The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-04-02
Do NOT WASTE WIND,
lust Cork It Up and Heat and
Light Your House With II.
FUEL AT NOTHING PER YEAR.


BoreaI Blasts and the Southern
Zephyrs by Windmill Process and Use
the Captured Air to Generate Power.
Fuel literally us free as air-heat on
winter nights to cost absolutely moth
Ing. Is 1t dream?
How to harness the north wind and
make it heat houses for people instead
OF freezing them to death Is problem
solved to his satisfaction by DR.. NJ. ].
Gahan, formerly of Grand Island and
now making his headquarters In Oma-
ha, says the Omaha World-Herald.
Several factors enter into his plan
for lighting, heating and cooking with
out cost. He proposes that there shall
be no expense save the original cost OF
installing the plant. Power to do these
things, whether 1t be for a residence
or for whole city, Is generated by
means Of windmill or q system OF
windmills.
"For twenty years." said DIR. Gahan
In q recent interview. II have been
studying various expedients for solv-
ing tho fuel problem. At the time Of
tho Pennsylvania coal strike expert
mented with chemicals In the treat
ment of coal dust SO that 1t might be
converted into anthracite coal The
problem was not difficult Of solution.
and ut the present time there arc q
number Of factories In America and In
Europe where my method Is employed
In the making Of hard coal by chem
ieal process"
featuring fuel at $3.50 ton, DR.. Ga
han was convinced that he could fur
nish heat and light ut no cost at all.
He therefore began his experiments to
see If he could not furnish fuel ut
nothing per year.
Speaking Of the valuable fertilization
going to waste from the sewers of
Paris, Victor Hugo said, "Five hun
dred millions Of francs are annually
thrown into the Seine."
"If that assertion Is true" said DR..
Gahan, ''in the sense that Victor Hugo
meant 1t, how much greater is our loss
In Nebraska when we consider the
power going to waste In the winds an
hually blowing over our prairies7 Why
not save some Of that power? Why
not have windmills pump air into COM
pressers and thereby bottle up sufil-
cient power to operate motors and dy-
namOs7
when this idea first came to me It
seemed so simple that I was loath to
set much store by It Then I learned
Of Wittkeil, town In Holland. where
the power for lighting the municipal
ity is generated from great wind
mill. That plant has been In operation
for some years and has proved emil
nently satisfactory.
"'But,' says the skeptic, what II
there Is no windr Now, that contin-
gency must Of course be provided for.
but will come to 1t later. The point
first to be considered is that rarely In
Nebraska is there n day when there IL
not enough wind to turn windmill. l
IGTGT you I'D INC EJCOfuS Va tAso WCuAACA
bureau. The average wind velocity for
Nebraska during the past thirty-six
years is 100 miles an hour.
LET us suppose. however. that there
are several days In each month when
n windmill cannot work. On the days
that 1t does work It can 6ll up the
emergency tanks. and enough com
pressed air will be stored to last
through tho lull. The air motor Will be
kept ut work and will drive the dyna-
mo which does the heating and the
lighting.
II may here add that In the Union
Pacific shops at Grand Island there Is
an air tank which operates forty hand
motors. The nir, however, is compress
ed by means Of a small engine instead
Of Windmill. as propose to employ
In the storage OF compressed air"
Under tests made by DR.. Gahan he
believes that an individual plant which
would afford heat and light for Q ten
room house can be installed fol-. A2N