Abstract
TWO national coal strikes within six months have rudely forced upon the British public the appreciation of the fact that our national economic system is entirely based upon our coal production. We are dependent upon coal in a way that no other nation is; we are living in a country that cannot grow sufficient food to supply the population, and we exist only by virtue of being able to import food to make up the deficiency in our home production, and, needless to say, we can pay for this importation only by our exports. Now coal is practically the only material product that we do export; apart from the relatively small quantity of coal exported as such, we indirectly export coal on a vast scale; when we import Spanish iron ore and export steel rails, or when we import American cotton and export piece goods, we are indirectly exporting coal—the coal that has been used in converting the raw materials into the finished articles that we sell; when a steamer, bunkered in this country, carries goods from any part of the world to any other part, the freight paid to the shipowner is in part payment for coal exported from this country. In its manifold applications coal is the only asset that we possess which enables us to liquidate our indebtedness to other nations, and thus it is that our coal supply is of vital importance, not only to our prosperity, but even to our very existence.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
The Coal Position. Nature 107, 193–194 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/107193a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/107193a0