Newport daily independent., 1905-06-02
PENNSYLVANIA ANTHRACITE
ToDna of Last Year Exceeded by Six Million Tons That of Any
 Previous Year.

The year 1903 stands as the high water mark of prosperity in the anthracite coal trade, as the tonnage for that year exceeded by more than (. .00O. .O00 tons that of any previous year. and the demand for coal was 50 good as to make it possible to dispose of the product at prices which brought a fair return to all con- cerned in the industry. Some slgn1n- cant figures in connection with the production of Pennsylvania anthra' cite during 1903 have been collected by MT. William w. Ruley. special agent of the United States geological survey, and will be included in MT. E. w. Parker's report on the produc- ton of coal in 1903, which Is regular feature of the surveys annual volume on the mineral resources of the United States.
 At the commencement of 1903 there was practically no anthracite in stock. as the amount which had been mined after the strike of 1902 had gone directly into consumption. All tha: could be mined during the first thres months of 1903 was in immediate de- mand.
 With the opening of navigation and . reduction in price on April 1, dealers at all points endsavored to lay in an ample supply of coal to meet their fall and winter requirements. This made . brisk demand for the product dur ing the spring and summer months. with the resultant accumulation ot stocks in dealers hands. The early arrival of cold weather, however. and the prolonged severity of the winter created an unusually brisk demand for coal.
 In connection with the large pro duction, 1t Is interesting to note tha increase in the shipments of the smai' sizes of coal during 1903 over those ot previous years. This Is especially noteworthy on account of the opinior generally expressed at the close of tho anthracite strike, that bituminous coal had largely supplanted anthra' cite for steam purposes. and would continue to hold this trade to thu exclusion of the small sizes of the lat. ter product. On the contrary, how. ever. the consumption of these smaller sizes of coal increased 2.468. .694 tons ir 1903 over 1901. It would seem tha, the only cause which would seriously affect the prosperity of the anthracite business Is the general condition os the entire country. As loag as the people at large are able to buy anthra' cite, it will not want a market.
 It is also of interest to note an increase of IS cents in the average value per ton for coal at the mines The total production was 86.351. 712 tons, valued at $152. .036.448 The aver age price per ton was $2.50; ths num- Der of men employed was 15O. O.483: anc the average number of days that each man worked was 2O6.
 Tables are given in the report whtcd shows the production by counties for tho years 1902 and 1903; also the ship ments of anthracite and the propor- ton of sizes shipped. A tabular ar. rangement of the various sections oi the anthracite fields is given, with a list of ten railroads that enter tue ter ritory.
 The anthracite fields comprise au area of somewhat over. 480 squars miles. and are located ;n tho ,sastsra. middle part of the state. in the coun ties of Carbon, Columbia. LackS wanna. Luzerne, Northumberland Schuylkill and Susquehanna. Thsy are classed under three general dtvf- sions. namely. the Wyoming. Lshigh and Schuylkill regions. Geologically they are divided into fields or basins. which are again subdividsd into dis tricts.
 The Bernice field, in Sullivan couN- ty. is not included in any of these re- gions. The classification of the prod uct of this field is matter of some contention. The fracture of the coal and some of it's characteristics are more like those of some bituminous or semianthracite coals than stric. anthracite, but on account of it's high percentage of fixed carbon and low percentage of moisture it is classed al anthracite by the second Pennsyl- vania geological survey. and the product is so included in this report