Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-11-22

fer has turned his attention to phiian-
thropy-with a dividend attachment
again, and If his latest project works
out in practice as 1t does in theory there
will be no more suffering from scarcity
of coal in the northwest.
Through the agency of the pastor or
his Cleveland church, MIR. Rocketeller
is preparing to supply gas for lighting
and heating the farm houses on the
p~rairies and the towns OF the wheat
belt. The waste Of the grain country
the straw, corn stalks, cObs, etc, that
have heretofore been thrown away or
burned at considerable expense 10 the
farmerS-are the raw material from
which the gas is to be manufactured,
and 1t Is their announced intention, ac-
cording TO the men who induced Mr..
Rockefeller TO inance the project. TO
utilize eventually every scrap of this
refuse and return it TO the growers In
the form of gas for heat, light and
power.
OF the plants for the manufacture OF
straw gas by the new process, funds
for the development OF which came out
of Mr.. Rockefeller's pocket. the first has
just been put into operation in Beatrice,
Neb. Franchises for the operation of
gas plants in dozens OF other prairie
towns have been obtained in the name
| of the Rev. Charles A. Eaton, of CleVe-
land. but the money back of the Inter
national Heating and Lighting com
pany. which controls the process and
plants. is Mr.. Rockefen sr's.
Scarcity of fuel has been for years
the greatest handicap to the growth OF
the northwestern grain country. The
inhabitants of these t~reeless plains are
forced TO depend on coal brought by
rail from distant points. When wealth
er is favorable there is plenty of
coal available, though at a high price.
4 o
1t frequently happens, however. that
when the weather is most severe and
fuel is most needed the railroads are
so blocked with snow and congested
with other freight that they can hardly
haul coal sufficient for their own needs.
Then thousands suffer for lack OF heat,
and often whole families in isolated
farmhouses die from the intense cold.
So serious was the o shortage last
winter that congressional aid was
sought to compel the railroads to haul
coal, to the exclusion of all other
freight, until the needs OF the northwest
were supplied. Hundreds of persons
froze to death from sheer inability to
get anything that would burn. Grain
in railroad elevators was sacrificed to
the flames in the effort to warm hos
pitfalls and orphan asylums.
This situation was brought TO Mr..
7, Rockefeller's attention through the eff
forts of a young man from Canada,
who not only was able from personal
observation TO report actual conditions,
bur a a remedy to suggest. James
Russell Coutts, of Toronto, who had
been interested with the Rev. Mr..
Eaton In sociological work i'm that city,
happened to be a visitor to the grain
ountr one severe winter two or three
years ago. He saw how the people
suffered from lack of fuel and remem-
bered the reat stacks OF straw and
cornstalks that he had seen them burn
ing the summer before.
II occurred to him that there was a
tremendous waste of heat that. If con-
served and properly distributed. would
relieve the entire northwest of it's de-
p~endence OF the eastern coal fields. He
hurried back to Cleveland. where Mr..
Eaton had become the pastor OF Mr..
Rockerfeller's church, and laid the case
before him.
Wei get Mr.. Rockefeller to help,
said Mr.. Eaton. and they did The told
him the story of the pitiable condition
of the grain country when the coal
supply failed. and told him of Mr.
Coutts' ideal of utilizing the farm waste
for fuel.
II don't just know how ii can best be
DONE" said Mr.. Coutts, but I'd like to
experiment. Experiments cost money
though"
You go ahead with the experiments
and draw on me for the money" said
Mr.. Rockefeller. and they o him al
his wore
Working with Duell, Warield &
Duell. of New ork. patent attorneys
whom Mr.. Rockefeller engaged. Mr.
Coutts studied all that had been done
toward converting straw into fuel. ant
concluded that nobody mad struck thu
right idea. IL II could be made int,
gas II could be more easily distributed
than any other form, and with the aiC
OF an expert gas chemist from the Con.
soiidated Gas company an experimental
plant vas constructed.
Dozens of methods were tried. only [,
be found either failures or commercial
ly impractlcable. Mr.. t'outts knew tn,
fuel elements were there, however. ant
~ Mr.. Rockefeller's pocketbook was stil
plethoric, so the work went on for NOR
than a year, until insiiy the younl
Canadian discovered, SO he says. tina
by COMPRISING tile straw into bale
and subjecting FAC bale to heat gra I
uaily, from n to end. perfect distifia
tion occurred and the gaseous result
could b, ptped M and stored Ia sur
pfssingty 1arge Quantities. ~ Is assert