COAL 403
is clear that further curtailment of the demand for raw coal from this quarter
cannot be large.
 Other consumers.—In still other quarters, such as general manufacturing
and heating of buildings, rapid progress in fuel efficiency is believed to
be still going on. Unfortunately, there are no annual records of consumption
to measure advances in these lines.
 EXPORTS AND IMPORTS -

 The international trade in bituminous coal in 1932 reflects the general
disruption of world commerce. Depressed business in virtually all countries
resulted in a shrinkage of consumption, and the normal flow of coal was disturbed
further by Government subsidies, quota restrictions upon imports, and mounting
tariff barriers. In addition, American exporters were handicapped by depreciation
of foreign currencies, especially of the pound sterling, which gave their
British competitors a great advantage. As a result, shipments of bituminous
coal to foreign destinations during 1932 dropped to 8,814,047 net tons, a
decrease of 27.3 percent compared with the preceding year and barely half
the 1929 level.
 Canada has always been the principal foreign market for United States coal
(fig. 22). Although the Dominion has extensive resources of coal and lignite,
the deposits are located chiefly in the coastal regions or western plains,
remote from the densely populated and industrialized sections of the central
Provinces. In consequence, approximately half of Canada's total bituminous-coal
requirements have been imported from the United States. From 1925 to 1930
our annual exports of soft coal to Canada averaged about 14,000,000 tons.
* During the past 2 years, however, shipments to Canada have fallen sharply,
amounting to 10,630,898 tons in 1931 and only 8,426,886 tons in 1932. Most
of the loss is ascribable to the depression, but among the contributing factors
was an increase in the Canadian tariff, which was raised from 50 to 75 cents
a ton, effective June 2, 1931.
 Shortly after the advance in the tariff, Great Britain went off the gold
standard—September 20, 1931—and the sudden depreciation of. the
pound stimulated shipments of bituminous coal from Great Britain, the total
imports for 1932 rising to 362,068 tons against 122,298 for 1931. At the
same time, the Dominion Government granted further subventions to stimulate
the output of Canadian mines. In an effort to decrease the country's dependence
upon the mines of the United States the Government had experimented as early
as 1924— 25 with subventions to defray part of the cost of transport
into the "acute fuel area" in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Early
in 1932 the Government offered to absorb part of the spread between the cost
of United States coals delivered at points in Quebec and Ontario and. the
cost of coal produced in the Maritime Provinces. The scheme agreed upon authorized
payment of subventions to the railroads in return for a reduction in freight
rates on maritime coal. On other than railway fuel the subventions ranged
from one seventh to one third cent per ton-mile, and similar assistance was
accorded the movement of locomotive fuel. The Dominion Fuel Board was also
authorized, with certain exceptions, to pay operators of coke
182217—33—27