The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-03-24

n h NRWCASJte
 ably be s4 a ton, and f. o. b. MO
 I.ils not to exceed $1.50 a ton; and
 tba ocean transportation has credit
 of S9.50 A ton against the increased
 nost dua to longer distance. For the
 northern ports-Havre, Boulogne ana
 Calais-the British coal will pc per
 haps cheaper. because the distance
 from Newcastle to Hayre IS S9S miles
 and from Mobile to Havre is, 4522
 miles. making a differential of 4l24
 miles. This is just about the maximum
 distance that in normal times ton
 of ocean freight could be carried for
 se50 To the southerly ports of France,
 Bordeaux and Marseilles the situation
 is more favorable. The distances are
 as follows:
 Cardiff to Bordeaux 531 miles. to
 Marseilles 1S36, Mobile to Bordeaux
 4571 miles, to Marseilles 5t39.
 Here the differential is from 3300 to 4000 miles. and in normal times this is
 within the limit at which a ton of ocean freight can be carried for S2.50.
 Especially is it feasible to send Ala bama coal to MarseilIes. and from there to distribute it through the in terior of France by means of its eX- tersive system of river and canal navi- gation, which doubtless will be still further extended after the war. The largest steel works are at Le Creusot, about 100 miles north of Lyons and not far from the Saone; the great ordnance factory is at Bourges, not far from the Loire. There is inland navi- gation from Marseilles up the Rhone and the Saone, and a canal connects
 the Loire and the Rhone. so that coal could be transported from St. Nazaire
 or Marseilles to Creusot, all but
 very few miles by water. There are
 also cross canals connecting the Saa,
 the Moselle and the Saone, so that
 the ores can be taken from Lorraine
 to Creusot or the coal from the Saonc
 to Lorraine.
 'It thus seems feasible to send Ala bama coal to France on terms which admit of competition with British coal. But the issue at stake Is too vital for the matter to be left in private hands or subject to the merci1ess law of sup ply and demand, and the minimizing effects of laissez faire. It is case of action by the government-the gov ernment in its capacity of owner of mines and ships. intent upon supple menting the coal resources of France in such manner as 70 make France approximate Germany in economic strength. Through such action the most effective bulwark would be erected against German aggression, and it should be done by the United States, not for pecuniary profit but for na- tioIa1 defense.
 The export of coal has long been a large item in Great Britain's commerce. but 1t has never reached 1o0,0O0,0O0 tons per annum, and is now but little more than half of that In normal times the amount exported to France has been from 6,0O0,000 to S0O0,000 tons. Today 1t is nearly 20000.000 tons. It is doubt ful If, after the war. Great Britain will have more than 75000,000 to S0,0oo, 900 tons available for total export and bunk CTS, or more than 20,OO0,0O0 tons for
 France. This would leave 10000, GOO tons to be brought from Alabama. The normal price of coal, in large quanti- ties. in Paris before the war, was from SIP to SIS a ton. At Le Crusot and Bourges it was doubtless less, but there | is large margin above the cost of $1 50 I a ton f. o. b. Mobile. To transport 2O- 00o0O0 tons to Marseilles would require about S,0O0,000 tons of shipping: at the end of the war the government will be | the owner of probably 100000 tons. It is not too much to require that from one | fourth to one-third of this be used for | national defense, at small or even neg | ligible pecuniary profit.
 l "The cost of the ocean transportation and its resulting profit would depend l largely upon what could bs obtained for | return cargoes, and as bearing upon this I it is interesting to note that there are I in Alsace large deposits of potash of the 1 highest value for fertilizers. These were discovered about eight years ago and had not reached their full development when the war broke out It appears that 1 these mines are capable of producing sev- eral million tons of potash fertilizer per annum. Nothing is more needed in order | to increase the yield per acre of our soil than an adequate supply of fertilizers, and this is particularly true in the south. Prior to the war we imported upward of soO eco tons of fertilizers per annum. We could doubtless use to advantage from l 100000 to 3,000,000 tons. If, as is pledged I by the allies Alsace is returned to France, these potash deposits near Muhl- I hausen will furnish return freights to a very considerable proportion of the east bound coal tonnage. The fertilizers can stand high freight rate, which will off, | set the low rate necessary on the coal. tIn brief, then, it is the highest duty of the United States to aid in building up the economic strength of France, and I in so doing the United States will bene- | fit its avn interests-in national de- | fense and in economies. The basis of | such a programme is to supply coal to l France at the lowest possible price, The best available supply of such coal l is in' Alabama, and the government should immediately purchase and develop | one or more mines. so as to be in posi- l tion to furnish 100000 to 100000 tons a month as soon as the war is ended. In | the meantime, all the coal that the gov ernment can raise will find immediate use in Birmingham and the vicinity,
 where the scarcity of fuel is as acute as in New York or Boston"
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