().\ nil-: .\.\ii:i:i('A\ ii i:l iwmisi-: 



93 



Tlic rail- ol" prodiiitioii al \\\v |ii'i'sciit 

 tiniL' is about G00,000,00(» tons jut year 

 and is iiiereasinfr. At this rate, and 

 allowing fifty per cent for waste and 

 loss in mining, it would a|i|Ma v i hai i lir 

 United States lias a vcsfivc -^ood foi- 

 something like 2000 years. \\"\\\\ grow- 

 ing demands, howexcr. tVoni oni- own 

 industi'ies and tlie neeils of tho>c |iails 

 (d' ihe world le>s favored uilh sneli ^ii|i- 

 l)lil'S. il is to lie e\|iec|ed tliat llie rale 



of ]irodnetioii will iiiei'ea>e inatei'ially 

 for many yeai-s and lliat linal exliaus- 

 tion is well within thai lime. The an- 

 thracite reserves are being depleted at a 

 much faster rate and pi-oliahly will not 

 last a hundred years. It i> worth not- 

 ing also that tlie greatest reserves are 

 in the lowest grades. 



As a matter of fact, the world can 

 look fiu'ward to the grim necessity in 

 the moderately distant I'nture of utiliz- 

 ing other sources of powei- and heat. or. 

 failing in that, of adjusting theii- wants 

 to the modified conditions, it is not at 

 all uidikely that many of tlie industrial 

 establishments now gi'ouprd around the 

 great coal fields will aliandon these lo- 

 cations and seek tropical and desert 

 regions where there may be hope of 

 harnessing the wind and sun to furnish 

 power, and where the demands for arti- 

 ^ficial heat for the comfort of their peo- 

 ple are not so pressing. Others will 

 doubtless learn to rely upon the water 

 jiower of our streams, especially our 

 mountain streams, which will in time 

 be harnessed from source to mouth to 

 furni.^h power. On many coasts the 

 tides may also be utilized in much the 

 same manner. 



Thus the resei-ve forces of the earth 

 loom up in the future industries of the 

 world. Perhaps in those distant times. 

 the present waste places of the earth. 

 such as our deserts, may blosscuu with 

 many attractions, forced upon them by 

 the exhaustion of less favored regions. 



Coal Reserves of OUirr Coinilrics 

 It is of equal interest to compare the 



co;d i-cM'i-\e> of ilic ditl'crent leading 

 c<uinl ries n\' ibc world, but in lliat case, 

 of course. man\ i|Ue>ti(uis lieNond our 

 |iresent imme(liale concern are involved. 

 It has ti> do with the futni-e o|' numy 

 counliie> in the economic competition 

 (d' tlie world, ;iiid nia\ in the long run 

 lie one i)\' ilic deciding factors in world- 

 |iowc!-, if nation- are still to strive for 

 >ucli a t liing. 



If all grades of cdid are iiicliided, the 

 axailablc re>i'r\es (d' the dill'erciit coii- 

 t iiiciit - arc I'ougliK' a> follows : 



North .\merica 5,0:;i, 131,000,000 tons 



Asia . . . 1,27!), 58G,0()O,(i00 tons 



Europe . . 784,190,000,000 tons 



Oceania . . 170,410,000,000 tons 



Africa . . . 57,839,000,000 tons 



South America 32,097,000,000 tons 



If these reserves are classified as to 

 grade, the rankings in the different 

 classes are somewhat modified, Asia 

 leadi]ig in reserves of anthracite. 1)ut 

 there is ]io large deviation from the 

 original order given. North America's 

 great reserve in all bituminous grades 

 is the striking thing, and places the 

 United States, which is the country 

 carrying the bulk of these supplies, 

 well in the lead in reserve power from 

 this source for the future. 



The total available coal reserves of 

 the United States have been estimated 

 at 3.838.057.000.000 tons;i the total for 

 the whole world at 7,397,553,000,000 

 tons. In otlici- wiu'ds. the Ignited States 

 owns more than half of the apparent 

 world's su|)|ily. 



It appears thercd'oiv that the ]»resent 

 coal faiiune is a very superlicial thing 

 and it is a satisfaction from very many 

 different ]ioints of view to find that the 

 Unife<l States is so well su|i|>licd with 

 |-eserve fuel. 



' Tlio fiffures (jivcn at)ovp have licen compiled 

 from tlie Mitifral Kmoiirrig of thr I'liiti-d Stntrs. 

 Mineral Industry for 1916. and tlie monoRraph on 

 Coal Iffxnurci'H nf the ^'orld, jHiblislied by tlie 

 International Geoloffical Concress in 191H. These 

 figures are not to be regarded as absolutely arcu- 

 rate to the last ton or dollar but they are found to 

 be serviceable for comjiarative jiurjioses and they 

 are of the order of maKnitiide belonging to the 

 various factors of such a problem. 



