The Washington times., 1923-02-01
LIONS ARE TOLD
COAL SUPPLY
IS AMPLE
Luncheon Guests Hear Blame
for Shortage Placed on
Railroads.

The United States is overstocked
with coal, a surplus Of at least 15O,-
000, 900 tons being on hand in this
country, according to David A.
Jayne, of Charleston, W. Va, au-
thority on coal production, in an
address before the Lions Club to-
day.
High prices and shortage Of COAL
are not caused by lack Of produc-
ton but by lack of distribution IA
cilities, he declared. The mines are
working on less than half-time
schedule. he declared, many Of the
largest mines not working more
than two days out of seven.
THE shortage and high prices in
Washington" he said, cannot be
laid to the miners, but must be
blamed on the railroads, which have
not enough coal cars. The nom
union mines of West Virginia alone
could supply the needs Of this coun-
try If cars could be found to insure
steady shipments.
Car Lost Seven Years.
IF the Coal Fact Finding Com
mission would go to the Depart
ment of Commerce and build up q
chart of car movements it would
find the trouble with the coal situa-
ton.
1.-THE principal coal-carrying rail-
roads in this country are the Penn
sylvania, Baltimore and Ohio, Chesa-
peake and Ohio and Norfolk and
! Western. The others haven't enough
coal cars to make a decent Fourth
| Of July parade. One car from one
of these lines was gone from it's
home line for seven and half
years and when located was In
| New Mexico.
Congress could relieve the en-
tire coal problem in the United
States by doing Just two things
compelling railroad lines which have
no coal cars to buy a sufficient
number of cars to keep the dis
tribution up, and encouraging de-
velopment of a scheme for storing
coal safely"
Coal At So a Ton.
JAYNE declared that he had been
| told by a big West Virginia coal
producer that coal is being pro-
duced for So to 1925 ton, and that
this cost could be cut by at least
81 If cars could be furnished to in
sure the mines being run six days
| week.
Six hundred new coal mines were
| started during the war. Jayne said,
! and they overproduced, and have
been overproducing ever since.
There are in the world 1850. 000,-
0O0. 900 tons of coal. Mr.. Jayne de-
clared, of which four-sevenths IS
| located in the United States and
one-seventh in Canada, making five
seventies of all the coal in North
America. One-seventh is in China
and the other seventh divided
among Germany, England, Austria
| liza. Siberia and other countries.
Before the war the United States
consumed 500, 900 900 tons Of coal a
year and since the war we have
produced 100000 tons a year.
Twenty-eight per cent of all the
coal. used in this country is burned
by the railroads and SO per cent In
producing steam for industrial uses,
he said.
$500 Years Supply.
| The United States can furnish
the world with coal for the next
$500 years" he said, III no otner
country were to mine ton In all
that time. Before that time has
elapsed, however, power, light ano
heat will be sent entirely by radio
j James P Schick, president OF the
club. appointed the following pro-
gram committee: E. T. Goodman.
chairman; Harry w. Taylor and
Reed Baker. Several new members
were admitted. Caleb O'Connor in
vited members to attend an elocu'
ton recital by his pupils at the
Central Y. M. C. A. at o'clock