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Rh metals and building materials are relatively minor, their chief uses being for the construction of houses, railways and industrial plant. Their diminished use for such purposes corresponds roughly with the decline in savings and investment that is shown by the financial statistics.

In fuels there are some interesting exhibitions. The subject is complicated by the nature of the uses and the important changes that have been occurring during the last decade. Obviously there can be no intelligent consideration of this subject unless it be viewed as a whole, not merely with respect to coal, or any other single thing.

Fuel is used mainly as a means for obtaining light, heat and power. It may be used primarily for the generation of power and then the power itself may be employed for lighting and heating. A considerable proportion of coal consumption is for the production of illuminating gas, in which form it is used directly for lighting. A portion of the coal consumption is for still another use, viz. asa metallurgical reagent. A complete analysis of these uses would be laborious and complicated.

Coal, both anthracite and bituminous, has always been our main fuel, and especially bituminous coal. The use of anthracite, which is produced only in Eastern Pennsylvania, occurs mainly in the northeastern part of the country. In that territory it is used in its larger sizes as a fuel for house heating; in its smaller sizes for industrial purposes. For the latter the small sizes of anthracite are in direct competition with bituminous coal, or vice versa.

During the last 10 years there have been phenomenal increases in the use of hydro-electric power and