The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-01-20
WASHINGTON AS A
COAL PRODUCER
-.1E GIVEN PROMINENCE IN
REPORT OF GEOLOGICAL
SURVEY.
o,+ Gain in Output, Now Holding
e.oord Place in Amount Of Fuel
,.oduced. and Increase in the Prices
=. Local Product Is Commented
Upon.

washington, Jan. 14.-An exhaustive
-onort prepared by Edward w. Parker,
% the United States geological sur
rov on the production of coal in 1909,
oortains the following details of the
industry in Washington:
washington is the only state west
Of the Rocky mountains that rises to
anv notable Importance as coal pro-
drcpr In 1909 the coal output of the
e+atp according to statistics collected
hv the United States geological survey
in co-operation with the bureau of the
oonsus amounted to 3,576,35 tons, or
70 ner cent over 1908, and but 104,176
tons less than the maximum record of
1OO7 The value of the output in 1909,
however, showed a phenomenal gain
of &c per cent over 1908 (from $6,69O,-
u2 to S9,OS5, 941, an increase of $685.
599). and exceeded by more than
sl4OOOOO the value of the slightly
larger tonnage produced in 1907. The
greater part of this apparently dispro-
nortionate increase in value was re-
pored from Kittitas county, the most
important coal-producing county in the
state. More than IS per cent of the
coal produced in this county is derived
from the mines affiliated with and con-
trolled by the Northern Pacific Rail-
way, and all of the production is taken
by the railway, none going on the open
market The unusual increase in
value in 1909 therefore cannot be at
tributed to any market Improvement
in trade conditions 1t is to be noted,
however, that in King county, which
is next to Kittitas county in quantity
produced, contributing 80 per cent of
the states total, the average price per
ton advanced from 1921 to 1924, and
most of the production of this
county was commercial coal. In Pierce
county, the third in rank, there was a
slight decline in price, from an aver
age of $2.49 a ton in 1908 to SPAS in
1909
Machine-Mined Coal.
Until 1908 the use OF machines for
undertaking coal had shown little
progress in the mines of Washington,
attempts to produce coal mechanically
having met with Indifferent success.
In l9OS, however, four pick machines
were reported as having been used in
the production of 10000 short tons of
coal; IN 1909 there were eighteen ma
chlneS in use, fifteen pick and three
cnaln, and the machine-mined coal
amounted to 1850 short tons. Twelve
u tne machines in use in 1909 were
post-punching" machines adapted to
seeply dipping beds.
Notwithstanding the increased pro-
uuctlon in 1909, the quantity of coal
washed was less than in 1908, being
!V%,ll7 short tons, which yielded
.@'VSS tons of cleaned coal and 27O,-
100 IONS OF refuse, against 1,O98,879
SNORT tons of coal washed in 1908.
Yielding S59,942 tons of cleaned coal
ana 250,937 tons of refuse.
AS to Accidents.
..4 IN 'ne period of fifteen years the
wal number of deaths in the coal
1.n OF Washington has been only
s s'' dnd the injuries 1,O5s. Of the
a'ai accidents about 80 per cent were
uue 10 explosions, most of which were
iAploSlons OF gas. Some of the mines
tbo washington are highly gaseous, and
MI percentage of deaths from gas ex-
o,ISl0ns IS higher than in most of the
oon1 ' states producing bituminous
ora. "nu IS considerably above the
Wage when taken for a period of
cows on the other hand, the per-
se OF deaths from falls of roof
in VA wa Is smaller in Washington than
con o'nef states-22.27 per cent. as
tbo POI eu with an average of 47.93 in
mino oHi'eu States. D. C. Betting, state
Won. Inspector, reports that there
do ne 50 fatal and 1876 non-fatal acct
fa+ n,S IN 1909, as compared with Is
tba to anu ~ non-fatal in 1908. OF
eyn, ,asdi accidents IA were due to gas
MINUS missions. The quantity of coal
tons u LOT each life lost was 91,7O1
ss1 49, and the death rate per thousand
ninos compared with 133.859 tons
rate ~ lor each fatality and a death
'''e Of 4.56 in 1908.
r. sEesinnings of Coal Production.
lss sue United States census report for
pr o5 contains the first record of coal
was at ., in Washington. This coal
ham 'aken entirely from the Belling-
count,, properties, in Whatcom
Tho 'y' and amounted to 1914 tons.
e pue state did not assume ', much 1 i'm.
until I ne as coal producer, however.
field t IL opening of the Green river
and 100 90 hlng county, between 1880
in Ki 49, and of the Roslyn mines,
ducns '. 10 county, which began pro-
about the same time.
'eport Of Coal Production.
apnu.s advance chapter of the surveys