Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-12-10
Mr.. Edelmann, Polish Inventor
Claims he Can Produce Coal
for That Price.
An Article Which Will be Superior to
Either BituminOuS or Anthra-
cite for Fuel.
Ignite and Certain Chemicals For m
an Article Perfect as Any
Ever Minet.

other inventor has come to the frobt with
an invention which he believes will rival
even those of EdisoG's, and bring to man
kind generally degree of benefit which
will be in direct inverse proportion to the
woe inflicted upon the individuals COM
monty known as the coal barons.
What he has 90 offer is no less than a
scheme to manufacture a coal which will
be superior in its results to either bitumi-
nous or anthracite coal, to''which the world
has been so long accustomed to look for its
chief supply of fuel.
So many vast conceptions have been al
ready brought to the attention of the pub
tic only to end in disappointing failures
that every new great scheme is apt to be
regarded with suspicion. We have not
suffered from the Keely motor project and
the many paps for navigating the air, to
say nothing of the many ideas for subma.
rine crafts, without having our confidence
IN such matters seriously impaired.
THE NEW CLAIMANT.
The new aspirant for undying fame and
incidentally for the millions of money
| that are a.tendan upon great discoveries
which are world wide IL their uses has at
| least the courage OF his convictions, and
his ideas are entitled to respect, since they
are backed up by the fact that the depart,
ment. Of patents at Washinst ton stands
ready to issue him his patent papers as
soon as he has effected his arrangements
in several foreign countries to obtain sim.
liar right there.
For reasons known to patent law and
which will give him the same rights in
many countries he wishes to secure his
papers from the several governments upon
the same day. For this purpose the in
ventor, Mr.. Albert Edeimann, sailed for
Europe on Nov. 18th, upon the steamer
Teutonic.
Mr. Edelmann claims for his invention
that it will enable him to manufacture his
coal at a cost of only one dollar per ton
Besides the exceeding cheapness OF the new
article Edelmann claims for it the merit
of being absolutely odorless and capable
of being burned without smoke and of be-
ing consumed SO utterly that it leaves but
one per cent. of ashes.
Mr.. Edeimann was born In Warsaw,
Poland, 1922, and was educated at the
university at Dorpat, one of the provinces
of Livonia, on the Baltic Sea. He gradu-
ated there as civil engineer, and then
made the grand tour of Europe. In 1852
he went to Australia, the voyage from
London to Sydney occupying SIX months.
HIS FIRST INSPIRATION.
In Australia Mr.. Edelmann devoted
himself to his profession and spent his
time in building railroads and In other
engineering enterprises. In 1860 he first
tu med his attention to the di1covery of
cheaper coal, ard since then he has de-
voted all his time and money to that pur-
suit.
In the first place he argued that it was
well known fact that there exists upon the
surface of the globe a large quantity of
what may be called Ignite. Briefly de-
fined, Ignite is coal formed at a much
later period than either bituminous Or an
thracite coal, and therefore without these
chemical proprieties which would enable
it to burn as we'll as either of them, and
which, therefore, renders it practically
useless for fuel or other purposes.
That this Ignite would. in centuries to
come, develop into a fuel which might be
utilized exactly as well as that which was
already known bituminous Or anthracite
coal was source of pain and vexation to
Mr.. Edelmann. He could not sleep at
night from his continued study of the
problem. He was actually jealous, he
says himself, to think that people a
thousand years hence would avail them
selves of that which the world might use
to-day could ne but solve the problem of
effecting by chemical processes that for
which nature would take centuries.
A CLEAN OF LIGHT.
After study of many weary years Mr..
EdeImann believes that he has solved the
problem whose solution he has so faith
fully sought, and is satisfied that he has
found a process for transforming this
worthless Ignite into coal, which for all
purposes is equal, and in many instances,
superior to ether anthracite or bitumi
nous coal.
In other words. the inventor believes
that by the mixture with Ignite of certain
chemical bodies a coal is produced which
is as perfect as any that was ever mixed,
and this Ignite, be claims, were it allowed
to remain in the earth, would require a
thousand years for Its transformation into
perfect coal.
In his technical description of the pro-
cess alludt d to the inventor says
ITO accomplish this result the Ignite
and certain chemical bodies (Which have
first been reduced to powdered condition
in order to permit of their perfect COM
mingling) are placed in moulds and sub
jected to great pressures in machinery eX
pressly constructed for the purpose, and
from which the mass comes in the shape
of what are termed, for want of a better
name 'brickets.' These brickets can be
made of aay size or shape, in order that
they may suit different conditions, as for
instance, if the mat erial is to be used for
furna es they would be in the n. ighbor-
hood of eight inches IN size (elther square
Or oblong), whereas for stoves they would
be made ctr;espondingly smaller. A
great advantage about having them made
into this sbal e Square or oblong) is that
they will not chip off or become broken
in any manner ike ordinary coal; In fact,
the immense pressure eXerted IN forming
them tends to make them even harder
than ordinary lump coal.
"a desideratum about Ignite is that it
is found near the surface Of the earth. and
conse quentIy the cost of mining it is re-
duced, and at the same time The supply is
practically ineXhaustible. The chemical
bodies used are also comparatively mex
pensive, so that this coal (for this compo-
sition is coal in every sense of the word
can be manufactured more cheaply than
either pituminous or anthracite coal can
be produced. y
MORE PLAINLY DESCRIBED.
''Besides being an engineer, am a
skillful chesist, and long years ago |
noticed that all coal is formed largely Of
vegetable matter and that the soil has a
magnetic power which draws in heat.
Having come to this conclusion | spent
many years in travelling all over the world
in the search of plants which contained
Il. Il -, e r1ro 70
the greater degree.
.el'boso Investigations T conducte1