The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-09-11
SAYS U. S. COAL
EXPORTS WILL
NOT stint Us
America Could Well Afford to
Export Even Greater TN.
mage, Asserts Official
WORLDWIDE SHORTAGE or
100000 TONS, He SAYS
All Europe Demanding CoaI-We Are
Not lniuring Home Consum-
ers in Satisfying It,
Declares Witness

Washington, (SpeciaD American
coal producers, seeking TO relieve a
world wide shortage, are not sending
coal abroad in sufficient volume to de-
prive the American consumer in the
opinion of H. Y Saint head of the
shipping boards export department, a
witness before the Senate sub-com
mittee conducting an inquiry into the
coal situation. headed by Senator
FTelinghuS sen of New Jersey.
Mr.. Saint submitted to the COM
mittee the shipping boards official es
innate of the extent of the worldwide
coal shortage totalling GO, 1853 900 tons,
most of which, if made up, he said,
y presumably must be made up by the
/ United States Exclusive of ship
ments to Canada, the United States Is
exporting coal, he said at the rate of
about 100000 tons year. This Ia a
little more than one per cent of the
total amount of bituminous coal pro-
! duced in the country for year.
/ According to Mr. Saints figures
Canada will need about 16,S53,O0O
tons, France 100000 tons, Belgium
/ 100000 tons, which may be reduced
later as Belgium Is rapidly restoring
her mines, the Netherlands 100000
tons, China 3,135.000 tons, Italy $780,
| 900 tons, Sweden, Norway and other
countries many millions more to help
supply the needs Of these and other
countries, Mr. Saint stated, the Ship
ping Board has allocated the coal
trade 1874 American ships of 929,684
lightweight tons as follows: In the
Swedish trade SELL tons, to Swift
zerland and the Netherlands 1858
tons, to Denmark 1000 tons, Italy
105,503 tons, France 13S,380 tons,
South America 207,512 tons. There
was included in these figures, he
said, 103,66l tons in the coastwise or
New England trade, which would have
to be deduced from the total tonnage.
leaving approximately $4,000 tons
engaged in the overseas transporta-
tion of coal.
These figures represented only
shipping board vessels, he said, or
about thirty per cent of the total.
THE export coal trade so far this
year" Mr.. Saint said, us running
little behind the export trade of last
year owing to the dropping down of
the Canadian trade. But the foreign
trade has increased over last year.
BY the time this year is up we viii
have exported, | think, about seven
million tons"
So great was the dearth of coal
abroad, Mr. Saint associated. that de-
mand had come from practically every
European country including the Brit
ish Isles, heretofore the chief coal
exporting nation of the world Eng
lands inability to produce coal in pre- |
war quantities, he thought, was pri- |
marily responsible for the increased !
demand on the bituminous coal pro- |
ducers of the United States.
Her exports have dropped from IT, |
100000 tons of coal year." he said, |
ito 100000 tons. 1t was the I'M |
derstanding that England was to take
care of the Canadian situation, I be- |
lieve that conclusion was reached in
Paris during the economic conference
there. But England has radically
failed to take care of the Italian sit
uation. Italian imports of coal before
the war were 100000 tons annually.
Last year England sent Italy 100000 |
tons and this year, up to date. she is
doing very little better This leaves
IL 'ut t'OuO,uUu W O,uuU,UUU uOnS TO be
supplied later by other nations and
we are practically the only nation
that can supply her that coal"
Are we relieving England at our
eXponse?" Senator F'relinghuysen.
. If you mean expense in the same
of taking coal that should go to our
own people" replied Mr.. Saint, II do
not believe that sufficient coal is 60
ing abroad to particularly injure our
domestic situation II you look at
our foreign shipments as a develop
nent of a legitimate foreign trade,
Which will mean a very great deal |.
% this country in future wears, 7
-hinE We can yell send what wa are
sanding new. and considerably more.
abroad at this time.
Mr.. Saint said, We are trying to
distribute our tonnage euuitably
'mong the countries that need coal"
1