The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-05-07
HIGH COAL LAID TO
LOWER OUTPUT
Scranton Engineer Also BIames
Greater Demand.
FACE A FEDERAL PROBE
Declares Anthracite Production Has
Passed Its Maximum and Prices
Henceforth Will be Higher.

Scranton. Pa, May 7.-[ncreasins
demand for anthracite and declining
production are responsible for the
proving price of coal, according to the
reasoning OF William Griffith. a mining
| en@ineer
In a statement he said that because
OF these Facts the price of coal VIII
continue to advance continuously.
An investigation OF the federal trade
commission resulted in a peel III nary
report Saturday showing the amHu"l
of coal to be ample. and that present
prices are not justified because OF the
immense stocks of coal at the mines
An advance Of forty cents ton by
a large producing concern is looked
upon as having brought the anthracite
operators face to face with an inve-t
CATION by federal commission. III
view of the announcements by the trade
board that prices for the last SIX
months were Unwarranted.
Mr.. Grifith's statement on the an
thracite situation follows:
There las recently been much dis
cussion and investigation as to the
high price Of anthracite coal, and al
sorts of reaso~; have been mentioned
as to the c"n-e.
"While II has been suggested the
price of coal might be more or less
affected temporarily by transportation
and labor conditions, or concerted &C
tion among producers. sales agents OF
offers Interested in the trade 1t seems
to us that the above reasons are In
no manner fundamental. but that the
basic cause for higher prices is the
present great difference between the
gradually diminishing supply and the
rapidly increasing demand. The fact
is that in this respect the anthracite
coal trade is now facing a new stu
alton such as has never been known
In the trade before.
at will he noted that during the
zfft Prfer to 1910 the demand
and consequent production of coal has
been increasing at a rate of nearly
two and a half million tons per year,
and at no time in the past, except the
last FIVE years, has the production va.
ried from the demand more than four
or five million tons, except in those
years during which the trade has been
disturbed by unfavorable labor condi
lions, strikes, suspensions. etc.
"P will he noted that the market
requirements as indicated by the de-
mand curve in the diagram has now
I, To-,
tons per year. whereas the production
was maximum in 1910 at eighty-two
million tons and declining since that
date at the rate of a half million tons
per year to about seventy-nine million
tons in 1916: thus we see that at the
end of the past year the normal mar
ket demand for anthracite coal was
fourteen million tons in excess of the
supply, or, in other words, there is
now a shortage of supply equal to
about three or four times the defici
ency that has existed in any one nor.
NAL year during the history of the
coal trade. 1t would be interesting tC
consider the probability of continu
ance of this condition of affairs. or is
it only temporary?
1--WE. therefore, find the anthracite
trade at the present moment, face to
face with new conditions, very
striking change from what has exist
ed during the whole life of the trade
up to about five or six years ago.
AS to how high prices will naturally
be main tanned will depend upon and
be regulated by the production and
prices CT the chief competitors of an
thracite, viz. bituminous coal and its
produ is"