The Wichita daily eagle., 1898-01-07
Notes Of the Labor World
PROBLEM OF CHEAP FUEL.

| coal, SdWCuSl anu garbage Can DC uidos
into a fuel equal to anthracite coal Mr.
Smith thus described his process to g
correspondent Of the st. Louis Globe
Democrat:
During many years spent in Colorado
New Mexico and other western states
/ was led, from the scarcity Of fuel, to
think of some plan by which fuel could
be saved and whereby science could dc
in a short space Of time what nature
had taken ages to perform. Ny furnace
is the result of my studies. My patent
covers furnace and its workings where
by 1 take any kind of bituminous coal,
feed it into my furnace through hop
per at the top and turn out of the furnace
| a product which is the equivalent OF the
best grades of anthracite coal.
1.-The furnace may be of any size from
16 feet in diameter upward. A furnace
16 feet in diameter will consume from 30
| to 20 tons of soft coal a day, and turn
out a product of 90 to 36 tons Of anthra-
cite coal. The furnace is round and cor
rugated with a sloping hearth, in the
center of which is a revolving shaft to
| which arms are attached having iron
| brushes. The coal, as fed through the
| hopper falls upon the hearth, where 1t
strikes a temperature of 700 degrees. The
coal is then slowly stirred and gradually
| forced downward, undergoing various
| degrees of heat, but not sufficient to
| cause decomposition. 1t takes from 30
| to 80 minutes for it to pass from the
hopper to the cooling bins below, where
| it remains until 1t can be taken out with
out igniting. The product at this stage
| is about the consistency of cornmeal and
| is jet black. From the cooling bins 1t
passes into the mixer, where it is sub
| jected to an increased heat and treated
with a binder, and, being thoroughly
mixed, 1t goes into compressor under
pressure Of 200 to 1000 pounds per
square inch. 1t is then turned out in
'eggets' of various sizes and sorted. 1t
is then practically anthracite coal and
ready for use.
1.-The compressor works automatically
and needs no care. While the soft coal
is in the furnace / extract the gas which
is used for fuel. I also eliminate the sui
phur,, together with tar, water, ammonia
and creosote. 1t requires only about two
tons of soft coal to start the furnace.
The gas generated furnishes the fuel re-
quired afterward, together with an ex-
ces sof several thousand cubic feet per
day. Using slack coal. costing 81 ton.
from 50 tons 1 can furnish about 30 tons
of eggalite, fully equal to regular anthra-
cite. This product has been thoroughly
-f1 nd fytr nd
is fully equal to the best grades of hard
coal. The product is not coke in any
sense of the word"
japanese laborers get 25 cents a day.
Chicago contain fifteen women drug
gists.
Londoners eat 100000 oysters daily.
Massachusetts, employs 1900 peace JUS.
tees.
Americans sent 100000 kilograms this
year.
At Tampa, Fla, Strawberries cost Il
per quart.
The worlds total output Of nickel last
year was about 1903 metric tons.
Almost all the camphors used by the
world comes from Japan and Formosa-
Iron smelling is to be experimental
upon in the western highlands of Ireland
The only windows in Korean houses are
pieces of glass about the size of a nickel
Betweet twenty and thirty river steam
ers are to be built at Victoria, B. c., this
winter.
Cotton growing is one Of the leading IN
dustries of the southern part Of the state
of Kansas.
One million acres of forest land are used
up every year in Europe to supply the
railways with sleepers.
Italy is now exporting oranges from
trees grown from seed obtained in Calf
fornia some nine years ago.
There is a single factory in New Eng
land which exported last year no less
than $1,000 bushels of shoe pegs.
The people of Seattle will vote at the
March election on whether the liquor
license in the city shall be 5000 or $1,000
No whites need apply, is the motto of
a Wyandotte county Kansas) photogra-
pher, who takes the pictures of negroes
only.
The chamber of commerce, Lima, Peru.
has petitioned the government to levy a
tax of $3.50 upon every commercial trav-
eler.
All the street railroads in Munich are
to use electricity as motive power within
two years and charge a uniform fare of
"a cents.
The largest telegraph station in the
world is at St. 's-le-Grand, Lon
III. .
OF whom are women.
The West Huntsville, Ala. cotton mills
will build houses to accommodate 900
more operatives, and will soon begin to
run 20 hours per day.
The bulk of the cotton going to Japan
is from Texas owing to its advantage in
the matter of disetance over the eastern |
cotton fields of the south.
The Crawfordville Qnd) Dovetail Body |
gIaddened its employees by announcing an |
increase of 10 per cent in wages.
We pay annually $4,000, 900 for agricul- |
tural products that we might, says the |
Trades Journal. grow at home. This |
points TO a grand future for American |
agriculture.
On account Of short freight accommo-
dations on the Pacific steamers, much of |
the American cotton bought for Japan 1
will have to be shipped by the Suez canal /
The citizens Of Tupelo. Miss. are anx- /
ious TO have a cotton factory. They will /
take some stock and offer advantages
including freedom from taxation for ten
years.
India's area of wheat farms is now