The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-10-09
HOLMES A,NATTONAL FIGURE
Resembles Pincho the Master of the WoodsPaid for His
Education in Good Hard Labor

the coal W, ZINC by the year 2060. Back
in 1880. had there been calculations at the
time based on the quantity of coal then
burned. the supply would have lasted,
theoretically. for LOCO centuries Figu-
ratively speaking, our coal bin is rapidly
getting empty"
''rhe waste in the mining of coal. YOU
say. is as much as 50 per cent in some
locallties?"
Competition Destroys.
Yes; for every ton taken out OF the
ground ton is left behind" Dr. Holmes
answered I'VE call that sort of work
unclean mining. 1t is caused, as / have
pointed out by destructive competition
between regions and between individual
operators within the regions There is
double competition in the coal trade
Pennsylvania cutting the price against
Ohio. for instance. and the operators in
each State trying to uhdersel one an
other. Necessarily, mining has been
made as cheap as possible. Wages in
America cannot be kept down. Econom-
les, therefore, have been centered within
the mines. the easiest and quickest coal
being taken out In the fierce rush OF
throat-cutting business and the rest re-
manning where ii stands"
Then. after all the waste in the mine,
said, only from 5 TO y per cent of the
coal brought TO the surface is converted
into work? "
There is a certain amount OF energy
in ton of coal In the engine room OF
a factory part of the energy In every
shovelful OF fuel is lost through radia-
ion-the heat escaping into the air from
the boilers. Much Of the unburned coal
drops between the CRATES into the ashes
Heat also goes up the stack. along with
dense volumes Of smoke. Then energy
is lost in getting the engine and machin-
cry started. Thus the loss begins when
the furnace door is opened and continues
until the energy finally turns the pulleys
starts the belts. and puts tho machinery
in motion that Is 10 do the work. In
all, the loss varies from % 10 95 per cent
and reaches 80 per cent when the coal is
burned in an electric lighting plant"
rs there any likelihood that the sup
ply Of anthracite coal will be ex-
hausted?"
Specialists IN the Geological Survey
believe that the consumption of anthra-
cite coal has reached its maximum, and
If they are right the supply will last for
a long time TO come. Bituminous coal
is now being used In Office buildings and
manufacturing establishments through
out the East. and, with mechanical stok-
ers, can be burned without smoke The
anthracite mines are owned by a few big
companies and are closely related 10 GER
tain railways II the anthracite mines
could be brought together they would
cover an area twenty miles long and
twenty miles wide-a small county in
most States. No other region In the
world would equal it in wealth Small
as the mines are geographically, they
paralyzed the industries of the country
a few years ago during the miners strike.
However, the strike showed the East
that bituminous coal was both practical
and cheap for heating and steam making
purposes"
Machines Ssve Money.
How are YOU teaching manufacturers
and railroad men TO burn coal?"
Mechanical stOkers are now in use
They are saving immense quantities Of
coal. and are doing away with smoke
laundering causes waste. Every time
the door OF a furnace is opened. whether
ii be on a locomotive or in the engine
room OF factory. the cold air rushes in
and small particles Of unhurned coal and
"A thick cloud Of black smoke are carried
up the stack. That is why one gets
Cinders In his eyes when travelling by
train or steamboat With automatic
stokers the cpal IS fed regularly and
evenly all over the flame, the air com
ing up through the ashes. where II IS
heated, and not through an open door
The Pennsylvania Railroad is expert
menting with a freight engine that can
pun train up a heavy grade without
making any smoke.
Formerly, an architect. after complet-
ing plans for a building. would locate
the boilers and engine in some leftover
corner Of the basement The machinery
being too small for the work 20 be done.
it had TO be driven to it's full capacity
al the time. The result was an everlast-
ing smudge that blackened the whole
neighborhood. Architects and engineers
are now giving boilers and machinery
proper attention; are making them large
enough and are equipplng them with
automatic stokers Soft coal is burned
in some Of the public buildings of Wash
ngton, but there IS neither smoke nor a
rain OF SCOT
In course CT time such cities as Chi
cago. Cincinnati, St Louis, Cleveland.
Detroit. and Louisville will not be both
cred or damaged by smoke. Old boilers.
in many instances, can be made smoke
less. The agent OF a Pittsburg company
that owned a building in Chicago was
arrested periodically for violating the
smoke ordinance. So long as the agent
was fined S25 or less, the Pittsburg own
ers were Indifferent, but when the fines
were jumped TO 500 they Immediately
sent their engineer to Chicago. He at
tached a mechanical stoker to the fur
mace at a cost Of $500 and stopped the
nuisance. A locomotive or a stationary
engine that is running without smoke
means that more work is being obtained
iromffoal, and of Course, that money is
being saved on fuel"
supply in Alaska.
Briefly, what is the coal situation in
Alaska? ?"
There is great deal of good coal
in the country, and it is owned by the
United states-by the people as whole. !
Claims for large tracts of coal lands are |
pending, as is Well known. but so far /
the claims have not been allowed The /!
coal should be used under proper regu- !
lat0n. and on the payment of a fair |
price TO the government The Pacific 1
Coast needs it,