The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-01-01

sylvania anthracite regions exceeded
100000 tons, and for the year 1864
the average price of bitumdnous coal
at New York was almost one dollar
per ton higher than that of anthracite
-$7.6S as against $6.75.
It was not until coal began to be
used extensively in the iron industry
and the railroads made possible the
transportation of coal for longer dis
tances during all parts of the year
that the production of coal, and BIZ
luminous coal more particularly, re-
ceived its chief impetus. Although
in Great Britain the use of coal for
iron smelling dates back to the
eighteenth century, the use of char
coal having been completely discarded
at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, the only fuel used in Amer
ican blast furnaces until about 1910
was charcoal. This was quite natural,
as with the abundance of large for
ests the charcoal used for the manu-
facture was relatively cheap, and
transportation of the charcoal was
less difficult than that of coal. The
introduction of anthracite and btu
minous coal in the manufacture of
pig iron created a revolution in the
whole iron industry of the country.
Facilities for the mauufaeture of
iron were increased; districts which
had been virtually closed to the man
ufacture because of a local scarcity
of charcoal were now opened to it,;
production increased on a large
scale, causing cheapening of prices
and growing consumption.
OF the two forms of mineral fuel,
anthracite was the first to be large
ly used in the iron industry, and it
was only at comparatively recen1
period that the relative popularity of
the two kinds of fuel for blast-fur-
nac use has now just been re-
versed.
One great factor which caused the
remarkable growth of the bituminous
coal industry was the rapid growth of
the railway system in this country,
especially after the civil war. The
building of railways, interrupted by
the civil war, proceeded, as is well
known, at a most rapid rate during
the last years of the sixties and the
decade beginning with the year 1871.
From a little over $4,000 miles in 1865
the number of miles Of railroad con-
structed and operated rose to over
103, 900 miles in 1881, and over 1877 ,000
in 1901; i. e., had almost trebled with
in the 16 years, and grown almost
sevenfold by 1901. The effect of this
development on the eastern and cen.
trail coal producing states (Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois) was
twofold. First, by increasing the de.
mand for iron as material for the con-
struction of the railways, thus adding
to the existing demand for coal, and,
second, by opening opportunities and
outlets to the shipment of coal west
ward, both for the use of the railways
themselves and the various industries
that spring up with the advent of the
! railways. Coal constitutingthe largest
item of expenditure in railway trans
| portation, especially in this country
where distances are greater than any
where else in the world, the railways
became naturally interested from the
very beginning in obtaining their fuel
at the cheapest possible price. This
explains the close connection of the
growth of our railway system with
that of the coal industry during the
! past three decades.
Since the beginning Pennsylvania
has been the "Keystone" state for the
production of coal, and the mining OF
this valuable materiel has centered in
this region. Both in the production OF
anthracite and bituminous coal Penn.
~sylvania has always been in the lead,
and this precedence has been main
tanned TO the present time. The Penn.
sylvania mines are a part of the great
chain which follows the Appalachian
Mountain system, but in no part of the
country, or in fact of the world, are
the mines so famous or so rich as in
this state. In the following pages the
distribution of the coal-mining indus.
try among the various states win be
followed for the last 20 years only,
During this period there has been an
immense development of the mining
industry, the total output of anthra-
cite increasing from 2s,621, 900 tons in
1880 to 6o,3O2, 900 gross tons in 1901,
while the output of bituminous in
creased during the same period from
41,s57,oOO to 2o1,571,ooo gross tons.
The production Of anthracite may
be said to have taken place entirely in
the state of Pennsylvania. Whether
has been from time to time production
of anthracite on a small scale in Rhode
Island, Virginia, Colorado and New
Mexico, the production in those states