Show the coal industry of utah BY JOHN S GRITCHLOW CRITCHLOW utah coal operators bid fair to come into their own for the past few years the production in utah has so exceeded the demand that the resultant has been an era of low prices and cutthroat cut throat competition making necessary the large use of red ink in closing up the years balance As to the quality of the utah product it has demonstrated so many times ua its superiority perio rity over almost any coal with which it comes in competition that all of those interested are satisfied that with anywhere near an even chance or even with a moderate differential in price against it utah coal will hold its own it has qualities which appeal to both the dealer and tile the consumer tor for the consumer it furnishes a maximum of heat with a mini minimum mull of ash and for the dealer it gives a storage quality and a physical characteristic which makes it the most economical coal he can handle most of the utah coals may be stored for a pe general sales manager U S fuel co salt lake CRY city of from twelve to eighteen months with a very little loss from disintegration in comparison with the coals produced in the lignite fields it has the disadvantage of being slightly sootier so otier but this is overcome by its lasting qualities and strong heat unit value competition among producers the intense competition among producers has had the effect of convincing dealers throughout the territory served iby by utah mines that it was unnecessary for them to store coal they have been continuously solicited by salesmen and an order placed was generally filled within the next few days thus one great selling quality ot of this coal was entirely lost i e its storage value was not appreciated however the aggressive competition has had one excellent effect in that it has enlarged the territory to be supplied by utah coal the market utah coal commands the market which is in command of and practically controlled by the mines of this field consists of the state of utah nevada idaho southwestern Alon montana tana eastern washington and oregon and california both north and south at the present time coal from utah absolutely dominates in the state of california and through a process of education which is involved in its use it will ill undoubtedly continue to do so for many years to come california has been controlled troll ed up to the last few years by the importation of coal by boat but the scarcity of bottoms in which to ship and in addition to this the embargo placed on coal by the british government have cut off this supply almost entirely and during the year 1916 the amount of coal imported from australia japan and british columbia has been very limited here again the superior quality of utah coal has won for it a place from which it will probably never be removed intense car shortage during the latter half of 1916 producers have suffered from an intense car shortage as well as from a restricted labor supply and every producer has been able to sell all the coal he could ship this of course has had the effect of increasing thelorice the thel price something which has been a very apparent necessity for many years practically all producers in utah are receiving from 3 to per ton f 0 b mines for their lump coal which is a healthy condition and furnishes or would furnish if they were able to produce a normal output a very handsome return coal producers face lean year however the conditions referred to above have crippled production to such an extent that the coal producers are facing another lean year the lessons learned during the year 1916 will undoubtedly havo have a very good effect and will furnish inducement for dealers to carry a a reserve stock which can be put in in the summer time when the mines are able to ship promptly and really need orders to foster and encourage such a movement there should be and undoubtedly will come a graduated scale of prices the low prices prevailing in the months of may june and july and maximum being reached in the month of october to be sustained throughout the winter coal in Storage if financial inducement can be made to the coal dealer sufficient for him to be reimbursed imbur sed for the use of his money and the additional outlay for labor there is no question but that almost every retail dealer would stock to the maximum this is a matter which has been given very serious consideration for several years by utah producers and bids fair now to achieve some tangible result production of coal the production of utah coal in short tons during the year ending november 20 1916 as furnished by state coal mine aline inspector J E pettit was tons the is an increase over 1915 of tons the production of coke was tons this is an increase over 1915 of tons the distribution furnished from the report of coal mined shows manufactured into coke tons shipped to salt lake city tons shipped to other utah points tons furnished to railroads tons shipped to territory outside of utah tons ton s used at the mines nd wasted tons railroads use large amounts it will be noted from this report that a large tonnage is being used by the railroad companies this it might be added should be greatly increased as reports from the oil fields indicate that fuel oil has reached a point in price where it is becoming too expensive to compete where it has to be transported any great distance this will undoubtedly result in railroads using coal and dispensing with the oil burners use of dust burners I 1 the use of dust burners furnishing an ideal fuel for large steam plants would appear to furnish a solution of one thing which has been a very vexing problem i e the disposition of small sized coal which has been for many years ai a source of great trouble to the Ii mines iines these burners are being installed in a great many steam prodoc ing tp plants lants and in some cases already have eliminated the use of oil the activity in metal mining throughout the western states naturally is adding a great deal to the consumption of coal and the best informed people in the mining in austry seem to think that as the metal high prices are arc assured for many years to come this additional tonnage should become permanent bringing about closer relations one other feature arising out of the serious shortage during the latter part of 1916 has been to bring about a closer co opera tion among coal producers their troubles being of the same nature they have naturally made common cause to find a remedy this is bound to have a very good in the future and while no definite action has been taken in regard to reducing the number of sizes of coal made the freak sizes are being eliminated by common consent it would be a great day for the utah coal producers if the screening of coal to make a vast number of sizes could be eliminated what should be made and only this is lump nut and slack doing away alvay with screened slack which is an economic error and also various other sizes for which the unwholesome competition is responsible As was stated in the beginning the whole situation seems to indicate that utah coal producers and utah coal are at last coming into their own |