
sas and Texas, the Santa Fe.
field are exclusively bituminous and
essentially steam Goals. Owing to the
irregular distribution of the coal, 1t is
impossible to give any trustworthy es-
Inmates of the probable total yield OF
the field For the same reason coal
mining machines can not be used as
much hereas elsewhere. Mule hauling
is most common; there is very little
electric haulage in this field. The
mines are not Deep and the room ana
pillar is the usual method of mining.
An unusually large percentage Of the
mine laborers are English speaking,
either Americans or English. Welsh or
Irish. In certain camps negro labor mas
been introduced as a result OF strikes.
OF recent years Slays and Italians have
been coming into the region. Ten years
ago the miners in this coal field were
practically unorganized. From time to
time they have become better organ
ICED. until now in Iowa the unions are
in control of the situation. This close
union of the men has, in some partlcu-
lars, placed the Iowa operators at
but it has undoubtedly
been good for the men themselves In
many particulars, and good for the trade
as a whole in others. One advantage
has been in steadying the trade and in
decreasing unfair competition between
district and district. A second adVan-
tage has been in bringing the operators
closer together with the result of put
ting cooperation in certain ways in
the place of competition. With the
thorough organization of both men and
operators it seems probable that min
ers' strikes may disappear, and disa-
be more quickly adjusted. In
Kansas and Missouri things are not so
we'll adjusted. Some of the most pow
erful companies, after a long fight. de-
feated the union, and made themselves
as regards time and meth
DDS of working. They find their reward
for money spent in this fact of inde-
pendence. Mr.. Balm thinks that in the
two states as whole, however. the
conditions are bad in that they are
quite unequal from point to point, and
that 1t is doubtful whether the results
have been altogether beneficial to the
general public.
There Is no apparent reason for an
ticipating any marked change in the
steady development going on In this
field. In 1900, 564 commercial mines in
siXty-one counties in Iowa, Missouri
and Kansas produced little over 49,
100000 short tons. valued at the mines
at little less than $16,90O,0O0, of which
33 per cent was used as railroad fuel, 20
per cent for manufacturing fuel, and AZ
per cent as domestic fuel. The estimat-
ed capacity of the mines in 1900 was
over is, 10000 short tons. The produc-
ton of this field in 1880 was about g.
lOOO 900 short tons; in 1890, 1t was about
9 100000 tons; in 1900 it was little
over 100000 tons.
--r.,ez,,u-,