Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1908-01-11
WATER WORMS WHERE ANTHRACITE WAS
FIRST TRIED IN PHXHOEZPHIH rs

ever the cause, SitCll NlS lhc lCSui'
of the first attempt to burn Lehigh
coal in Philadelphia, where, since that
time, millions of tons of it have been
welcomed and consumed"
Mr.. Binns relates tAat anthracite
was discovered about tho year 1919
but in this he was in error for 1t Is
on record that coal was found on the
Lehigh ten years before he came to
this country, in 1902 So far as the
company of which he speaks is con
cerned it may be said that, although
it was formed in 1892, 1t did little
to advance it's business for many
years. and frequently was before the
! legislature for the purpose of securing
charter. With due regard for Mr.
Binns' statement, it may be said tina
the attempt in the water works II
Center Square seems to have preceded
his expensive attempt to burn stone
COAL"
The reason that anthracite was "
ceived with so much suspicion wal
due to the fact that those who attempt
ed to burn it did not know how. Nc
wonder they called it "stone coal
1t was left for Judge Fell as men
toned, to devise proper CRATE fo'
the purpose so that the necessary
draught could be obtained Some
years afterward he told the story o
his success in Stillman's Journal, nov
known as the Journal of the Franklin
| Institute. In this account he says
From observation had conceived the
! idea that if body Of this coal was
| ignited and confined together it would
burn as fuel To try the experiment II
the month of February, 1908, l hat
crate constructed for the purpose
eight inches in depth and eight inche:
in height, with feet eight inches higf
and about % inches long (the length
is immaterial, as that may be regulaS
ed to suit it's use or convenience, an6S
the coal, after being ignited in it
burned beyond the most sanguine eX
J pectations. A more beautiful fire
could not be imagined, it being clear
and without smoke. This was the
| first instance of success in burning
. this coal in a CRATE in a common fiji e.
place of which l have any knowledge
and this experiment first brought oul
coal into use for winter fires (withou
any patent right"
| Just so years after Judge Fells sue
cess four young men were riding to-
gether in coach which was travelling
| toward Wilkes-Barre. One of the four
was a grandson Of Judge Fell. He
had that day been reading an account
in an old copy of a well known Ma
sonic book of the experiment made by
his grandsire, and when he mentioned
| it, one of the members of the party
happened to recall that the date of
this event was just so years previous.
The young men were struck by the CO.
incidence, and determined that some
thing should be done.
When they arrived in Wilkes-Barre
they set about stirring up interest,
and called a public meeting. to be-
held that evening in the same old
tavern in which Judge Fell had car
ried on his experiment. The four
young men were James Platter Dennis,
grandson of Judge Fell Henry Mar
tyn Hoyt, later governor of Pennsyl-
vania; John Butler Conyngham and
Stanley Woodward, the latter after
ward one of the leading jurists of the
state. These four became the found.
ers of the Wyoming Historical and
Geological society, formed as a result
of that nights meeting. 1t is this or
ganization that now purposes to cele-
brate the Tooth anniversary of this
experiment of Judge Fell and the 5Oth
anniversary of it's own founding at
the same time. 1t was at a meeting
of this society recently that the facts
concerning the old Jesse Fell CRATE
were learned, for a paper on where I
Is the Crate on Which Jesse Felix
Made His Successful Experiment OIL
Burning Anthracite Coal?' was read
by Rev. II. E. Hayden, curator of the
society.
Mr.. Hayden has made an exhaustive
study of the subject and has come to
the conclusion that the original crate
is not now in existence, and that "the
only well authenticated CRATE extant
belonging to Judge Fell' is that here
tofore known as the Herman or Eick
CRATE, and now in the possession of
the historical society
A woman never hesitates to marry