The morning times., 1896-03-18

MIR Sands handed the paper TO bir.
WorreIi.)
This circular is dated May 20, 1893.
We acquired title to the plant possibly in
August, 1892 The statements herein con-
tained were issued from my office. | am
bond stock, and commercial broker, withmy
office in Philadelphia. The facts therein
contained relative TO oil in this plant were
based upon what the superintendent OF
that plant had told me.
I'VE manufactured, according To the re-
ports furnished by the superintendent,
of October. 1892. From the reading OF
the meters of the consumers, the amount
of gas sold was :, ,493, 500 cubic feet-a loss
OF As per cent.
1T has been claimed that the plant in
West Chester is not an up-to-t1ate plant
The former superintendent Of the com
pany has stated that. It was not an up
to-date plant when it was put in. ! need
TO go no furi her than to give you this
statement which | have just made to you,
aud which is in the handwriting OF the
former superintendent OF the company,
who gave bs testimony before tins COM
mttce at your last meeting, to corrobUrate
that.
Now, gentlemen, 1t has been exploited
that their is great merit in the National
Heat and Power Company process. We
have had it for three years ard have not
been able TO discover it. After xe had
had our plant in use for perhaps six months
oar superintendent at that time conceived
the idea OF changing the method OF run
ming the plant.
REPORT OF EXPENSE.
II want TO refer here, in passing, TO a
report made by the United Gas Improve
ment Company of Phladeipsia. l was
not satisfied. Knowing nothing about
the scientific manufacture OF gas, en-
ploycd the United Gas Improvement Com
pany OF Philadelphia TO put their engineers
upon the plant, and here is their report.
Further than that, | employed a firm
OF expert accountants 20 determine just
exactly the condition OF our books and Low
our material had beet used. This is the
synopsis furnished by that firm of account
ants, Helms, NVhelen, LybraRd & Co. sos
Walnut street. Philadelphia. This is
synopsis OF purchases and consumption of
coai, coke and oil during the year 1892.
showing that the unaccounted for nut coal,
covering n period from May TO December
of 1892. amounted to 90 per cent
Senator Harris-What are we 10 under
stand by the unaccounted for items Of
material?
Mr Worrell-You are to understand,
if you please, that the National Heat and
Power Company's process was being ex
pioited al the expense Of the West Chester
Gas Company.
Senator Harris-I did not want to in
terrupt the reading of the report, but
did want 10 know what those items were
Mr. WorreI! 1t shows losses along the
whole line; for instance; there is unac-
counted for Oil nearly three thousand gal
Ions; unacCounted for coke over $4,000
pounds; uraccountcd for nut coal over 246,-
900 pounds.
Senator Faulkner-It did not make the
amount of gas per foot, per gallon, or
per pound 20 sppear as ought TO appear;
is that what We are to understand?
MATERIAL AND PRODUCT.
Mr.. worren-No, sir; the esuperntendeutof
our company is rLore familiar with these
facts than l am. / said TO him that
would like a statement from him as TO
what he was doing now In the way OF
handling material for the manufacture OF
coal. He writes me under date Of March 3,
1896, as follows:
''Mr. Thomas z. Worrell,
Dear Sir: In regard TO your inquiry
would say we are using about 500 gal
Ions per thousand; 47.4 pounds boiler coal
(bituminous) in generator; and III pounds
~ hour coke in coke chamber.
Il might call your attention to a report
dated January 8. 1898, which / found
wherein you will note that the unaccouDted
gas was about 43 per cent Of the gas made
during the period stated, viz: Last quarter
of 1882. This is an extraordinary loss,
and indicates something radically wrong.
Remedies might have been looked for
with advantage, particularly IN mode OF
manufacture.
THE form of setting we have had here
is certainly not 10 be compared to many OF
If farf ~ n rat ne
now used. Yours tryly,
''J.J. HUMPHREYS. .JR.
superintendent"
"Aftcr we had requested the United Gas
Improvement Company to place their engi-
neers upon the plant they remained there
in daily attendance thirty days aud this
report was the outcome.
Il have specimens here taken from our
plant during Major McCaulcy's superin-
tendency OF it. By tie discoloration you
will see the amount OF sulphuretted hydro
gen contained in the gas.
'.'Candle Power: Here again we have
misieading figures recorded. The bar photo
meter in occasional use consists in 4 candle
on q stand at a fixed distance from
Bunsen disc, the gas flame being made to
vary its distance from the disc. NO cor
rection is made for variation iii rate OF
candle burning, and the wet meter proved
nearly eight per cent slow. With this photo
meter they have standardized Jones jet
photometer, and in so doing they have
reamed out the hole in the float so large
that full holder pressure will not raise
ii from its scat, and the apparent candle
power varies with the pressure. In other
words, the jet had been fixed, aDd its
readings are worthless
ON FIRING SYSTEMS.
''This report was not prepared for pres
entation to this committee. 1t was pre-
pared in 1892. l have the same evidence
in connection with the fixing Of the jet
from the superintendent of the depart
meut of gas in one OF tie largest cities in
the United States, who tod me that he
sent chemist to represent him, and that
ne found that they were inclined to juggle
With him.
They fixed the Jet OF the photometer.
The report covers every department. OF
gas making, giving experimental runs, and
giving the runs occurring during the whole
of the superintendency OF Maj. McCauley,
the amount of gas coal used. and the
actual cost as given by the superintendent.
1t also gives in detail what transpired
and came under the supervision Of the COM
pilcr of this report, the engineer who made
it during t be time he was there.
After we had ran the plant perhaps six
months, as it had been erected and was
guided by the Information that we bought,
we concluded TO change The system OF
running by reducing the fires in what Is
known as the two legs. 1t is evident in
the manufacture of gas that multiplicity
of fires entails multiplicity of waste.
Therefore, we practically eliminated those
two legs We have been under the sur
vai1,s ffsf, or our friends from Tina r., fine