i84 EDWARD W. PARKER 



year 1889 showed a coal production of 141,229,613 short tons 

 and the population census for the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1890, showed a total of 63,069,756, persons, the per capita 

 production of coal being 2.26 tons. The twelfth census re- 

 ported a population of 76,303,387, the United States geological 

 survey reporting for that year a coal production of 269,684,027 

 short tons, or 3.53 tons for each inhabitant. 



It must be remembered that within the last thirty years 

 during which the coal production has so markedly outstripped 

 the growth in population, petroleum and natural gas have 

 been produced in enormous quantities and to the value of 

 many millions of dollars annually. The increased output 

 of these fuels, however, has been partly offset by a decrease 

 in the amount of wood used for fuel, but while it is known that 

 such a decrease has taken place, there are no statistics by 

 which comparisons can be made. 



Annual statistics compiled by the United States geo- 

 logical survey show that the United States has exceeded Ger- 

 many's production in every year since and including 1871, 

 with the exception of the two years 1875 and 1876, and since 

 and including 1899 has outranked Great Britain. In 1901 

 and 1902 the United States exceeded in coal production the 

 combined output of Great Britain and all its colonies and 

 dependencies. 



The production of anthracite in Pennsylvania during 

 1902 amounted to 36,940,710 long tons, which was less than 

 that of 1889 by 3,724,442 long tons. This decrease was due 

 solely to the strike in the anthracite region. The normal 

 production of the region, according to the statistics com- 

 piled by the United States geological survey, is between 

 50,000,000 and 55,000,000 long tons per year. The suspen- 

 sion of work for more than five months cut down the produc- 

 tion to about 60 per cent of the normal output. It must not 

 be considered, therefore, that the statistics of anthracite pro- 

 duction presented here represents the normal condition of the 

 industry. 



The total production from the time coal was first mined 

 in Pennsylvania in 1814 to the close of 1902 is estimated at 

 a little over 1,500,000,000 short tons, or an average of nearly 



