The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-11-23
COAL ON THE AsIATIc SIDE.

On the Asiatic side of the question
we will find coal almost as generously
distributed, but none of it of as good
quality. Certain grades of it, in fact,
notably the coal at Chemulpo, Corea,
being even dangerous and explosive
| from spontaneous combustion. How
ever, much coal of a fair quality is
found along the chain of islands max
] ing UP the Japanese group. And,
whereas the United States has let the
mines on her coast line lie idle, Japan
| has for centuries developed her mines
( and has recently applied modern ma
] chinery to the largest of them, thus
overba1ancing her productivity in the
| coal market when compared to the coal
| fields of the Pacific Coast of the United
| States. There is good coal at Petro-
| paulovski. Kamschatka; good coal at
| Vladivostok, Siberia; at Otaru, Japan;
at Hakodate and at Yokohama. At
| Nagasaki the Takasima mine, which
runs out under the sea, produced 30O.-
600 tons as far back as 1898. The great
Mamezuta and Shinnow mines produc-
ed in the same year 100000 tons. One
of these mines produces 1000 tons
day. and the production of the single
,
was over 1000, 900 tons a year. At
Misumi, Japan. they were shipping for
export TO- 900 tons of coal a year more
than ten years ago. At Karatsu, Ha
kata, Shimonoseki and Moji there are
large supplies of steam coal all the
year round. At Chemulpo. Corea, the
native coal is being replaced by stored
or transshipped coal Of good grade in
case of emergency. At Port Arthur
there is a large coal pile for COM
merciaI and naval purposes, the value
of which is enhanced by its being in
one of the greatest harbors on the
globe At Tien-tsfn, at Cheefoo and
at Shanghai unlimited coal is always
available.
Hence, since ships need coal, Japan,
the pioneer commercial nation Of the
Orient, is not by any means behind
this country in this natural resource.
Japan can mine and load coal for
cost price that underbids the United
States, either in a time of peace or a
time of war. The facilities for load
ing coal are better. all in all, in japan
than in the United States, by reason
of actual Improvement in money spent
for this very purpose. This is prob
ably balanced, however, by the supe-
riority of the American coal
When we come to the consideration
of docks and repair facilities we find
that Japan has good and poor docks at
Hakodate, Yokohama, Yosuka, Toxic,
Hiogo and Kobe, Osaka. Kure, Pro-
vince of Aki, Nagasaki, Sasebo and at
Port Arthur. These docks are supple
mented by the usual repair shops and !
marine railways for hauling ships Of
light tonnage up out Of the water. |
While practically the whole of the Jap |
anese territory is made up Of harbors |
and the whole of that nation faces the |
Pacific, the United states has only one !
coast line on the Pacific, and that it's I
uninproved coast line. As to docks on !
the United States side Of the Pacific, |
little need be said, for the public Is /
aware of the room for improvement. /
On Puget Sound, at San Francisco and |
at san Diego lie three Of the worlds |
most excellent steamship anchorages.
Were these harbors brought to state !
of improvement such as marks the |
development Of New York harbo- or