The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-18
{ Coal s1nashes Record.

I, -rhe production and consumption OF
E~o.I In the United States in 1916 ex-
Eceeded all past records. The quantity
IL hs+1,minous coal mined last year is
l>stimated by c. f.. Lesher. Of the
UNITED States Geological Survey De-
partment Of the interior, as snghtly
more than 5000. 900 net TONS an IN
Screase, compared with 1919, OF more
than $500, 900 tons, or Is per cent
and greater by. 31,00o,0oO tons than
the record Of 1913 Data furnished oy
the Anthracite Bureau Of Informa-
ton indicate that the production OF
tPennsyfvania anthracite was sS,31z,-
1000 net tons, about 100000 tons less
than in 1915. The total output or
coal in the United States is thus est1-
mated at 5s7.500,000 net tons. and
the off1cia1 figures when compiled
may show 500, 900, 900 TONS compared
with $40, OeU, 200 tons in 1913.
i This estimate shows that the In
crease was general, only three states,
Maryland, oklahoma, and Texas, hav-
Ting had smaller production than in
t1915. The largest increase was In
Ohio. whose production In 1916 is es-
minated at s7,00O,oO0 tons, compared
with 22,435, 900 tois in 1915. a gain
LOT SIS per cent. Colorado, New Mex
sico, Virginia, and Washington show
increases of more than 20 per cent,
and Kentucky, Montana North Da-
kota, Tennessee, West Virginia and
wyoming, OF IA to- 18 per cent. In
Pennsylvania the increase was about
l17,O00,000 tons, or II per cent.
| The consumption of coal by the
railroads in 1915 is estimated to have
been 17,500,000 tons greater than in
1915, the use of coal in the manu-
factures of coke was greater by 20s-
500, 600 tons, exports increased about
100000 net tons, the coal mines
] used 100000 tons more for steam and
heat, and the increase in consumption
mainly by the manufacturing indus
! tries, was 21.0OO,O00 tons.
The increased consumption of BIZ
/ luminous coal by the railroads and
Industrial interests of. thee ountry
during the year brought about a con-
dition in which the demand for coal
was greater than the ability Of the
RAILROADS to deliver 1t, and in some
localities greater than. the ability Of
1.-THE mines to produce it, because of
scarcity of labor. There is no lack
of Goa. in the ground, or of mines
from which it can sbe obtained. The
Esoft coal mines, however, are not
Equipped to store coal that has been
mined, and the coal must be loaded
Into railroad cars as soon as it is
Idug--in fact, the miners as a general
rule, do not get into q mine unless
1.-THE cars are on hand to take the days
toutput.
d The greater part Of the bituminous
local produced in 1916 was sold on
Fcontracts at prices (agreed upon dur
hing the early part of the year, that
Represented increases little il any
tmore than the increases in wages
Igranted the miners. The high prices
lat, which the small Quantity of coal
lnd contracted for wasl sold during the
Hast three months oil the year were
1.-THE result OF excess OF demand over
supply The buyers bid the price up.
and as happens in the marketing of
any article or commodity under like
Econditions, there was doubtless some
speculative holding and trading that
ttended to raise prices. This factor
land the inclination of the middleman
land retailer to exact extra profits are
mot believed to have been any greater
as regards coal than as regards other
necessities whose prices have risen
during the last few months.