The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-24
THr NEW rUnr,

the old and new worlds, it sounds like
 idle talk to speak of time when there
 will none be left or available for fuel.
 All over this great continent. to go no
 farther. from Alabama to Alaska and
 across country there are vast deposits.
 many of them untouched and to the cas-
 ual observer 1t might seem that the supply Is inexhaustible. The man of
 science can take pencil and paper and
 calculate pretty closely how long the
 supply will last. but even that does not
 seriously worry the present innabit-
 ants of earth
 But the more palpabfe fact that there
 Is much coal in existence in so many
 places in the United States does not les
 sen the fact that some substitute as
 heat-producer would be an incalculable
 boon to humanity. It has been bat
 very short while-if it does not 1ow eX-
 ist. since there was great suffering' in
 many portions of the Northwest be-
 cause no coal could be obtained. This
 fuel famine was not because there was
 no coal in the mines, nor because it
 could not be dug out. for neither was
 the case but because of lack of cars
 and the consequent inability of the
 railroads to supply the unusual and un-
 expected demand. There was plenty of
 coal but people were actually freezing
 to death because they could get no fuel
 Like conditions may come about at any
 time in the future. A sudden and un-
 usual demand on the railroads may at any time overtax their carrying capac- ity and again people may freeze be- cause they cannot obtain fuel.
 These and other reasons call for substitute for wood and coal. and it is claimed that such substitute has been found in what is called '.denatured AS- cohol." from which the tax was remov ed by recent act of Congress. A re- cent article contributed to The Review of Reviews by Professor Baskerville, deals with this article very extensive ly, and in that he shows "how the man. ufacture of denatured alcohol may, If pursued, reduce to the min imum, if 1t does not completely aoro- gate. the suffering from rack Of fuel and light now so prevalent oyer wide area of the great West. It is cited that in Germany and Holland seventy per cent of the stoves are fed with de- natured alcohol" As to where the supply is, to come from, the following from The New York Commercial, good authority. will be of interest;
 As to the source of alcohol David A. Gates, a recognized authority on the subject, states in The World Today that there is as much alcohol in the tre corn. Tn Hawaii millions of gal Ions of molasses. which could serve for the purpose, are thrown away an- nually. Wood sawdust. now largely hCl: but chiefly are potatoes and corn. Secretary Wilson. in his statement be- fore the Ways and Means Committee last Spring. said that 1t was within bounds to place the. output of alcohol from an acre of potatoes at five hum dred gallons. Thus in Louisiana and Hawaii, with cheap molasses; in Kan sas and Nebraska where corn often sells for thirty cents bushel.i and in i section of the Northwest where the soil is especially adapted to the produc- tion of potatoes, alcohol can be produc- ed at very low cost ;and the passage of this law must have the effect of adding enormously to the rapidly growing wealth and resources of this country.
 It must be remembered that this in- dustry is really in It's infancy at pres ent Up to the time when Congress were practically prohibitive. but now 1t l can be produced at a low cost and in almost unlimited quantities. The meth ods of manufacture render it unfit for | drinking or for the composition of med | icinal preparations. but it can be used | for almost everything where light, heat and power are required. We are as- sured that at least one million gallons | of it are annually consumed in Ger many for furnishing lights. aeating stoves and driving small engines, thus | saving vast quantities of coal that would otherwise be used. Discussing this matter. The Portland Oregonian 1 says:
 The question of producing denatured alcohol from the things that would l otherwise go to waste and applying the l product to the needs of ordinary life | as expressed in a substitute for coal in use is its absolute cleanliness. 1 This means that the labors of house. keeping In the winter season would be | at least one-half and that of stoking furnaces and stoves would be entirely abolished. The householder who attends to his own furnace, shovel ing into 1t from five to twenty tons of coal during the winter, according to the locality, and the housekeeper who wrestles for months with coal dust and smoke will appreciate to- the full a clean substitute for this sooty king who has long held court in the domestic realm.