The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-08-14
.TRE FUTURE of
WEST VIRGINIA
I'M THE PRODUCTION Or cokEIsl
DISCUSSED sy AN ExpERT=
LAST YEARIs REcoRp.

"#|NAN @rfttf =
The following interesting ARIEL ~.
was contributed by IN Neil Robin fl't
son. Of charlestoH e5Well mo
and distinguished coil and coke ex
pert 10 the Engine and M llll q!
Journal 3.
win tile hissory the coke lts' ~ q
dusty for The year 1906 closed s
west virginia has son 70 regard
this past year as King one e. q W US
most important periods IN her u
dustrIal existence There was 9
large increase ih prod nction and 9
nuntbet Of newo oven plants were con
gtructed; III these gains we're IN re- Re
spouse b tiIe strong current demand
and NOT nece ssatiIy Indicative Of the
position ne state IS e. occupy in the
future me events q greatest slgnif
icnnce fhat haye marked the year
may lie refeftsa Y, briefly, as fol
lows
supply coslns Coal.
The Went Virginia coking Goals
were thoroughly tried out IN by.
prodnr plants and have been given
n ven earned position as standards
for that practice Assuming that the
bee-hIge oven win ultimately be
superseded more economical
type 1t Is gratifying to know that
our coal viii fully respond to the
most exacting quirements Of adj
sanesd cokiug methods
II ne report Of operations at the
ST. I.oits testing plant, by E.@W.
Parker 4. Holmes, and Marius R.
campbeli map was Included Shicn
shows with great accuracy every coal
tlsld il the United States. (This map
Is reproduced on page 4 Of today's
Maii.9 Very few publications by the
Geoloe icai Survey will receive great
e. attention from iron and steel max
ers andcoal operators, than this map.
when the coal fields there outlined
ate snbdisided into coktng and non,
cofing groups II will be found that
The areas capable Of supplying high
grade metallurgical coke are few in
number and comparatively small in.
acEeage.
in he year 1906 there were 21S.
counties m the United States that
produced more than 100000 tons Of
cosl each batthere were only 81
counties that produced more than
100000 tons d coke each. Seven
copntiss III Pennsylvania, with seven
ia West Virginia and three in Ala
bama, furnished sS18per cent. of the en-.
lie coke output Of the United States
5pr tne year ay0.8
ssatisttcians5 throughout the world
efe gathering data for estimates up
on the extent and tonnage(of the I'M
worked tron.ore deposits available for
ne fature Preliminary estimates
hase ben made for the most important
beds IN this country, and e. w. Par.
lIeE stattsician for the United States
geological survey, has undertaken the
gttaIs work Of Investigating the fuel
supplies that must be reserved for the
reduction otSthe American ores.
Reserve Fuel For Iron Making.
Within the next two years prac.
tically all Of the undeveloped coklng
soai areas will be opened by railways
that are nov in process of construc.
lion, hut where properties are so
tocated8that they can be operated in
conjunction with iron and steel
plants II Is probable that a number
VIM DE equipped for that purpose
sclIstyely and will not enter the
general trade! The known ores in
Ire MesabI district will eventually
Ssqaire a fuel supply that will be
equivalent to one coking seam with
< az ,Si,iS ass ~ Ave- feet underlying
territory that snail be not less
man 100000 acres in extent. All
fthe other ore fields will require pro
poraonate reservations. The United
STATES Steel Corporation has already
secured coal lands in this State to the
sxtent Of $4,000 acres, and other
iron. interests are preparing to take
action III West Virginia, Viz.
gina and Kentucky, where realty
prices have not yet approached
the Pennsylvania levels.
West virginia mas coking, gas
steam and domestic Goals Of the