The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1911-12-29
All FTlferes TING elEielN 81 the
Coal Industry BY Geo
logical Survey.

Y Z 1 =
81 syr1Is1aToCS. al G.. Dec 2s.-
west v4F inia, which In 1910. held
second place among the states OF the
Union In the matter OF coal prodpc-
ton. evidently holds the same rank /
in 1911, although the accurate ag-
ures have not yet been made, public
by the Geological survey.
BIgures given out today. however.
indicate 4hat the coal production OF
Vgesr Virginia for 81 IN spite Of un-
favorable conditions and depression
In the coal business was approximately
equal to the production Of the state
in 1910 illinois Is West XIrginia's
sclosesr rival for second place and
while no figures have been given out
tshowing the coat prod{hction OF Illinois
lin 4 SD n Is Iieved IRON the general
icondItI6hs prssval lipgllsl that state that
the production there In 1911 did not
materially, II any. exceed that Of
i191 O.. when It was far behind West
virginia.
! The trade conditions in West Viz
! ginia have been far from satisfactory
during the &last year and prices have
apparently been tar from profitable.
This, however. dldsn tsprevent the pro-
! dtr6tIsH OF about the same quantity OF
coal as In the previous year.
/ The production OF the appalachian
coal fields in 1911 is discussed in a
! statement given to the press by Ed
ward wv. Parker. of the United states
GeoIogical Survey. Mr.. Parker states
that in general the condition OF the
ecoa1s1niningT industry in 1911 was far
from prosperous owing to oVer-pro--
ducttpn andsdepressed:pr prices.
The Appalachian region as the prin-
tcfphl source OF colSing Goals was more
directly Influenced by the depression
I'm the iron trade In 911 than some Of
the other coal-mining districts. In
fsome of the c0kfhg districts many Of
the oxenAswere, shut down Throughout
1.-The year. The production OF coke in
the Connellsville district decreased
about hifteeng per cent. and the other
cooking districts will show still larger
falling OFF. There was also lighter
demand from the RAILROADS. and as
the supply of both cars and labor was
ADEQUATE. there was naturally an albil-
ifty TO produce and transport the coal
considerably in excess of the ability OF
the market to absorb 1t. 1t is estt-I
mated that the production of blum
nous coal in Pennsylvania in 1911 de-
creased about three per cent. with
considerably larger decline in value.
in west Virginia the production was
Approximately the same as in 1910.
!Durfng the first six months Of the year
the production fell short probably 81
900, 900 tons, as compared With the last
! six months of 1910. but after the first
OF July there was some Improvement
I in the business, although prices were
still depressed.
+ slight Change In West Virginia.
In the opinion OF Mr.. John Laing,
CHIEF OF the West Virginia Department.
Iof Mines. the states output OF the
year was IS 1880. 900 long TONS or about
/ CO. 800. 600 short tons. compared with
61 .67ll 900 short tons in 1910. Some
operators estimate that the production
Of the state will show an increase OF
about five per cent over that OF the
preceding year Mr.. Laing estimates
that the production Of coke in West
Virginia in 1911 was not more than
ihalf as much as in go. This was part
lily made up. however. by the fact that a
large amount of West Virginia coal isl
being shipped to .by-product coke
ovens in other states For several
years prior to 1911 the labor supply in
West Virginia had not been sufficient
for the requirements, but this was not
the case in 1911. There were no seri
Gus interruptions to business owing to
labor troubles, the few instances OF dis |
affection which developed having
been settled satisfactorily within al
few hours after the strikes began,
and the usual complaints Of car
shortage and the failure on the part
of the railroads to handle the traffic
were not made. Several attempts
have been made to secure agreement
among the operators by which prices
could be put upon n living basis and
ruinous competition abated.
Decrease in Alabama.
In LAIaIbama, according to conserva-
tive estimates the output in 1911 de-
cearsed about 10 per cent from that
Of 1910. This has been due chiefly TO
curtailment of the production OF pig
iron, with a proportionate reduction
in coke. and to curtailment of tire
output of coal from the mines OF the
companies. The conf
mercial coal business of the state was
anything hut satisfactory. The de-
mand, was less than in 1910, and
prices were greatly demoralized. La
Dor conditions were normal, the sup
ply being sufficient and without in
corruption because OF strikes. AL
though 1911 was SO generally unsat-
isractory. provision for better condi-