The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-09-29
STUDY OF COAL PRICES.
Covering the Period from 1918 to 1918,
by c. z. Lesher.

by c. z. Lesher
The coal bill was of dominating in,
terest i'm the United States and else.
where during the war and it still com.
1 mands wide attention. Studies Of the
/ prices OF Goa and coke from 1913 ia
1918 were made by G. Z. Lesher of the
United States geological survey, depart.
ment Of the interior, in cooperation
with the war industries board, and their
results have just been published by the
survey as an advance chapter of its re-
port on the mineral resources Of the
United States in 1918.
Mr. Lesher's report shows in text, ia
bles, and diagrams the fluctuations in
prices from the beginning Of 1913 to the
end Of 1918, the restraint on prices ex.
ercised by government control through
the fuel administration, and the in.
creases in prices that followed the adj
vance in wages to mine labor
Bituminous Coal.
About so per cent Of the bituminous
eoal produced in the United States goes
to the railroads. public utilities, and
manufacturing industries, which, taken
together, represent market that is very
little affected by seasonal changes but
that is subject to all the yicissitudes Of
business conditions in prosperous and
dull times-that mark the ebb and flow
Of our industrial life, OF the remaining
20 per cent, four per cent represents ex.
ports an item 80 small and local as to
have no effect on the total land about Is
per cent is taken BY domestic consum.
ers, whose use Of coal is Of course sea.
sonal
Bituminous coal is not stored except
by the consumer, but moves directly
from the mine TO the user. Exceptions
that do not affect the general validity of
this statement are found in the stocks
held IN retail dealers yards in the coal
held IN railroad cars both small items
and in the coal stored on docks at the
head OF the Great Lakes, where millions
Of tons, held for the northwestern trade,
are piled mp during the season of sum.
mer navigation for use in the winter,
when the lakes are frozen over The
ability to get bituminous coal to the
consumers, which involves not only the
number and size Of mines and the mum.
Der Of men but the number Of railroads,
engines, coal cars, switching yards, and
sidetracks, must be ample to meet the
maximum demand And If the capacity
Of the mines and the railroads must be
kept up 70 meet the periodic and tempo.
rary big demand for coal, il is evident
that iu periods of slack demand a part
Of this huge plant must lie idle
Conditions IN 1917 and in the first
nine months Of 1918 were quite differ.
ent from those in preceding years; de-
mand generally exceeded supply and
transportation was the principal factor
limiting production.
An obvious result Of having more
mines than are needed at times l. the
curtaiment OF output at periods OF slack
demand and q lowering OF prices in an
effort to attract business The cost Of
production has not always determined
the lowest level of price, for ignorance
of cost or desire to maintain the work
ing organizations AZ the mines have oft
en- operated TO maintain output beyond
demand al times with serious effect on
the credit Of the industry, For years
much Goa has been taken from the
ground without adequate returns to the
producers. The lure OF cheap cost of pro-
duction from tbVk beds-as in parts Of
West Virginia and Illinois and Of high
prices in prosperous years and periods
of coal shortage has attracted to the bust. !
ness Of producing coal many men who,
once in have borne loss year after year
in the hope of retrieving their losses |
later
These conditions in the bituminous
coal industry are significant and should |
be clearly recognized because they show |
why, in normal times, the price of btu
minous coal is not subject to even mod. |
erately wide variations The low levels |
are reached when those producers that i
are willing or able to reduce prices have |
supplied the demand. Need for the com.
modify and not low price induces the
purchase of coal High levels of price /
are reached when, under tho incentive of |
big profits, production is speeded up and
capacity increased to a point where de-
mand is satisfied
Another and an important reason for
fairly stable prices Of coal is found in
The fact that labor represents nearly so
per cent OF the total cost OF production
and that wages are pretty generally
through the unions. Coal
miners wages are fixed by agreements
'unning from two to four years.
The general principles governing the
prices in normal times thus set forth
continued to operate through 1916, and
until the middle Of 1917, although in the
alter part of this period conditions were
lar from normal A tremendous in
'rease in demand, which began in the
asst quarter Of 1916 and extended
through 1918 until the armistce was
declared in November, brought forth an
Increase in production to point where
he limit Of railroad capacity was tenn
oorarily reached with the demand still
Because the demand could
not be fully satisfied, prices in the fall
IF 1916 and 1917 rose to almost I'M
heard of figures, until first voluntary
control and later government control
was exercised.
Anthracite Coal.
The history of the production of BIZ
luminous coal in the United States is a
history OF the growth Of its manufactur