The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-01-30
statement Of Mr. Edward 6. Love,
Gas Commissioner for City
of New York.

of New York.
Mr.. Love-I am a chemist BY profes-
sion. and for something over thirty years
have been gas commissioner for the city
Of New York
ar TayIor-you may state, M Love.
just how you came before the committee
at whose invitation
Mr.. Love-The invitation Of the Wash
iugton Gasiight Company.
8lr TaylOr-As / stated before. It IS our
custom 10 let any statement be made
and not to interrupt any more than we
can help until the conclusion Of the state
ment- You may proceed
Mr LOve-The first water gas plant Is
tablished IN this country was in lS54, at
Phoenixyille. Pa Il was then an entirely
new departure IN the manufacture Of
Illuminating gas. TWO years later the
Municipal Gaslight Company OF New
York took Up the process and commenced
% supply what is commonly known as
Illuminating water gas The success
which tire Municipal company's prOdUeC
met with in New York was very pro-
nOulced from the very start. and within
two OF three years their annual output
had increased 20 something over SO. 0o0. co
feet Of gas TIE introduction OF this
process Of making illuminating gas.
think. can IL safely said to be the great
est advance IN the manufacture Of iilU-
uiuating gas in the last century Moth
ing has had . greater influence On the
subject OF artificial Illumination
The term water gas has been used
before the committee. ard / think per
haps il may be well. unless the committee
thoroughly understands that matter. 10
now define the difference between orGln-
airy water gas, tha. Is. what We mean
as carburetted water gas. and water gas.
what the gas man knows as blue gas
TIE water gas. as the committee prob
ably understands by this time. is made
By passing superheated steam over IN
csndescent carbon. This breaks Up the
steam. the carbon taking the Oxygen OF
the water. or Of the steam. freeing car
boufC oxide. and leaving the hydrogen
OF the steam free. so that the mixed
gases are carbOaic oxide and hydrogen,
roughly In equal quantities This fame
burns with a blue color, Il IS practically
O50rless. ant the next step would be 20
give that its Illuminating properties. This
IS effected by introducing naphtha OF oil.
and that stage OF the process Is carried
on in different ways under different
patents. The latest forms Of apparatus
60 il all IN one operation. that IS. tais
mixed blue gas IS carburetted IN one
operation, so that the gas passing from
the plant is the finished Illuminating gas
Nr. Sims aTburetted' means putting
the naphtha in2
Mr.. Love-Yes. That is. It IS gas that
has been carburetted. or given its uIu-
minatng property, and in that condition
I'd 30 &c
pgngelt as ordinary coal gas, so that
so Tar as that particular property Is con
cerned they both stand on the same basis
There are certain advantages that the
water gas has over the coal gas, and K
has been claimed that the coal gas has
certain advantages over the water gas.
The one thing. I think. which appeals %
the consumers in New York when the
carburetted water gas was first dis
tribUted was the fact that it had a
bright. clean. white fame Moreover,
they were getting from Is 70 3o-csndle-
power gas from the Municipal company
supplying this carbGretted water gas.
whereas before, or II they old not take
that gas. they got the ordinary 16-candIs
coal gas. which was being supplied BY
other companies engaged ar that tine.
So far as the explosiveneSs in these cases
is concerned. Il IS probably about the
same That is. the escape Of coal gas
into room, or the escape OF carburotted
water sss into a room, mixed with the
necessary quantity OF air to make an
explosive mixture, would not be material
IS different. but 50 far as the heating
power is concerned, there is considerable
difference Ordinary coal gas. we VIII
say. Of l5-candle power, vii give about
GO 20 60 heat units per cubic foot. The
carburetted water gas CT from - 70 -
candle power wiz give from 703 to 80 heat
units, SO there Is a material gain IN the
use OF the carburetted wafer gas over the
coal gas IN that respect
Mr.. Sims-From y up?
Mr. Love-Tes. OF course, when the
thing is determined by weight, the reverse
is the case, but our gas is sold 70 rs per
cubic foot. not per pound. OF course the
use OF either CT these gases in gas stoves
is attended, 70 my mind, with about the
same amount OF danger: that Is. the
products OF combustion from the coal gas
and the csrburettsd water gas are the
same. and OF course. under sanitary con-
ditions. these products OF combustion
should be carried to q fiue. That IS the
general doctrine. I DO not carry it out,
but always advise other people TO do II.
I think il IS the proper sanitary measure
TO take. lLaughter-1
The main point which believe has
been brought before this committee is the
matter of accident What are the prOba-
bilities of accident from one gas over
those OF another OF course, really IL is
( only carelessness. or ignorance, or design,
which would be the origin OF any accident.
Now. OF course. the matters OF design,
understand. are thrown out; that IS. any
thing Of a suicidal intent would hardly
count The making Up OF lists Of acct
dents from newspaper clippings and
things Of that sort has been a very. pop
Ular way of getting AZ Il. and L IS very
difficult particularly a day or Two o. q
week after an accident. 10 chase down
that matter and find out really what the
exact conditions were
One Of the early investigations o. this
matter, early reports. was one issued BIZ
Dr.. RAYMOND, who wss then the health
commissioner OF the city Of Brooklyn.
Re had been applied TO by the common
council Of Brooklyn for an opinion and
report on this matter Of ear5oidc oxide
in Illuminating gas, and he furnished
quite an elaborate report of something
Ike four or Eve hundred pages, the gen
eral tenor OF which was that Z was not
desirable. Prof. Ira Remsen, at that
time professor Of chemistry in Johns
Hopkins University, ard who has since
become the president OF that institution.
was retained by the board OF health ol
Brooklyn 10 make this investigation. but
mainly the analyses. He did make those
analyses and reported 70 Dr.. Raymond.