Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-08-29
MORE SOFT COAL
BEING PRODUCED
Reports Show Increase in
Amount of BituminouS Coal
Now Being Mined
BY GEORGE III. MANNING
Washington Correspondents of The
Perth Amboy Evening News

Perth annoy Evening news
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29.-The
ability of the bituminous coal mines
Of the country to fully supply any
deficiency caused by a strike in the
anthracite fields is shown more con-
c1usively each week as the soft coal
production of the country continues
its upward march.
In the face of a dull market which
has been according to reports from
the mines, responsible for an aver
age loss of at least 20 per cent. of
full operating time in the soft coal
mines of the United states, the daily
rate of soft coal production has gain
ed steadily through the months of
July and August, attaining a figure in
excess of 100000 tons per working
day. This unusually high rate of
output for the summer has been ex-
ceeded in no other year except 1918,
when there was an active demand,
according to reports OF the u. s.
Geological Survey.
Even in the hardly conceivable
event of a sympathetic strike being
called in the bituminous mines, the
country Is easily more than fifty
per cent better prepared for a stop
page of fuel production now than
any time this last year. Revised
estimates of the total production of
soft coal in the month OF July, just
published by the Geological Survey,
place the output of 45,126,000 tons,
which, although 364,000 tons less
than the June figure, due to the few
er number of working days, never
the1ess brought the total for the first
seven months of 1923 to 31S, 396, 900
tons-more than was produced in
the corresponding months Of any
other of the last ten years, except
the war years, 1917 and 1918, and
more than one-third greater than the
production in the first seven months
Of 1922.
The total anthracite production
for the present calendar year, to
August IS, is placed at "a, 600
tons very nearly three times as
much as it was on the corresponding
day of last year.
In the meantime the all-rail
movement of coal to Eastern New
York and New England has been
going on at a rate good deal in eX-
cess of that prevailing in August,
1920 and 1921--and about ten times
as high as that of last summer. In
ISCGIl WGthS SillRltlCAI0 AdNO dNCA
aged around $500 carloads Of bit
luminous and 1000 cars of anthra-
cite. In addition, soft coal has been
moving to New England via Hamp-
ton Roads and the water route at
the rate of about 200, 600 tons per
week.
According to the most reliable
information obtainable, there is
about 25,0O0,000 tons of anthracite
in the New England states at the
present time-about half as much as
the normal consumption in the Sc
we're months. With only a fifty per
cent shortage to be met by substi-
tutes, therefore it Is calculated that
this can be taken care of by blum.
nous coal moving over the normal
routes, with very little increase e
the present rate of movement.
The added stimulus which will
be given to soft coal production by
this additional demand will undoubt-
edly result in new records in blum
inous output-barring, of course, the
possibility of a sympathetic strike.
The potential capacity of the blum
nous mines is put at 100000 tons
per week; the normal consumption
in this country is around 100000
tons; the rate of production ever
since last fall has been in excess OF
TO- 100, 900 tons. Under the plan
outlined by the National Coal Asso-
citation, no part of the usual blum
nous consumers Of the country
would suffer from the diversion of
supplies to New England; according
to the figures it would seem that
there will ven be a large surplus
for export.