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2i; THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
and Western Pennsylvania will not only continue
in prosperity but will become supreme in the
manufacturing world."
The ambitious project now seems nearer than
ever before to realization. The estimated cost
of construction is $33,000,000. It is figured that
with the canal in operation it will mean an annual
saving of upward of $23,000,000 in freights of
fuel producers and manufacturers.
The physical and commercial feasibility of the
canal was completely demonstrated in the last
decade. No phase of the question down to the
ultimate water supply or the utmost possibilities
of expansion was left unsettled in the commission's
report in 1896. The main problem is to
fight down opposition and it is a big one.
THE ISTHMIAN CANAL ENTERPRISE.
In his address before the Pittsburgh chapter of
the American Institute of Bank Clerks, Robert W.
Armstrong, assistant secretary of the treasury,
told the Pittsburgh bankers that the government
is spending millions of dollars and infinite pains
in pushing the ocean up to Pittsburgh, meaning
that the present expenditures on the Panama
canal amount to making this city a seaport. Naturally,
his expression means more than that. It
means that the government must spend other millions
in the improvement of the Ohio river to
bring the two projects together. Mr. Armstrong
thus shows a true appreciation of the situation, if
others at Washington do not. The others soon
will. It is impossible that statesmen shall long
remain blind to the enormous advantage to the
whole country and to American commerce that is
to be gained by the proper improvement of the
Ohio river.
One point was given emphasis by Mr. Armstrong
that has, perhaps, escaped many acute Pittsburghers.
It is that the Pittsburgh district will he
looked to for the supply of steam coal necessary
to navigate the world's steamers that will seek
passage through the canal. In fact, the quality
of Pittsburgh coal will make the canal a favorite
coaling station for the commercial fleets. That
item means a good deal to Pittsburgh, and to give
it full effect the locking of the Ohio becomes a
necessity. Incidentally this improvement is of
military advantage to the government in almost
as great degree as that of the canal itself. There
are conceivable circumstances in whicli the importance
of the Ohio might be even greater than
that of the isthmian waterway. It is time congress
shall awaken to the broader aspects of this
subject and give authority to begin the practical
work in earnest.
Mr. Armstrong might also have added that the
barges which will he required for the business developed
by the canal could profitably be towed
through the waters of a ship canal to the lakes,
and over the waters of the latter to the distant
Northwest, and that the mere work of construction
of such a canal would pour millions of dollars
into Pittsburgh, to say nothing of the great results
which would follow from its operation.
WHO SHOULD BEAR THE INCREASE
IN THE COST OF TRANSPORTATION?
"Almost anything will serve the purpose of the
coal dealer as an excuse for his advance of the
price of the black diamonds, but the limit is
reached when the New York dealers explain that
the reason for a 25-cent advance per ton as soon
as snow comes is that the asphalt streets of New
York are then so slippery that it is impossible to
haul large loads, and therefore they are justified
in taking the extra cost of delivery out of the
consumer. Next!"
The foregoing from an Eastern journal is a fair
sample of the editorial acumen of some of the
Daily Howlers. Anybody knows, or ought to
know, that had road conditions means greatly increased
cost of transportation. Must the seller
always stand the brunt? Fortunately no fairminded
person—and they are in the majority—expects
him to. If there were more logical deductions
in tlie comment on the news and less editorials
with a "rich and nutty flavor," the influence
and standing of many newspapers and the
daily press in general would be vastly increased.
If the price of coal is increased in New York, as
it is intimated will be the case, the public cannot
blame the operators. The proposition appears to
be made solely by the retail dealers, who are anxious
to make up for losses sustained during the
severe weather last winter, when dealers were
obliged to spend an extraordinary amount of
money on unloading and drawing. Sometimes
it was necessary to hire tugs to break ice in the
harbor so that coal barges could be got to the
wharves and frequently it was necessary to put
four horses, instead of two, on a wagon.
THE YEAR'S COAL MINING
OPERATIONS IN ILLINOIS.
The report of the operators in Illinois during
the year ending June 30, 1904, shows a total production
of 34,955,406 tons, an increase over the
previous year of 4,934,100 tons. The report shows
that there are 353 commercial mines in the state
shipping coal for the general trade and 580 small
mines worked for purely local trade. The commercial
mines produced 96.5 per cent, of the coal.
The average number of days worked in the mines
was 222. There were 49.814 employes in the
mines and 156 were killed and 410 injured by accidents.