Evening star., 1943-01-31
BY John Clagett Proctor.


With all the coal in this country and
all the facilities for, handling it, and
with Uncle Sans enormous organiza- =
7 tion and resourcefulness, it does seem
that he could ship coal in adequate
. quantities to any part of the United
States, regardless of the mine owners
or labor organizations.
AS matter of fact, as early as 1864
1t was estimated that in l8 States of
the Union land at that time the Indian
Territory was included there were
2o6939 square miles of coal, and very
likely this estimate has since been
greatly increased rather than reduced.
In 1912 the output Of coal in the
United States was 500 ,96l 900 net tons,
divided as follows: Anthracite, $685.
900, and bituminous, including Ignite,
$4,000, 900 net tons
Indeed, to go back little over a CEN
tury, 1t is interesting to note what Prof
Walter P. Johnson had to say on March
81, 1899, when he submitted to Congress
his views for the disposition of the
Smithson fund. 1t was this:
"As it regards mineral fuel, the Amer
lean continent appears to be peculiarly
distinguished. In one or another Of its
varieties that material is found in Nova
Scotia, in Massachusetts,. Rhode Island,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky. Tennessee
and Missouri; on the Yellowstone River
On the eastern and the Columbia on
the western side of the Rocky Noun
tains; in the province of Durango, in
Mexico; in the island of Cuba; on the
lofty Andes of Peru; at the Cerro di
Pasco and Huallanca, bordering on per-
petual snow, and near the level OF the
sea at the city of Conception, on the
coast Of Chile.
But in the Central and Western
States of this Union the greatest abund-
ance and variety of this fuel has hith-
erto been discovered. 1t Is hardly more
than 80 years since so little was known
Of the coal Of Pennsylvania that =
wealthy and enterprising citizen who
had caused a wagonload of excellent
anthracite to oe transported from the
valley of Wyoming to Philadelphia at
an expense of $50 ton, and had par
celed it out for trial among his friends,
was soon beset by the latter with rebuke
and ridicule for having, as they alleged,
attempted to palm upon them a heap
of black stones, under pretense of their
being coal, while in fact they could no
more ignite them than If they had been
80 much granite.
"A fortunate occurrence at length dis
sipated their incredulity and saved the
credit of the worthy citizen: and the re-
suits Of that interest which was thus
awakened on the subject have led to a
knowledge of the mineral resources of
that State far more accurate than had
ever previously existed"
This most naturally refers to anthra-
cite coal, since bituminous coal was being
mined on the south side Of the James
River as early as 1850. the first place, It
is said, that coal was mined in this
country.
Washinston's Coal.
The first use Of coal in Washington
probably occurred in 1900, when Mrs.
William Thornton, wife of the designer
Of the original Capitol, noted in her
diary: "Joe hauling Goals which arrived
yesterday" This entry was on Novem-
Der 10, and on the 2lst of the same
month she states: Joe finished hauling
our Goals, by his account 1S0 Bushels.
Il0i4 pr. Bush; we are to give"
There was comparatively little coal
being mined at this time, and there WAS
very little need for it in Washington,
since there was an ample supply Of wood
for heating and other purposes. and as
substantially no manufacturing was be-
ing done in the new Capital, and per-
haps very little in Georgetown and Alex
andria-both then within the District of
Columbia, but with separate municipali-
ties-to buy COAL 1t would seem, would
have been an extravagant expenditure
Of money.
And furthermore the right to the
growing wood in the embryo city was
expressly reserved to the property holders
in their deeds to the United States, ex-
cept such as the Commissioners might
select and pay for, and since money for
this purpose was never available, at least
in the early days Of the city, in time the
forest primeval was entirely destroyed.
AS an illustration Of what happened