The chronicle=news., 1914-07-24
OF
GOAL FOR 1918
BREAKS ALL
7 RECORDS

The production of coal in the Unit
ed States has again broken all pre-
vious records, the output for 1913
being 570,O4S.125 short tons. which
is considerably more than double the
production of 1900 and more than
eight times the production OF 1850,
according to statement just issued
vey, from figures compiled by Ed
ward w. Parker. coal statistician.
The value of the coal mined In 1913
is given as $76O.4SS,7S5.
Compared with the previous year
the output for 1913 shows an in-
crease of 35.5S1,545 tons. or nearly Z
per cent. The increased activity in
dicated by these figures was well
distributed throughout The 20 coal
producing states. 23 of which showed
increases and only 6 decreased pro-
duction, the decrease in one OF these
-Colorado-beins due solely to la
Dor trouble. or these showing In
crease. l2 made record yields, and
Pennsylvania, the leading coal State,
broke records in both bituminous
aid anthracite production. The
States which broke all former rec
ords in coal production were Ala
bama. Illinois. Kentucky. Montana,
New Mexico, Ohio. Oklahoma. Penn
sylvania, Texas, Utah. Virginia. and
West Virginia. The largest increase
in the production of bituminous coal
was IN Pennsylvania, where I .9l5.-
729 tons was added to the output OF
1912. West Virginia showed the
second largest gaih, 4.522,295 tons
and Kentucky the third largest gain,
3,126.O79 tons. which was also the
largest percentage OF increase
amounting to 10 per cent. of all the
important coal-producing States. In
diana was fourth. Illinois fifth, Ohio
sixth, and Alabama seventh. While
the total increase was very large as
figured in tons, the percentage is
what may be considered normal and
indicative of healthy industrial nc
tivity throughout the country.
Coal mining. like all other indus.
tries in the Ohio Valley States. was
seriously interfered with by thr
great floods during the spring of
1913, and Mr.. Parker estimates that
from 5 to 10 million tons of coal
would have been added to the year,
output but for this disaster. With
no violent fluctuations in the de-
mand by the blast furnaces. steel
works, and other manufacturing in
dustries, the demand for coal for
those purposes shows only normal
increase. The continued decrease in
the use of fuel oil in the Mid-Con-
tinent oil field and the strike in the
Colorado coal mines resulted In an
Increased output of coal in the Cen
trail and Southwestern States. With
n few exceptions, notably in Illinois.
Indiana, and Oklahoma. values
ranged higher than in former normal
years. SO that from the producers
standpoint the conditions in 1913
were fairly satisfactory.
The development of our coal-min-
ing industry with refernce to popu-
lation presents some interesting COM
PARSONS. In 1850 the coal output
was 7,O1S.1S1 tons. or O.3 ton for
each of the 23,191.S76 inhabitants;
In 1880 the population had increased
to about 5O,OO0.000 and the oroduc-
tion of coal to about 100000 tons:
an average of LAP tons per lcapita
At the close of the nineteenth cent
ury the population was 7G,303,3S7.
an increase of little over so per
cent as compared with 1880, while
the production of coal had increased