The San Francisco call., 1908-05-07
SAVING OF FUEL
SERIOUS PROBLEM
Waste in Coal Mining Causes
Loss of 2OO,OOO,OOO Tons
Yearly
SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL


WASHINGTON. May s.-Omcials Of
the United States geological survey.
who are studying the fuel problem,
make the statement that 200,000,000
tons Of coal enough TO supply the
needs Of the country for six months,
are being wasted every year in the
United States through improper min
ing methods. This waste represents a
loss OF more than s20O,0Oo.000. for the
coal is worth at least 81 a ton
In our Investigations we find that
in the mining operations OF this coun-
try nearly half OF the total coal sup
ply is left underground" said ]. A.
Holmes, chief OF the technologic branch.
This coal is left as pillars to support
the roof OF the mine, or because il is
Of inferior quality, only the best part
Of the coal being removed from many
beds. The waste Is also due to the
fact that the working out OF the lower
beds Of coal first in some cases breaks
and renders inpracticable the subse-
Quent mining Of the adjacent higher
coal beds.
we are skimming the cream of the
natural resources Of the country. We
are using the best and cheapest OF our
supplies. Each Of the succeeding gem
erations will obtain its needed general
supply, but each viii pay higher prices,
expensive and more dangerous.
TO PREVENT WASTE
1T is believed that an increasingly
large part of this waste is preventable.
In most European coal producing coun-
tries coal waste has been reduced to
a minimum by the introduction of i'm
proved methods of mining. In Van
couver. British Columbia, 1 am told
eS per cent of the coal is mined"
The technologic branch OF the geo.
logical survey is now engaged in in
vestigations looking toward q reduc-
ton Of the waste in mining operations
and also 20 q better utilization Of the
coal that is mined. The success Of
the government In the latter field is
told in a bulletin just issued by the
United States geological survey on the
work Of the United States fuel testing
plant, which until the early part of
1907 was operated at st. Louis, Mo-
Goals from all over the country were
tested in the steam engine and gas en-
gine in order TO determine their eff
cheney. The results with the gas en-
gine were extremely gratifying. Fifty
six different bitHminous Goals were
tested in the steam boiler and engine
and gas producer and engine. and the
figures show that on an average it
took nearly three times as much coal
engine as in the gas engine.
The actual figures for the average
from all Goals were: 157 pounds of
coal burned TO produce one horsepower
for an hour in the gas engine. and 4.45
pounds in the steam engine. The best
coal used produced a horsepower per
hour in the gas engine for less than
one pound OF COAL while the steam
engine used 2.4I pounds. or 24s times
as much as the gas engine.
LIGNITES SHOW UP WELL
In FIVE tests Of lignites an inferior
quality Of coal found in the west, the
gas engine required 2.37 pounds to
produce a horsepower for an hour and
6.26 pounds for the steam engine The
best result was la pounds for the
gas engine and 5.9 pounds for the
steam engine.
Two remarkable tests were made on
what is termed "bone COAL a coal that
is SO high in impurities that 1t is now
being thrown away by the mine opera
tors as worthless. In one test on the
gas engine IL took 2.15 pounds of this
supposed worthless coal TO produce u
horsepower for an hour. This coal had
- per cent ash and would be con-
sidered valueless as a producer of
oower in steam engine. Another