>i k WANING COAL SUPPLY 



543 



basin, it would be easier to sec lio\v the 

 coal measures are divided vertically as 

 well as longitudinally. I" such an ex- 

 posure it \\ould he seen that only the 

 lower beds, or those contained in the 

 Allegheny and Pottsville divisions, ex- 

 tend into Tennessee and Alabama; it 

 would also show that but few coal beds 

 extend evenly over wide area--, an ex- 

 ception being the great Pittsburg seam. 

 It would also show that good seams of 

 coal are seldom found side bv side, or 

 layer upon layer in the same section. 

 I'.nt let us come to the main problem. 

 How long will it take to exhaust the 

 ^everal parts of these fields? I beginning 

 with Alabama : At the rapid rate at 

 which the coal in this valuable field is 

 being mined, there cannot be much left 

 in forty years, and yet a senseless clam- 

 or is made to have certain rivers im- 

 proved so that this coal can be shipped 

 out of the country! Considering the 

 relation of this coal to iron ore that will 

 last probably 150 to 200 years, and per- 

 haps longer (as one is known to extend 

 all through the Clinton formation) the 

 shipment of any of the coal out of this 

 field ought to be prohibited by law. 

 Tennessee has less coal in quantity ; but 

 being for the most part of good quality, 

 it is being rapidly mined by the Ten- 

 nessee Coal and Iron Companv for its 

 own use. and by numerous other com- 

 panies for the general market, and 

 twenty-five to thirty-five vear- will see 

 but little left, and luig before that time 

 the price will have advanced to the 

 monopolistic limit. 



It is then, to the coals found in the 

 upper series in Kentuckv. West Vir- 

 ginia, eastern Ohio, and Pennsylvania 

 that we must look for our supply in tin- 

 later years ( ,f the centurv. I'-ut when 

 u e s t -e how rapidly certain of the-e 

 coals the Pitt.shurg. the upper I-'r 

 port, equivalent to the Cambridge of 

 ( )hio. and what is left in veins in the 

 Potts\ille series in Ohio and Pennsyl- 

 vania are going now by lake and rail 

 to supply the demand in the N'orth and 

 Xorthwest. it really becomes an alarm- 

 ing problem to determine what even tin- 

 next generation will do f < >r fuel. 



The coals <>f Indiana and Illinois are 

 all needed in the Middle West, and will 

 be mined out to supply these markit- 

 before tin- century i- half out. 



lint let us turn again for a moment to 

 the U) to -( *) square miles of the I'oca- 

 hoiitas and Xew River beds ;m d see 

 what is going on in this, the most val- 

 uable part of the Appalachian field, and 

 all told, perhaps more valuable than any 

 other, even than the anthracite field. Al- 

 ready this coal is being shipped a- fast 

 as trains can carry it to different parts 

 of the country, and to the Atlantic 

 coast, to supply, not only our own navy, 

 but the navies of other countries, and 

 to supply the markets ,,f the world. 

 And now new railroads are being hur- 

 ried into the field to compete for thi- 

 traffic. How long will the field la-; 

 under these conditions' ( )ne item will 

 sln-d light on this question. The large 

 steamships that now ply the ocean use 

 approximately 100 tons of coal an 

 hour, or over 2.000 tons a day. 

 or 10.000 tons in crossing the ocean. 

 An acre of coal will afford on an aver- 

 age i.ooo tons for every foot in thick- 

 ness. ,,r 4,000 tons for a vein four feet 

 thick, which is rather over than under 

 the average thickness in the Xew River 

 field. The rest is a matter of compu- 

 tation. Why. then, should there be 

 such a rush to get this most valuable 

 coal out of the Cnited Stated- 

 Turning to the anthracite field, it is 

 well known that at the present rate -1 

 exhaustion, there will be little of this 

 field left in fifty years, and long before 

 that time the price will almost certainly 

 be \\ hatcvcr the < 'Wiier> < .f the field agree 



on. What will Philadelphia Xew Vork. 



all Xew Kngland. all the eastern part 

 of the country, then, do for fuel: The\ 

 cannot hope for relief from the Appa- 

 lachian field, for there will be little left 

 t<> draw on from there. And yet t< 

 momentous a question. <<i'i person^ nut 

 of a thousand will answer: "That i- as 

 long as I shall live " In the language 

 of Puck. "What fool- these mortals 

 be." 



