coal trade bulletin - Clpdigital.org

48 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
business of coal niining. As has been already
observed, the only recent official statistics of relative
cost and value available are those presented
in a recent bulletin published by the Bureau of
the Census and which cover the calendar year
1909. This report shows that the value of the
Pennsylvania anthracite produced in that year
was $148,957,894. The total gross expenses
amounted to $139,110,444, from which should be
deducted $4,S64,S44 made up from charges to
niiners for explosives, oil, and blacksmithing,
making the net expenses $134,245,600. The gross
expenses are itemized as follows:
Services:
Salaries $ 4,572,4S9
Wages 92,169,906 $ 96,742,395
Supplies:
Fuel and power 3,189,279
Other supplies 23,472,S09 26,662,OS8
Royalties 7,969,785
Miscellaneous 7,736,176
Total gross expenses. $139,110,444
Deductions 4,864,844
Net expenses $134,245,600
The total production in 1909 amounted to 72,-
215,273 long tons, so that the average per ton
for the output in that year was $2.00; the average
cost per ton was $1.86; and the net returns on
the operations for the year were $14,712,294, or
an average of 20 cents per ton. This at first
glance looks like a fair return, but attention
must be called to the fact that the Census figures
of cost make no allowance for interest on capital
invested or borrowed, and
NO OFFSETTING CHARGES
for amortization or depreciation. According to
the returns to the Bureau of the Census, the entire
capital invested in anthracite mining in 1909
was $246,700,000, w-hich may appear rather inadequate
when one considers the magnitude of
the industry, and an annual production of
$150,000,000 (in 1911 the output was valued at
$175,189,392 and in 1912 it was $177,622,626),
but I am taking the figures reported by the Census
Bureau. If on this capitalization an allowance
of 4 per cent, be made for interest, the net
returns for the year amounted in round numbers
to $4,844,000. If, as I suggested at the outset,
new breakers and other equipment are charged
into operating expenses, no allowance need be
made for depreciation, but surely the exhaustion
of from 75,000,000 to 80,000,000 tons from the
reserves every year should have some amortization
charged against it and if 5 cents a ton be
allowed the margin of $4,800,000 is practically
wiped out. At least it may be said that from
the operators' standpoint there may have been
some reason for the recent advances in the price
of anthracite, the effect of which the author ot
this paper has felt as keenly as any other consumer
of anthracite.
The figures covering the cost and value of
bituminous coal show even more striking comparisons.
(I may remark here that there are
some slight differences in the statistics of production
between the Census figures and those
published by the United States Geological Survey
for the reason that the Census investigations excluded
mines having a production of less than
1,000 tons, whereas the Survey rakes the country
with a fine-tooth comb and includes every small
country bank, from which it can secure a report.
For 1909 the Survey showed a bituminous coal
production of 379,744,257 short tons valued at
$405,486,777, and the Census Bureau showed a
production of 376,865,510 tons valued at $401,-
577,477, the difference being about 3,000,000 tons
in quantity and $4,000,000 in value—less than
1 per cent, in either case. As the Census figures
for cost of mining are the basis of this discussion,
the Census figures of production are also used.)
The total value of the bituminous production,
as already stated, was $401,577,477, and the mining
expense of producing this value, including
salaries of officers, was $378,159,282. As in the
case of anthracite, the
EXPENSE 01' PRODUCTION
do not include any charges for depreciation, amortino
include any charges for depreciation, amortization,
or interest on capital invested or borrowed.
The expenses are divided as follows:
Salaries $ 20,417,392
Wages 282,378,886
Supplies 45,345,932
Royalties 12,035,900
Miscellaneous 17,961,172
Total $378,159,282
From this it appears that 75 per cent, of the
total cost and 70 per cent, of the total value was
spent in wages. Salaried officials got less than
5.5 per cent.
Now, let us see what capital got. The total
capital invested in the bituminous coal mines of
the United States in 1909 was, according to the
Census bulletin, in round numbers $960,000,000
($960,2S9,465), and I do not think that looks as
if there were very much over-valuation, whatever
the capitalization may he as represented by stock
issue. The difference between the value of the
product and the expense of producing it was
$23,440,000 (I shall talk the rest of this in round
numbers), or a fraction over 2.5 per cent, on the
capital. The average value per ton of all the
bituminous coal produced in the United States
was $1.07, the costs averaged a fraction of a cent