The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-03-21
Vast Extent Of Our Coal Resources.

SS0t G4AIcut OA O~r COal He60urce9.i
" is not generally known. but 1t ID
none the less true, that coal is our
most abundant natural resource. Our
supply will outiive even the natural
fertility OF the soil. Il distinguish
here between natural fertility and a
fertiiized soiL) Our forests even now
are vanishing. Our iron ore is ap-
proaching the exhaustion peiat. We
nave gone through the rich lenses and
are beginning on the complex ores in
Inc precious metal mines. tBut In coal
We have. since ls4e. worked out only
one-fourth Of enc per cent. That
part Of coal which ts gone is nothing
"hen compared with; that which re.
MANS That is, this is true IL you es-
sumo that all our coal reserve, regard
less OF where it lies, can be made
asaliabie by some scheme OF trans.
por'ation to all the people. no matter
where they live. :: -.
The United States Geoloeica, sur.
vey has measured our reserve at sone.
thing like 41ss billion tons IN tba
United States and Alaska. This figure.
or course conveys no Impression 10
anyone except Of his inability to con-
ceive OF It. TO speak OF eves a chou.
sand million Of anything IL to net be.
yond human comprehension. 10 speak
OF four thousand thousand million, is
merely to multiply an inconesivaha
numeral by 5000. Perhaps II is more
nearly understandable to say that
more than As per cent, Of all the coal
upon which the world must DEPEND
forsVer-so far aas Il knowa uew=.,is
piled up in the United States ana
Alaska, 's 60
To bring these titanic asurss 10 a
plane where We. can begin to com
prehend them, ! divide orr territory
Into two coal zenss-one east Of ana
the other INCLUDING and west Of the
Rocky Mountains. The ARA pripei-
pally uader deyelopmeat 10 the east.
ern one and contains about half Of
this coal reserve. This, we win say.
contains 200 billion tons. From this.
area We produced in 1916 about so0.-
100000 tons Of .ocal. II production
should be held steadily at that point
~ future, it would take 331s years TO
exhaust onr eastern deposit alone. IL
We should get all coal or 1000 yes1s
i we should continue to reclaim but
80 per cent. Of it.. And when that
was gone we would still have an equal
amount in and west Of the Rockies,
e Therein lies the coal-mine owners
problem. All Of that coal is potential
~ available for production within q
few months. With new and vigorous
ccmpetition likely 70 spring from the
ground anywhere at any time. how
Is he ever TO proceed in a business
sense with any sssurance?
The American nation might do wen
to realize that n It does not adopt
this change voluntarily, It win be
forced to do 30. and that before q
long while. This is so for the reason
that while we are only beginning to
scratch the surface" OF our national
coal deposit, we are exhausting some
~elds rapidly. It requires iee,oOo
acres OF coal land every year 70 kesp
America in fuel. Tho eastern coal
fields. which yield SO per cent: :S0f ttiis
coal, cannet continue to endure tiais
drain without showing exhaustion. IN
deed. the east Is beginning TO take
alarm, and the owners Of sonas be
the richest areas are already falkins
Or" husbandlns their supplies. that
their own future needs may be cared
for - ~ ..-'-' .t."f,e - !ass e
Ana such careful Outstanding sof
eoai win alone postpone the inevitable
day when the east must haui it's coal
from west OK the Missfsstppi* The
mere suggestion Of such 4 pfobabiiity
at once rivets attention upon the ffh-
ture coal transportation problem. Fiat
Is to say. In 1915, the tklniy popdrSt-
ID West. with coat under> It's back
yard, felt the pinch OF 4 coal shsreAks
hacauss IT was depending On long
haul coal and the transportation Hines
&srs broken. What must happen TO
the dsnsely populated East when its
coal measures are exhausted and
when It's sources OF cnai supply are
more than two thousand mites away?
Prom 1.-THE coaf Probism' EmpfA-
sized" by George H. Cushing. in the
American Review Of Reviews for Feb.
ruary, 1917. -