The Railway Library, 1909 / A Collection of Noteworthy Chapters, Addresses, and Papers Relating to Railways, Mostly Published During the Year - Unknown

	Cost of fuel
Year.	for locomotives.
1897	$65,044,670
1898	72,469,777
1899	77,187,344
1900	90,593,965
1901	104,926,568
1902	120,074,192
1903	146,509,031
1904	158,948,886
1905	156,429,245
1906	170,499,133
1907	200,261,975
	———————
Total	$1,362,944,786

Thus, from 1897 to 1907, the cost of fuel for locomotives, in spite of the economies in its use partially suggested by the contemporaneous increase in the train-load of freight from 204.62 to 357.35 tons, or 74.64 per cent., increased 207.88 per cent., while passenger traffic increased but 126.15 per cent. and freight traffic by 148.69 per cent. Thus while there was one dollar spent for locomotive fuel in 1897 for each $17.25 of gross railway receipts the ratio had declined by 1907 to one dollar for locomotive fuel for each $12.93 of gross receipts—a difference which must plainly be productive of profound changes in the proportion of gross receipts remaining after the payment of necessary operating expenses. The average prices of coal, per ton of 2,000 pounds, at the mines, in the several states, in the years 1897 and 1907, as given by the United States Geological Survey, were as follows:

	Price per ton.
State.			Increase,
	1897.	1907.	per cent.
Alabama	$0.88	$1.29	46.59
Arkansas	1.06	1.68	56.49
California	(a)2.55	(a)3.81	49.41
Colorado	1.17	1.40	19.66
Georgia	(b)1.03	(b)1.38	33.98
Idaho	(c)3.33	(c)4.10	23.12
Illinois	.72	1.07	48.61
Indiana	.84	1.08	28.57
Iowa	1.13	1.62	43.36
Kansas	1.18	1.52	28.81
Kentucky	.79	1.06	34.18
Maryland	.76	1.20	57.89
Michigan	1.46	1.80	23.29
Missouri	1.08	1.64	51.85
Montana	1.76	1.94	10.23
New Mexico	1.38	1.46	5.80
North Dakota	1.08	1.61	49.07
Ohio	.78	1.10	41.03
Oklahoma	1.34	2.04	52.24
Oregon	3.09	2.34	Decrease
Pennsylvania—
Bituminous	.69	1.04	50.72
Anthracite	1.51	1.91	26.49
Tennessee	.81	1.25	54.32
Texas	1.52	1.69	11.18
Utah	1.19	1.52	27.73
Virginia	.67	1.02	52.24
Washington	1.94	2.09	7.73
West Virginia	.63	.99	57.14
Wyoming	1.21	1.56	28.93

(a) Includes Alaska.
(b) Includes North Carolina.
(c) Includes Nebraska.

It will be noted that the cost of coal increased in every state of considerable production. In California much of the locomotive fuel used consists of petroleum, and the same fuel is used to some extent in Oregon and New Mexico.

The number of tons of coal purchasable at the mines in the several states with $105.00, the gross revenue from the typical shipment which has been used for illustrative purposes, in 1897 and in 1907, would have been as follows:

	Tons of coal purchasable
	for $105.00.
State.			Decrease,
	1897.	1907.	per cent.
Alabama	119	81	31.93
Arkansas	99	62	37.37
California	41	28	31.71
Colorado	90	75	16.67
Georgia	102	76	25.49
Idaho	32	26	18.75
Illinois	146	98	32.88
Indiana	125	97	22.40
Iowa	93	65	30.11
Kansas	89	69	22.47
Kentucky	133	99	25.56
Maryland	138	88	36.23
Michigan	72	58	19.44
Missouri	97	64	34.02
Montana	60	54	10.00
New Mexico	76	72	5.26
North Dakota	97	65	32.99
Ohio	135	95	29.63
Oklahoma	78	51	34.62
Oregon	34	45	Increase
Pennsylvania—
Bituminous	152	101	33.55
Anthracite	70	55	21.43
Tennessee	130	84	35.38
Texas	69	62	10.14
Utah	88	69	21.59
Virginia	157	103	34.39
Washington	54	50	7.41
West Virginia	167	106	36.53
Wyoming	87	67	22.99

In this connection it should be noted that the United States Department of Labor reports an increase, between 1897 and 1907, in the price of anthracite of 29.23 per cent., and in bituminous coal from the Georges Creek region of 85.54 per cent.

COST OF RAILWAY SUPPLIES.