534 



Popular Science Monthli/ 



coal lands for little or nothing through 

 some mischance or other, or because they 

 have an especially favorable situation in 

 some respect, generally set the prices 

 for that region. The others, in order to 

 dig in and get business, offer inducements, 

 or endeavor to get the upper hand in some 

 other way. In any case trouble results. 

 Said George Otis Smith and C. E. Lesher, 

 of the United States Geological Survey, 

 in a paper before the American Mining 

 Congress at Chicago some time ago: 



"In the many years our coal indvistiy has been 

 developing, rate structures have been built up that 

 give to this and that producing district, differentials 

 (in freight rates) over other districts — handicaps, 

 as it were, that may be based on comparative 

 lengths of haul, difference iu coal qualities or min- 

 ing costs, or may merely be the survival of past 

 practice, for which no reason now exists." 



The italics in the quotation are ours. 

 To one endeavoring to analyze existing 

 opinion as to the coal situation in produc- 

 ing regions, that expression would seem 

 capable of summing many of the other 

 factors. Though only about one-tenth 

 of one per cent of our available 

 coal lands are at present being 

 worked, even with that small 

 amount we have allowed an 

 enormous, complicated and er- 

 ratic producing and distribut- 

 ing system to grow up. What 

 sort of situation we would get 

 ourselves into were we to start 

 in on the other 99.9 per cent 

 of our coal lands is indeed a 

 subject for interested specula- 

 tion. Coal men have written at 

 length on such a contingency. 

 But certainly the lack of order 

 and system in our coal-produc- 

 ing regions, and in contributing 

 factors that would tend to sta- 

 bilize producing, must all have 

 a material effect on whether or 

 not we are to continue to have 

 annual "coal shortages." 



Prospects for Betterment 



Suppose we do have coal 

 shortages every winter, and 

 they are due to these and those 

 reasons, what prospect is there 

 for bettering the situation? 



One outstanding remedy for 

 coal shortages is at present 



commanding the attention of the whole 

 country. This is the development and 

 utilization of our waterpower resources. 

 M. O. Leighton of the Geological 

 Survey estimates that the country has 

 between 36,000,000 and 66,000,000 horse- 

 power at present running idle in rivers 

 and mountain streams. The figure 

 runs as high as 200,000,000 horsepower, 

 if all practicable storage sites are included 

 in the estimate. And the noteworthy 

 aspect of the situation is that water- 

 powers, once developed, are a permanent 

 source of energy. On the other hand, 

 when we take our coal out of the ground 

 and burn it, it is gone forever. In the 

 interests of our future fuel supplies we 

 should at once start in to make good 

 use of the part that is going to waste at 

 present, to our great loss. 



The reason our waterpowers have not 

 been fully developed heretofore is that 

 such restrictive legislation has been passed 

 by Congress that men will not invest 

 their money in plants. Franchises have 

 been revocable by the Secretary of the 



,'c; i;ii.i.T«.....i U1..I rM.i.i«.,.„i 



One of the huge terminal coal-handling plants, 



hard-pressed this winter. This one is in New Jersey 



