Bisbee daily review., 1906-04-15
United States Last Year Spent Approximately S1 1,500,000
 for Power and Heat,
STARTLING STATISTICS
 BY LOGICAL SURVEY.
Losses in the Utilization of Fuel for the Development of Power, Light and Heat Un- der Existing Conditions Are Appalling,

Now that the coal strike is upon us. it may be interesting to the people of the United States to know that they spent approximately $500. .OOO, 900 last year for fuel for the production of power, light and heat. With the steady increase in the number of our manufacturing industries, our need for fuel is not likely to diminish as the years go by, nor is it probable that our annual expenditure for the material with which to produce power. light and heat will become less. In view of our accommodating needs and the growing difficulty We may have in meeting them, the statements re- gently made by government experts and referred to the Senate committee on the geological survey are such as may well make every patriot pause.
 iheSe statements are 10 the effect that the losses in the utilization of fuel for the development of power, light and heat under existing condi- uonS are so great that in ton of coal consumed in an ordinary manufactur- ing plant less than per cent of the total energy is available for the actual work of manufacturing; that in an ordinary locomotive only from 3 to 5 per cent of the fuel energy is ob- tained fer pulling the train: that in cur houses ordinarily not more than one-seyouth of l per cent of the fuel energy is actually transformed into electric light; that gases from the blast furnaces of the country are now lost in the atmosphere that would yield continuously, if properly utilized. more than 2,500,000 horsepower, and that by-products might be lsaved from the 4O,00e,000 tons of coal which we now convert into coke that would have an aggregate yearly value much greater than that of the coke itself. These by-products would include am- moniuri sulphate sufficient to fertilize our farms, creosote for the preserva- ton of our timber, and pitch enough Tor briquetting our slack coals. roof ing our houses and repairing some of our roads
 How appalling that such waste should continue after we know that it existsi Unfortunately, it is not al ways clear even to those who best understand the nature and uses of coal how such economies may be eff 1ected. No methods, for instance, are known by which more than one-sixth Of the nitrogen in coal can be saved ln the manufacture of coke. There is no subject touching the welfare of the human race on which research is more needed than economy in the use of fuel.
 The results of the fuel investisa- uons conducted at St. Louis during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition by members of the United States geologi- cal survey are so encouraging to both producers and consumers of coal that the nation may well take to heart the continuance of those investigations. Persons desirous of knowing more about this work should apply to the director of the United States Geologi- cal Survey for Professional Paper No. 4S. In comparison with the immense sum annually expended for fuels, the amount Of money necessary to carry on this work for several years seems mere trffie, especially when the magnitude of the interests involved is considered. The recommendation of she director of the United States Geo logical Survey that the sum of s25O,- Noo be appropriated by Congress for tse investigation of the coals, lignites and other fuel substances of the United States during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, should therefore meet with the enthusiastic approval of the whole people, since it is mat ter that concerns every citizen.
 II should not be forgotten that work of this kind is necessarily expensive It must be done with the greatest pos sible care and on c scale sufficiently large 10 command public attention. Every test must be extended over a period of from three to six days, and many of them over a longer period, during which time it is necessary to employ two or three shifts of men SO that the work may be constantly un- de: supervision. Not only must the experts in charge of the work be men of the highest training and experience, but even the ordinary woriomen must be selected with care and must be given such compensation as will make them willing to render proper service. Finally. the equipment must not only be the best obtainable but 1t must be kept accurately adjusted and must be in duplicate so that there need be no delays in case of accident to any part of the machinery.
 By the close of the present fiscal year the survey will have completed g series of general comparative fuel tests of coals from many of the beds already developed in the more impor- tan fields. It happens. however, that even during the progress of this work,
 rev beds have been opened up in the older mining states. such as West Vir-
 ginia. Pennsylyania, Ohio. Indiana