The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-12-22
OUR RECORDYEAR IN
COAL PRODUCTION.
United States Now Mining More
Than a Million Tons
a Day.
SOFT COAL TONNAGE GROWTH
Rate OF Increase Continues TO Go
Forward With Mighty and
Lcngtl,elilg Strides.
[specin, t. The Times Dispatch, j

lSVfciHi u Tue times llspatchl
BALTIMORE. MD. December 2i.---
In this weeks issue OF tho Manufac-
turers' Record. Mr.. Frederick H.
Saward. the New York authority on
the ccni industry. noting that the
United States is now mining more than
one million tons of coal a day, writes:
This year of 1907 is record one
for coal production of all kinds. and
particularly is this shown in the out
put OF bituminous coal, which will ag-
gregate n volume that would have been
unthought of, say. even five years ago.
Here we are with over 100000 tons
day put out of the mines, and until a
few weeks ago there was not enough
to go around. few facts in regard
to the growth of the soft coal trade
of this country are of more than pass
Ing interest at this time.
only thirty-odd years ago illinois
and PENNSYLVANIA took a year to pro-
duce tonnage that now could be.
and is. turned out l.. one month. while
West Virginia In 1907 produces in less
than week as much coal as was pro-
dueed in that State in the year OF
1863
Soft Coal Tonnage.
Particularly noticeable is the growth
of the soft coal tonnage in tire last
half dozen years. 1t might reasonably
be supposed that with output on such
large scale the rate of increase
would become smaller, but 1T goes
Wa m on =, m ,ha i'm; strides ana
dicatos tonnage of 5O0,000.000 tons
l.5oo,o00 tons day for every day in
the year practically at a time no furth
or distant than 1912. AT present the
times AS great as the anthracite out
put. Pennsylvania continues to supply
Its fun proportion of the entire out
put and, including anthracite output
turns out nearly as much coal as all
the other states together.
The bituminous coal trade has
quintruped since 1855. The increase
alone of the year 1908 as compared
with 1900 is as much as the whole ag-
Sresate output of the United states in
the tonnage has grown so,O0o,o0O tons.
Treblcd In Ten Years.
Since 1896 tho increase in tonnage
has been constant. save for a stand
stu in 1904. and has amounted in all
to 23O,00O,OO0 tons, and has nearly
trebled the tonnage In ten years. The
bituminous trade may now be said
TO be six times as large in volume as
The anthracite business. 1t is three
times as great now az IT was no furth-
er back than 1891, and five times as
great as in 1855.
nc output tlis year VIII DC as
great as the total production for ali
Years prior to 1874, and adding the
output of 1906 and 1897 we have a
tonnage equal to all the business prior
to 1882.
Scarcely less noticeable than the
volume of the bituminous business is
the concentration of control. so that
now score or more companies control
tonnage equal to fully one third OF
Al the soft coal used in the United
states. and as to the utilization of
bituminons coal, there appears no rea-
son, despite the large increase In ton
mage. TO change the assertion of a few
Years back that nearly one-half of the
whole output, aside from that exported
the railway and steam navigation com
panies of the United States and Can
ada.