Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 230, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 September 1919 — SAYS U. S. GOAL EXTORTS WILL NOT STINT US [ARTICLE]

SAYS U. S. GOAL EXTORTS WILL NOT STINT US

America Could Weil Afford to Export Even Greater Tonnage, Asserts Official. SHOATAGE 62,000,000 TONS All Korape Demanding Ceal—We Are Net Injuring Ham# Csnaumsrs In Satisfying It, Dedaraa Witness. Washington. Sept 3. —American coal producers, seeking to relieve a World wide shortage, are not sending coal abroad to sufficient volume to deprive the American consumer. In the opinion es H. 1. Saint, bead of the shipping board’s export department, a witness before the senate subcommittee conducting an Inquiry Into the coal situation, headed by Senator FreUnghuyeeo es New Jersey. Mr. Saint submitted ta the committee the shipping board’s official settmate of the extent of the world-wlde shortage, totaling <2,463,000 tons, moat es which. If made up, he said, “presumably must be made up by the United States,” Exclusive of shipments to Canada, the United States Is exporting coal, he said, at the rate of about 7,000,000 tons a year. This is a little more than 1 per cent of the total amount of bituminous coal produced in the country for a year. According to Mr. Saint's figures Canada will need about 16,853,000 tons, France, 17,000,000 tons; Belgium, 12,000,000 tons, which may be reduced later as Belgium Is rapidly restoring her mines; the Netherlands, 8,000,000 tuna; China, 3,135,000 tons; Italy, 5,000,000 tons; Sweden, Norway sad other countries, many millions more. To help supply .the needs of these and other i countries, Mr. Saint stated, the shipping board had allocated to the coal ttrsde 104 American ships of 820 c

084 deadweight tons, as follows: In the Swedish trade, 85,111 tons j to Swltserland and the Netherlands, 285,* 088 tons; to Denmark, 7,000 tons; Italy, 105,500 tons; France, 138,380 tool; South America, 207,512 tons. There was Included in these figures, he said, 108,061 tons In the coastwise or New England trade, which would have to be deducted from the total tonnage, leaving approximately 828,000 tons engaged In the overseas transportation et eoaL These figures represented only shipping board vessels, be said, or about 80 per cent of the total. < %he export coal trade so far this year,” Mr. Saint said, “is ruaning a little behind the export trade of last year, owing to the dropping down of the Canadian trade. But the foreign trade has Increased over last year. B> the time this year is up we will have exported, I think, about 7,000,000 tons.” So great was the dearth of coal abroad. Mr. Saint seld. that demand had come from practically every European country, Including the British Isles, heretofore the chief coal exporting nation of the world. England's inability to produce coal in pre-war quantities, he thought, was primarily responsible for the increased demand «b the bituminous coal producers of the United States. “Mere exports havs dropped from 77.000,000 tons of coal a year.” he said standing that England was to take care of the-Italian situation. I believe that conclusion was reached In Paris during the economic conference there. But England has radically failed to take care of the Italian situation. Italian imports of coal before the war were 10.00Q.Q00 tons annually. Last year England sent Italy 4,000,000 tons and this year, up to date, she is doing very little better. This leaves from 4,600.000 to kQOO.OOO tons to be supplied Italy by other nations and we are practically the only nation that can sapply her that coal.” “Are we relieving England at onr ex penee?” Senator Frellnghuyaen asked. “If you mean expense In the sense sf frint Ant should go to our ewn people.” replied Mr. Saint, “I do not believe that sufficient coal Is gelag abroad to particularly Injure onr domestic situation- If Jot* look ** <mr foreign shipments as a development of a legitimate foreign trade, which will mean a very great deal to this country in future years, I think we can well tend what we have been sending, and considerably more, abroad at this time.” Mr. Saint said that “we are tvying to dietrlbute our tonnage , equitably among the countriee that need coal.”