Show COAL MINKS MINES DOING THEIR BIT so much im ch Is being said about the shortage ot of bituminous coal and the general public realizes so little tile the linor tant gains in output made by the opel operators acors under trying condi conditions eions 1 last ast summer over all previous records record that the statement just issued y ike united states stales geological survey ey department of the interior on production in 1917 19 compared with 1 DIG C is particularly timely in cum com henring men fiig on this report prepared by the statisticians of 0 the geological survey director geo otis smith points out that the shortage is not due to the failure allure of the sott soft coal mine to produce more coal than in the rast tor for the country on september I 1 was about a month ahead of 0 last boar par in output and Is expected to the year with an increase of 0 10 i 1 or er cent over 1916 the banner yet ond and ot of 25 per cent over 1915 tho the tremendous increase in manu tact and transportation trin this year has created a demand tor for soft foft coal in excess ot of any in the past an increase in demand that Is biffi alt it to ineis irp ure in terms ot of tons but that hat 14 la certainly more than the 10 ver ner rent cent by which production has increased erea ed to meet this demand tile the mines have been producing sott soft coal at a rate never before equaled in the second week of july 1917 the ave averlee raze dally production was more than tons the highest point yet attained in the middle of 0 augusi august the lowest rate tor for the summer tons was recorded and in the last week ot of september the amly rate was tons in the first eight months ot of 1917 the output ot of soft coal was tons ions or or tons more than in the first eight months ol of 1916 in the same period shipments ot of an th raalte increased 16 per cent over those ot of 1916 in the bulletin just issued by the geological survey the figures ot of i comparative shipments regularly collected and shown in part in the monthly and weekly reports are converted into tons of 0 total production in order to satisfy the demand tor for information on the part ot of those not camill familiar a r with the coal industry the I 1 diagram ot of average dall production will alil hereafter be reproduced in the weekly reports issued each saturday ano and the diagram showing total pro I 1 ducolon duct lon to date will appear with the bulletins sent out the ot of each month |