The Oskaloosa herald., 1908-08-20

/ in 1907 amounted to 7,574,322 short
tons, having spot value of $12,25s.'
OH, according to L. w. Parker, of the
United States Geological Survey,
These figures, compared with those
for 1906, show an increase in the later
year of 30S,09S short tons, or 4.24 per
cent, in quantity, and of $63S,557, or
5.5 per cent, in value.
The coal production of the state for
the fiscal year which ended June 80
1907, as reported by Edward Sweeney,
the inspector of the third mining dis.
trict of Iowa, was z,545,525 short
tons, which was slightly less than the
production reported to the United
State Geological Survey for the cal
endar year, but shows gain of 279,-
301 short tons over the production
reported in 1906, indicating that most
of the increase in 1907 took place dur.
| ing the first six months of the year.
The. monetary disturbances in the
latter part of 1907 had a compare
lively insignificant effect on the coal
mining industry in Iowa, chiefly be-
cause the output of the mines goes
principally to domestic consumers
and, outside of the very considerable
quantities used by the railroads trav-
ersing the state, is not largely con-
sumed by industrial operations.
The number of men employed in
the coal mines of Iowa in 1907 was
1855, who worked an average of two
hundred and thirty days, as against
1920 men working for an average of
two hundred and twenty-four days in
1906 and Is, lib men for two hundred
and nine days in 1905. The average
production per man in the last three
years has been 4499 tons in 1905,
1862 in 1906, and 4S6 in 1907. The
average tonnage per day for each man
in the three years, was, respectively,
|215, ,2.13, and 2.11. A part of the
decreased daily production in 1907 was
probably due to the falling off in the
quantity of coal mined by machinery.
.Thirty-four machines were reported in
use in 1906, with total of 1873, 666
tons of machine-mined coal; in 1907
there were SO machines reported in
use, and the machine-mined product
decreased to 10S,O22 tons. AS in the
other coal-mining states in which op-
CREATIONS are carried on under agree
ment with the mine workers union.
most of the mines of Iowa are worked
on the basis of the eight.hour day, the
mines reporting any other length of
working day being comparatively I'M
important.
According to John Werner. R. T.
Rhys and Edward Sweeney, inspectors
for the three mining districts into
which the coal fields of the state are
divided, IL men were killed and IS
injured as the result of accidents in
mines in 1907. One OF the deaths was
due to the explosion OF dust or gas:
3 were due to explosions of powder or
misplaced shot; 29 were due to falls
of roof or coal; men were killed by
-neingy caught hy~sears Or motors: 4
were killed in shaft accidents, and
2 deaths were ascribed to miscellane-
Gus causes. Inc death rate per tnOu-
sand employees was 1853.
The coal fields of Iowa occupy the
south-central and southwestern por-
tions of the state and include an area
of approximately 10000 square miles,
of which 10000 may be considered
PROBABLY productive territory. The
total production of coal in the state
from 1910 up to the close of 1907 has
amounted to 141,60S,792 short tons
which, including the waste of one-half
ton lost for every ton of coal mined
and marketed, is equivalent to an
exhaustion of 212,O00,O0O tons. The
original coal supply of the state is
estimated by NJ. R. Campbell, of the
United States Geological Survey, at
29,160,0O0,000 tons. On this basis
the amount of coal remaining in the
ground would be 1920 times the pro-
duetion in 1907.
atMr, Parker's report ON the coal in
dustry in the, United States in 1907
will be published by the Survey as an
advance chapter from Mineral Re-
sources of the United States, Calen.
dar Year 19O7s' 1t will be ready for
distribution in few weeks.
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