390 MINERALS YEARBOOK

 Action to test the legality of the plan under the antitrust laws was begun
immediately by the Department of Justice, and the case was brought to trial
at Asheville, N.C., August 1. An adverse ruling by the lower court, rendered
October 3, was reversed by the United States Supreme Court, March 13, 1933.
The high court's decision not only permits Appalachian Coals, Inc., to proceed
with its plan, but by implication authorizes similar regional selling agencies
in other sections, subject always to court review should their activities
develop "an undue restraint upon interstate commerce."
 Discussion of the legal and economic problems of the plan is out of place
in a statistical review of the market. It is clear, however, that Appalachian
Coals is potentially the most important development of the last decade in
the bituminous-coal industry. In spite of the depression, the year 1932 will
stand as one of far-reaching change and achievement.

PRODUCTION BY STATES AND FIELDS

 The decline in production during 1932 was felt unequally in different parts
of the country. While the national total showed a decline of 20 percent compared
with the year before, in some States the ~fecrease exceeded 30 percent, and
in still others there was an increase. The following table gives the production
by States. The 1932 figures are preliminary estimates based upon railroad
car-loadings and are subject to revision when final returns are received
from the operators. Among the States showing heavy losses were Illinois and
Ohio, where long-drawn disputes between operators and mine workers kept many
of the mines idle for some months after April 1. The tonnage lost by Illinois
went in part to the adjacent fields of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and western
Kentucky. In Indiana the labor disputes were more quickly adjusted, and this
State also received some extra business lost by Illinois. For this reason
Indiana, though reporting a decrease, held up better than the country at
large, while western Kentucky and the Iowa-Kansas-Missouri area as a whole
showed a slight gain over 1931. Unexpected gains are also indicated for Michigan
and North Dakota.
 The trend of production month by month in the principal fields is shown
in figure 17. Among the striking features of the year was the sudden pick-up
during March in the northern fields Of Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio no. 8,
which represented advance purchases of consumers in anticipation of the strike.
The extent and duration of the subsequent suspension in these fields are
also clearly indicated.
 To western Kentucky, on the other hand, the suspension north of the Ohio
brought increased orders, and from May to the end of the year the curve of
1932 production ran consistently above that of
1931.
 All of the diagrams in figure 17 have been plotted on the same scale, except
that in certain of the largest districts, such as northern West Virginia
and Pocahontas, it was necessary to start at the bottom with 1,000,000 tons,
instead of with zero, or even, in central Pennsylvania, to start with 1.5
million tons, The diagram for Pocahontas includes the output of Tug River.