The Washington herald., 1909-02-01
WATER GAS AND COAL GAS
HEARING BEFORE HOUSE COMMITTEE.

tn4tec states, as N Massachusetts I'd
: opposition was more TO the method Q
promotion, the method adopted BY n
promoters Of the process. than 4 wa
10 the process itself In other words
tne promoters Of the water gas process
started in the wrong way They veou1
= 60 into q town and say: We have
E process. We know It is 10 your advaa
tage 10 use il. and We are going TO fore
3 you 70 use it II you do not use it yolun
tarlly, We VIII organize another gas CON
Dany and You viii suffer
Mr. Taylo--Ts,sat IS they would sal
that 10 The existing gas company?
Mr FOrstall - Yes That natural.
aroused considerable antagonisn. and th'
managers OF the existing companies could
see no good in such a process Thai
was begun in the late '70s. There were
quite a number Of plants put in up tc
lSSe but after 1SS5 the tactics Of the
owners OF the water gas patents changed
somewhat. The company controlling the
patents got d different management and
the methods changed; the method Of ap-
preaching gas companies changed, and
7 from that time on there was a very
I rapid increase in the amount OF car
buretted water gas made and distributed
in the United States. In 1856 my father
Put in a water gas apparatus in the works
he was then in charge Of. and in lSS9,
I just before he died, he wrote q paper for
a gas society showing how much better
! the carburetted water gas plant was for
! the public than the coal gas plant was.
The reason for that rapid progress II
the face OF the adverse opinion that had
been excited vas simply the greater merit
CT the water gas process. The points
/ in which the process has greater merit
I have been touched on. and I think there
are also others which need a little more
I amplifcatiOn. IN the first place, the con
sumer uses less carburetted water gas 70
+ DO the same amount OF work than he does
I coal gas. That IS not q matter OF theory.
I 1t IS q matter Of actual fact. I have been
connected with two gas companies which
changed from coal gas TO q mixture Tlle
( Chicago company changed from coal gas
20 straight water gas while I was with
them. and the Newark Gas Company
changed from straight coal gas 70
mixture Of 50 or IS per cent
water gas. In both cases, the year
in which the change was made,
there was practically no increase over
the preceding gas in sales. while for ten
years past We hsd been increasing from
Z
normal increase in sales. Just put US back
year That IS pretty conclusive evi-
ence that less carburetted water gas is
used BY the consumer than coal gas 70
90 the same amount OF work He gets a
higher candle power, and there Is another
reason for IL Even without his being
conscious Of IL with the same appliances
he cannot use as much carburetted water
gas as he can coal gas on account Of the
difference in the specific gravity. The
amount OF fOw from a given Orlfice, with
given size and a given pressure be-
mnd Il Is inversely proportional 20 the
square OF the specific gravity. so that
the higher The specific gravity of the gas
the less flow you get through an orifice
oT given size with a given pressure, and
the specific gravity OF caTburetted water
gas IS considerably higher than that Of
coal gas
Then, another merit Is, 1t is also pos-
sole 10 make a higher candle power sat
isfactorily- On that point OF candle
power Mr. Tucker raised the question as
20 the different methods OF testing. There
Is point which I am glad he brought
ups because have made q note OF II as
he spoke OF Il The legal testing OF coal
gas, as It Is done IN Massachusetts and
IN England. is specified 70 be done by
the burner not having a mantle. 20 give
the light which gives the largest amount .
OF light from the gas, and is practical /
Tor use by the consumer. Under those /
specifications, the testing Of coal gas OF I
tEe ordinary quality, Il 70 IS candle 4
power. IS entirely done by Argand bum /
ers. and those Argand burners are not
used TO any great extent by gas con
sumers- Before the Welsbach burner 4
came In they used 70 use an Argand +
burner IN the library where people read,
and possibly one over the table II Won
were 10 test that coal gas by q fat fame
burner, instead OF getting IS yor might
get Il OF Is. IN the csrburetted vrsfer
gas candle power Is tested BY q fat
fame burner. The gas is burned in q +
lat flame burner, and there Is 10 earthly
reason why the consumer cannot get
lust as good a candle power IN his houSe
N MS room, as is shown in the gas Il
examiners test So the comparison is I.
1ot between IS candle power in one case
1nd 2 or 3 in the other: really It is
between about 15. as actually used By the
consumer, and =. "A, or 25 That is Ons
u the merits Of carburetted water gas.
tnea another merit, from the stand
}oinI OF the consumer am treating
hose merits frst-is that II requires a !
mailer investment for a given amount
I gas, and therefore there is less capi- ]
al 70 pay interest on when a comuanv
5 making carburetted water gas than J
vhen II is making coal gas Suppose the
wo gases can be made at the same I
rice
MT. GoldsboroUgh-Can they not pracu-
ally be made at the same price?
Mr. Forstall-I an coming to that later. q
Imposing they can be made at the same c
rice, as far as the cost OF manufacture q
ooncerned-the cost 70 the consumer
necessarily the cost OF manufacture c
lus the expense Of keeping the plant I'd .
It's original value, the Supreme Court
as Just decided that. plus q fair return
q the value OF the property used in the 2
usiness, so that their caTburetted water (
Is starts right away with the ADVANTAGE 7
requiring The smaller investment j
hich means a smaller annual expendi-
ire, and certainly a smaller amount Der G
lous2no cubic feet 70 pay as return on Q
apitsL 4
Inere IS smaller amount Of nuisance o
on the manufacture, nuisance to the
eiShborhood. Il Is practically impossible .
manufacture coal gas without a large 0
mount OF smoke coming out from the
orks. Every time the retorts are OPEN O
ana TIE coke is drawn unless al q
70 gas has been taken out Of the coal q
10 that Is not the very best practice Q
take every bit OF the gas out-thers o
bound 70 be more or less smoke g
call a case now IN which the Munich q
u Gas Plant, in Ballast, Ireland. was y
quired absolutely to shut I'D one OF fts b
tort houses because OF the smut that
as put on the linen manufactured in q G
ant within few hundred yards Of the e
IS works The linen manufactures pS
ent TO the courts and got a judgment -
which they could not operate thar
tort house until they got rid OF the
loke. and I DO not think they got rio u
IT, Ga
Then. from the standpoint OF the com
ny, II IS less exhausting Tor The ne,