The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-19
THE COAL OUTPUT
U. s. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORTS
 ON ALABAMA.
Statistics Show That More Was Mined in 1905 Than in Any Previous Year-Tncrease of
 Accidents.

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 Washington, June 1S.-(SpecfaD- Statistics of the coal production oi Alabama during 1905. have been com piled by Edward ". Barker of the Unit ed States Geological Survey.
 The show that the total production of the year was 11.s66,069 short tons which had a value on the spot Of sl4'- 3S7.721
 This was an increase in tonnage of 604,023 or 5.S per cent and gain Tn value of s907,6fo or 6.7 per cent over the value of 1904.
 Compared with 1903. the year of lar eest production heretofore, the output in 1905 shows an increase of 211, 745 short tons In amount and of S140,s2s in value The average price per ton in 1905 was s12I as compared with s1. 20 in 1904. and $1.22 in 1903.
 The returns show that 19,5e5 men were employed tor an average of 22a days, the average output per man was 6o5 tons for the year or ? 69 tone per day as compared with a daily output of 2e3 tons per man in 1904. when IT, s11 men worked an average of 216 days and produced 11.362.046 tons of coal The yearly tonnage per man In 1904 was 6323 8 tons or 26S tons more than in 1905.
 One of the natabie features in con- nection with production of coal in Ala bama during 1905 was the largest in- crease in the number of mining ma chimes used and in the amount of ma chine mined coal produced. There were 1e6 machines in use in 1905 as against Al in 1904, while the amount of coal under cut by machines increas- ed from 577.317 short tone in 1903 te 741,170 tons in 1904, and 1,7s6.479 snort tons in 1905.
 Most of the larger mines in Alabama are operated on a ten hour day. Sixty' two mines employing 10s01 men or considerably more than half the total number reported a ten hour day Tnlr- ty mines employing 3,320 men reported nine hours, and twenty-four mines e1n' blowing 1,0s9 men reported eight hours Three mines worked their men nin' and one-half hours and two mines worked them eight and one-half hours
 The number of fatalities in 1905 was 1s5 against eighty-four in 1904, nifty seven in 1903, fifty in 1902. forty -oiie 1T 1901 and thirty-seven in lsOe. Int large increase in fatal accidents in l90' was due to an explosion in the Virginia Mine of the Southern Steel Company In which 112 men were killed. Excep for this the record of 1905 would hay been better than that for 1904.
 The Alabama coal fields form tn southwestern end of the great Appa lachian coal fields which extends iron Northern Pennsylvania to Central Ala barla.
 There are four distinct coal produc ing basins or districts In the State, tn Coosa, Cahaba and Warrior basins an the plateau regions. In is05 six mine working four different seams were i operation in the northern end of tn Coosa basin in St. Clair County. Thei total output was 1S6.595 tons. In tn Cahaba basin, twenty-fcur mines wer in operation on eleven different seams Except the one mine which Is in lief ferson County, these are all in tn south end of the ba3ln in Shelby an Bibb counties. Their combined produc | ton was 1.547.7S4 tons, the 14S mine operating in the Warrior basin produc ed in 1904 9,791.356 tons of coal. Thi basin has always been the scene of tn greatest mining activity and productio | in the State. The coal resources of tn plateau regions are not well known bu they are comparatively sm~u. In tn eleven mines that were in operatio
 there during 1905. SS1.75o tons of cos | were produced.
 | Clarke