250 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



watt hour of electricity in a steam plant. 29 In 1930 that much 

 electricity was produced by 1.62 pounds of coal. 30 Twenty- 

 four and nine-tenths million kilowatt hours of electricity are pro- 

 duced by steam plants today. 31 If the 1919 methods were used, 

 this would take 39,840 tons of coal. Thus the new methods of 

 production save the difference between 39,840 and 20,169 tons, 

 or 19,671 tons of coal. 



But if coal is an example of the advantages of the proper use 

 of a mineral, it is also an excellent example of the difficulties 

 which arise from bad markets. 



MINERALS AND MARKETS 



Suppose you have a coal mine. It makes little difference if it 

 is a coal mine, an oil well, an iron ore pit, or a timber tract; 

 but a coal mine will show some of the difficulties in the way of 

 people who are faced with the need of making a profit out of 

 the exploitation of natural resources. You have to pay your 

 taxes, and taxes are getting higher all the time. But that is the 

 least of your worries. As more coal mines open up, coal be 

 comes cheaper, and new mines are opening every day. Then 

 there is the interest on the money you borrowed when you 

 were so optimistic about your mine. That has to be paid. 

 Finally, some one comes along and invents a way to use oil 

 in place of coal. Your market is cut in half. You can afford to 

 take out only the coal which is cheapest to mine and at the 

 same times brings the highest price. This means you can work 

 only the richest veins. When they are exhausted you leave the 

 mine to fill with water and collapse. You waste thousands of 

 tons of coal that could have been used if only you could have 

 made a profit by mining it. And all the while the supply of coal 

 comes closer to the vanishing point. In the case of copper, 



29 Zimmermann, ibid., p. 479. 

 80 Ibid., pp. 570-574. 

 31 Ibid., p. 564. 



