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Coal in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, Etc.
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26)
Southwestern States sought employment in Kentucky
and in other states not affected by the
strike order. By thus making up the deficiency
caused by the idleness in the competitive states
the miners aided materially in securing their demands.
During 1910 the coal mines of Kentucky gave
employment to 20.316 men, who worked an average
of 221 days. Labor disaffections in the Kentucky
mines were limited to short strikes in 14
mines.
Kentucky is one of the leading states in mining
coal by the use of machines and ranks next to
Ohio in the percentage of machine-mined output
to the total production. In 1910 out of a total
of 14,623.319 short tons, 9,362,851 tons, or 64 per
cent., were machine-mined.
New Mexico's production of coal for last year
showed a notable increase over that of former
years. The output for 1910 was 3,508,321 short
tons, with a value of $4,877,151, as against 2,801,-
128 tons in 1909. a gain of 707.193 short tons, or
25.25 per cent. The value of the product increased
from $3,619,744 to $4,877,151, a gain of
$1,257,407, or nearly 35 per cent.
The increased production is attributed to the
strike in the coal mines of the Middle States and
the Northern (Boulder) district of Colorado, and
partly to the growth of population and the settlement
of new lands in New Mexico, Arizona and
California—settlement that is
CREATING A DEMAND
which will be permanent and growing. Both the
bituminous and the sub-bituminous coals of New
Mexico are rapidly growing in favor for domestic
purposes, the bituminous coal being shipped from
the Raton field to markets in Kansas, Oklahoma,
and even farther east, and the sub-bituminous coal
of the Gallup district supplying the markets of
the Southwest and the Pacific coast. The domestic
demand for New Mexico coal in 1910 was so
great that the operators were unable to fill orders
promptly.
One of the benefits accruing to the coal mining
industry of New Mexico in 1910 was the reduction
in the freight rates on foreign coals by the Mexican
railroads. When the Mexican government
took over the control of the railroads of that country
it increased the freight rates on foreign coals
in the hope of encouraging the development of the
Mexican mines. As the railroads had considerable
coal on hand they were able to furnish a
sufficient supply of fuel during 1909, but with the
depletion of the reserves it was found that the
Mexican mines could not supply the demands of
the railways and the other industries. In order
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 45
to meet this deficiency with New Mexican coal.
the Mexican government reduced the freight on
coal to the old rate, and it is not probable that
any further attempt will be made to exclude foreign
coals from that republic.
During 1910 great improvements were made in
the methods of operating the mines.
Colfax county, which contains the New Mexican
portion of the Raton (New Mexico (-Trinidad
(Colorado) field, is by far the most important
coal producing county of the territory, contributing
over 75 per cent, of the total production and
more than 90 per cent, of the total increase in
1910. All the other counties except Rio Arriba
increased their output in 1910.
Oklahoma's coal production in 1910 was 2,646,-
226 short tons. Oklahoma was one of the states
most seriously affected by the prolonged strike of
1910. Naturally, in anticipation of the suspension
of operations, the mines of the Mississippi
Valley region were
OPERATED WITH UNUSUAL ACTIVITY
during the first three months of the year and about
50 per cent, increase over the normal tonnage was
won during that time. After mining was generally
resumed in September there was a strong
effort made by both operators and miners to make
up for lost time. Thus although the strike lasted
for 5rt months and considerable additional time
was required to put the mines into working order,
the actual loss in production was not in proportion
to the time lost by the strike. In Oklahoma
the production decreased from 3,119,377 short tons,
valued at $6,253,367 in 1909 to 2,646,226 tons, valued
at $5,867,947 in 1910, a difference against 1910
of 473,151 short tons or 15.17 per cent, in quantity,
and of $385,420 or 6.16 per cent, in value.
Because of the shortage caused by the strike the
average price per ton advanced from $2 in 1909 to
$2.22 in 1910.
The industry in Arkansas and Oklahoma has
suffered from other troubles than the strike.
There has been a strong tendency on the part of
the miners to use increased quantities of powder,
and it is also stated that dynamite is frequently
used. Moreover, it is the practice in nearly all
the mines to "shoot off the solid." This has increased
the quantity of slack so that it is now
double what it was 15 years ago. This results in
the complaint by purchasers that coal which appears
to be lump coal on arrival easily disintegrates
as a result of the crushing strain to which
it has been subjected by the mining methods employed.
The number of men reported as employed in the
coal mines of Oklahoma in 1910 was 8,657, who
worked an average of 144 days. The number of
men on strike was S.213 and the average time lost