New-York tribune., 1918-07-10
Is Per Cent of Increased
Demand From Small
Congested Area
Enormous Burden
Put, on Railroads
100000 Tons of Bitumi-
nous and S5,OOO,OOO Of
Anthracite Needed
By Theodore M. knappen

WASH NJ CN. JUL y III coal shall
sin or lose the war. the decisive battle
< 70 be fought east of the Alleghanies
and north OF the Potomac. Regionally
ms. is the home OF the coal problem;
ndustrialy. national problem of the
greatest moment; territorially it is
small affair. Eighty-tive per cent of
he increased demnad for coal occa-
stoned by the war arises east of the
black llne on the accompanying map
Except in special emergencies, It must
draw all its coal from the bituminous
mines OF Northern West Virginia,
MARYLAND and Pennsy syivania, classified
As Zone P by the fuel administration,
and The anthracite field OF Pennsyl-
ysnia
Into this narrow and congested re-
sjon lhere Nu~t hn poured du.0 ~ thls
wear. i. calamity is 10 be avoided, not
less than go 100000 tons of bituminous
coal as against $4,000, 900 tons in 1917
10 say nothing of S5.000,000 tons OF
anthracite originating in the area of
congestion, 20 per cent more than las.
rear-25 per cent of all America 5 coal
70 be delivered on Is per cent of its
most congested railway mileage.
And because this region needs so
much more coal. it also needs, in about
he same proportion. more of all The
materials ot production FOR war. II
ass been said that half OF all the
war plants in the country and four
afths Of all their product are here.
This is probably an exaggeration, bat
i so it merely emphasizes the dimen-
or HN
tue snc other materials and of trans
portation.
Crowding the Ports
Except for part of the 15,5OO,00O tons
Of coal that go to tidewater at Balti.
more and Hampton Roads and thence
by boat to New England and New
York all of the coal to be consumed
in this section and all of the other ma
terials coming from the West must be
squeezed through the gateways of
Albany Williamsport, Altoona, Ship
pensburg and the Potomac yards at
Washington, and part of them again
through Poughkeepsie and New York
gatewayS.
1t is therefore in this region that
the task o. mining and delivering the
coal becomes lneXtrcably bound up
together and enmeshed in the whole
titanic Industrial side of the war. l.
Is here that transpor- alton becomes
The measure Of production, and that
transportation not merely question
Ct cars and OF motive power, but of
me limitations Of railway tracks and .
y,ards and of the passes passes
through which world of goods must
20 besides coal-and of the competi- I
uon o. other moving commodities +
against coal and each other.
II the problem were merely one Of
c,igslng the coal it is inconceivable f
mat means would not be found to get
Il out Of the ground. but because The
unconquerable controls there is some
waere an absolute though somewhat
elastic limit. beyond which to produce
coal from the ground is veritablv to
So limit on later production.
No Storage al Mines
10 Keep the mines going, coal must
" nauied away as fast as it is brought I
% the surface. There is no storage at
ne ae MINES: 10 possibility of accumu- /
sHhg coal during a period of conees-
IVA on the railways, as against a
NasS one. If an abnormal number of
a,' oe delivered at any one time. the +
IJs.,! return OF The cars is disturbed !
.aa 'ne consequent loss of production
~. later date may Offset the imme-
aste gain. On The other hand, a day
.o. w, IN producing coal is a day lost
,".s; ,".syer If the mines pour into the
5siag 5jsiia.hg stream Of commodities that
~s"oucnes through the narrow passes
more more than q certain amount, the
s.s ram Jams itself by it's own inten-
o,y.oacks =, y. itself up from the impetus
Tt 1ss own forward effort.
ma mat Is why the black line on the
map map has now become the dead line o.
v,auustnal expansion in the Northeass.
So Ss.i new ilndus-ry-certainly no war in.
nan nrra,n,[Sy.iocating ~. to the east of this
istrs.;.y nay expect coal. The fuel admin
n,iae.on nI"S.oon has SO iecreed and the War
Industries Board has 50 approved.
This PeriIous Congestion
NTH I'm a continent in which to
'0Sfe our industrial forces, we