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fi CONSTRUCTION and DEVELOPMENT. 8
It is announced in St. Louis that in order to
avoid a "bridge arbitrage" amounting to $250,000
annually, J. Pierpont Morgan and the North American
Co. will spend $3,000,000 buying coal lands
and collieries and establish a fleet of boats to
convey the fuel to the Laclede Gas Light Co., the
Union Electric Co. and the St. Louis Transit Co.
Elevators and yards will be built at Paducah and
Memphis. The company will mine large quantities
of coal yearly and float it to St. Lou.s, working
six thousand men in six shafts. Thomas A.
Nevins of New York, as president of the United
States Gas, Coal & Coke Co., a Sturgis (Ky.) corporation,
recently purchased the Tradewater Coal
Co. and the Baker colliery near Wheatcroft, Ky.,
and 25,000 acres of coal land for the Morgan interests.
A company is being organized to develop the
Snyder coking coal lands in the Connellsville field.
The tract is a large one and work on the new
plant is to be begun as soon as possible. W. C.
Magee, of the Pickands-Magee Co., of Pittsburgh,
and George and Harry Whyel, of the Whyel Coke
Co., are among those interested.
The Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. has taken preliminary
steps toward opening several new coal
mines in the western part of Las Animas county.
The company owns a very large amount of undeveloped
coal land in that region and it will be
opened up as fast as it is possible to do the work.
|« COAL TRADE CASUALTIES. ;
Several serious accidents in the coastwise coal
trade occurred during May. The Joy line steamer
Aransas was sunk in a collision near Pu..adelphia
and one life was lost. The barge Moonbeam was
lost off Pt. Judith, R. I., four persons being
drowned and another barge was sunk off Oyster
Bay, L. I.
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Heavy losses were sustained during the middle
of May by coal and allied interests by floods in the
Sandy, Kanawha and tributary river districts of
West Virginia.
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Twenty-two miners were killed recently by a
premature explosion during blasting operations in
the Almasy coal mine at Resicza, Hungary.
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The coal tipple at the Briar Hill mine of the
Pittsburgh Coal Co. was destroyed by fire on
May 22.
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 47
Two new publications by the Ingersoll-Sergeant
Drill Co. are the Blue Book of Air Compressors,
and Bulletin 2002, of the pneumatic tool department,
describing track laying on the Williamsburg
bridge. Both treat of air power and the
latter shows its practical application in a way
that is of interest to all users of air power. The
Blue Book describes the standard classes of Ingersoll-Sergeant
air compressors. Both books are
handsomely illustrated.
o o o
The navy department has placed an order with
the Ingersoll-Sergeant Drill Co. for a class "GC"
air compressor for the Portsmouth, N. H., navy
yard. The compressor has compound steam cylinders
19 and 35 inches in diameter, compound
air cylinders 32V4 and 20V4 inches in diameter
and a 24-inch stroke. Its capacity is 2179 cubic
feet of free air per minute.
o o o
Bulletin No. 1, supplementing general catalogue
No. 6, is being circulated by the Ohio Brass Co.,
of Mansfield, O. A variety of the products of the
conipany are described and illustrated, the list
including a number of new features in all-wire
soldered rail bonds, mechanical devices of various
kinds and electrical equipment.
o o o
"Far Down Beneath the Upper World," is the
title of an artistic booklet just issued by the Watt
Mining Car Wheel Co., of Barnesville, O. It contains
exceptionally fine views of coal plants in all
of the large coal producing states, with just
enough pertinent statistics to lend attractiveness.
Output of Ninth Bituminous District.
Retiring Mine Inspector Bernard Callaghan of
the Ninth bituminous district of Pennsylvania, has
prepared his 1904 report of the coal and coke produced
in his district. According to his figures
the Somerset Coal Co. mined 551,551 tons; W. K.
Niver Co., 200,626; Ursina Coal Mining Co., 71,966;
Merchants Coal Co., 62,850; Garrett Coal Co., 60,-
213; John Meager, 37,178; Pen Marva Coal Co.,
16,825; E. F. Fisher Coal Co., 16,208; Elk Lick
Coal Co., 13,935; Big Vein Coal Co., 11,789; Fred
Rowe Coal Co., 10,646; Stoner Coal Co., 9,687; Liston
& Miller mines, 7,900; Enterprise Coal Co., 7.-
262; Kendall Coal Co., 4,300.
State Mine Inspector J. W. Paul, of West Virginia,
is using a gas testing machine to test air
taken from mines. The air is taken into a rubber
bag in the mine. Fire is applied to it and
when it contains sufficient gas to cause an explosion,
the percentage may be determined from the
force exerted.