COAL - Clpdigital.org

34 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
and the English coals is not so great as would
be supposed." The caloric power for the coals
of Cebu Esperanza mines being 7,461, for Australia
coals, Newcastle and Sydney mixture, 6,637,
and for Cardiff coal, 8,372.
The advantages and disadvantages of the Phil­
ippines as a coal producing territory may be summed
up as follows: Coal fields of great extent.
a considerable amount of coal which can lie
quarried out on the banks of the rivers by means
of "drifts" so that for some time it will not be
necessary to use the more expensive method of
"slopes" and "shafts;" none of the coal fields is
very far from tidewater; the coal is of good quality,
being equal to Australian and superior to
Japanese coals; the cost of labor is very low; timber
for props is very abundant and cheap. There
are on the other hand important disadvantages:
A lack of roads, some of the veins are thin and
many are what miners call "faulty" sometimes
to the extent of necessitating either the abandonment
of the vein or a new opening; the labor is
not very efficient, in fact most of the skilled labor
will come from America, Europe or Australia;
the variety of coal is inferior to American and
English coals.
Notwithstanding all.the disadvantages, coal can
be produced in the Danao coal fields at a cost of
$1.40 at the pit's mouth, and after paying $3 to
$5 for transportation can be sold at $S to $10 per
ton, thus yielding a profit of from $1.60 to $5.60
per ton. With the reduction which can easily be
made in the cost of transportation and in the
profits, coal can be produced in large quantities at
about half the present cost. That this will be an
immense advantage to the industries of the islands
is too clear to require proof, and it is
equally clear that it will be no small advantage
and convenience to our navy and merchant marine.
Steps Towards Waterways Convention.
June 29-30 has been fixed as the date for the
conference at Cincinnati of representatives of river
and harbor interests throughout the country, to
arrange plans and program for the national waterways
convention to be held in Washington shortly
after congress convenes this fall. Secretary J. F.
Ellison, of the Ohio Valley Improvement Association,
which is taking the initiative in the movement
for the convention, has sent out invitations
to the preliminary conference in which it is emphasized
that the purpose of the proposed convention
is solely to urge congress to make larger
appropriations for all river and harbor improve­
ments, and that it will be similar to the Baltimore
convention of 1901, which brought forth a $60,000,-
000 river and harbor bill from the next congress.
COAL DEALERS' GATHERINGS.
The following meetings anu outings of coal
dealers' associations are scheduled for June:
Excursion of the Retail Coal Dealers' Associa­
tion of the New England States, leaves New York
for a visit to the anthracite regions June -i.
Northwestern Retail Coal Dealers' Association,
meets at Duluth, June 27, 28 and 29.
Pennsylvania Retail Coal Merchants' Associa­
tion meets at Reading, June 21 and 22.
Coal Dealers' Association of Iowa and Nebraska
meets at Omaha, June 22 and 23.
Wholesale and Retail Coal Dealers' Association
of Ohio meets at Hotel Victory, Putin-Bay, July
5 to July 8.
Midstate Wholesale and Retail Coal Dealers'
Association meets at Kansas City, June 14 and 15.
New York and Pennsylvania Retail Coal Dealers'
Association will have their annual outing from
Pittsburgh, starting June 20 and lasting through
June 23.
UPPER LAKE PORT DOCK PRICES.
The following is the new schedule of prices of
bituminous coals, put into effect by the dock owners
at Lake Michigan and Lake Superior ports:
Smither's Creek hand picked splint $3.25
Kanawha, West Virginia, splint 3.15
Hocking domestic lump 3.00
Hocking run-of-pile 2.70
Hocking screenings 2.00
Hocking washed stove 3.00
Youghiogheny lump 3.00
Youghiogheny run-of-pile 2.70
Youghiogheny nut 3.00
Youghiogheny screenings 2.35
West Virginia lump 3.00
West Virginia run-of-pile 2.70
West Virginia nut 3.00
West Virginia screenings 2.35
Eastern Ohio lump 3.00
Eastern Ohio run-of-pile 2.70
Eastern Ohio screenings 2.00
Youghiogheny or West Virginia cargo nut( ser.)3.00
Youghiogheny or West Virginia cargo nut
(unscreened) 2.65
Smokeless lump and egg 4 50
Smokeless run-of-pile 3 05
Smithing 4 ny
British Columbia's Coal Output.
The coal output of British Columbia for 1904
was 1,253,638 long tons, valued at $3,760,884. The
coke output was 334,102 long tons valued at $1,-
192,140.