The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-04
For the Good of
 the Community

ID EPORTS from all the coal districts in 4A the United States indicate that the coming winter will find shortage more or less acute, dependent largely upon the ex- tent of the revival of industrial activities.
 Black Diamond, one of the leading coal trade journals of the country, in it's review for the week ended June 28 states that there is scramble for prepared sizes of anthracite in New England, with coal get ting scarce, and coal for coke hard to ob- tain with somewhat similar conditions in the bituminous grades
 In the eastern field the demand for an- thracite is good with dealers unable to se- cure all that they could handle; bituminous market improving and prices showing a tendency to rise Soft coals in Pittsburg are in great demand.
 Some large railroad contracts were let in the central west field with brisk demand for domestic grades
 Increased activity is reported in the Kentucky fields
 Of the Alabama situation, Black Dia- mond says: "A slight improvement in de- mand for industrial coal was reported and greater optimism is shown by operators generally. All eyes are turned towards the railroads, whose contracts expire this month.
 Duluth reported "spotting," which, if continued much longer, will bring conges- tion in six weeks.
 The launching of national advertising campaign with the "buy now" thought as it's central idea, and the general activity of the dealer in local campaigns, has given fresh impetus to the domestic sizes in the bituminous fields generally throughout the country. .
 Birmingham consumers of domestic coal, applying to their dealer, have been told within the last week or two that it is already becoming difficult to get domestic grades in quantities sufficient to supply their regular customers.
 The Birmingham district mines are not < making the output this summer that they did even last year when production was be- low normal and there seems to be no in dication of any material increase soon.
 This warning has just been issued and by needing it some consumers might pre- pare themselves against a repetition of conditions that obtained last winter and the winter before:
 ''The United States geological survey has been sounding for weeks warning the public must heed. It is that there is shortage of coal and that there grave danger of lack of this necessary fuel during the coming winter.
 "The reasons for the shortage of coal are rious, but the fundamental one is lack of orders from the consuming public The human mind is prone to forget the discomfort of the past in the comfort of the present. The coal troubles of 1917 are in the background, the summer is here, why worry about the future? It must be realized that coal cannot be stored in large quantities at the mines It has to be moved when taken from the ground Unless there are orders, the operators cannot keep their mines at capacity output
 "The people of this city have vital concern in the coal situation. They must have coal for their public utility and lighting plants and, above all, for their homes. They cannot, they must not wait, regarding the future with optimistic expectation. They must put in their orders so as to get the mines