Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-12-21

and Indiana as well as in many of the
states of the union and the anthracite
coal that comes from the mines of
Pennsylvania. One is known as soft
coal and the other as hard coal in trade
and when that distinction has been
made the ordinary consumer of coal
stops figuring.
It may also be known to many that
the gas coal from the Indiana fields
used in the gas works of the west is n
better grade of coal than that which
we get here, but few have ever stop
ped to figure that there is a great diff
ference in coal that is being sold in
this section of the country, and If theS
have noticed q difference they have
not stopped to find out what it was.
ANALYzE ALL COAL.
Not so with the experts. The enor-
nous consumption of coal and the fur
Their fact that many coal fields even in
Illinois are threatened with exhaus-
ton of the supply have brought about
a study of the conservation of coal re-
sources and the study Of economic
coal consumption. AS a result stove
manufacturers have constructed gas
burning or "hot blast" stoves both for
heating and cooking purposes, and ex-
perts have been at work trying to get
the most out Of the coal that is being
actually consumed In this work they
have discovered the heat unit in coal
and by comparison have found that
I hn &c Il;
of coal.
BEST BY TEST RULE.
As a result of this discovery, they
have recommended to municipalities
and other large consumers of coal
that instead OF buying coal haphaz-
ardly on the market they submit
proffered grades to a test and deter
mine the heat units contained in coal
before buying it. Many cities in this
state have adopted this rule,
with the result that they have
been paying for just what they get in
the way of a heat producing fuel and
not for the gross weight Of a lot of
fuel that goes up in smoke, or must be
carried out from the ashpit of a boil
er room.
The idea is. spreading and coal deal
ers predict that in a Few years pri-
vate consumers will buy their coal by
heat units rather than by the ton of
gross fuel.
LOCAL DEALERS VIEW.
In speaking Of this manner Of test
Ing coal q few days ago a coal dealer
Of the three cities insisted that 1t was
the only economical way OF buying
coal and the only way OF getting just
what you paid for. "Of course" said
he, the public in general will have to
be educated to it, for it will be diff /
cult matter to convince them that one
ton of coal is not as good or nearly as
good as another"
This small dealer related an ex-
Derience tina, a professional man of T.
Rock Island had short time ago. (
Tho dealer had talked heat units to .
he customer and finally persuaded .
lin 20 buy a ton OF a certain grade OF /
oal. As an experiment the profes
,ional man burned the coal according
o directions and saved all of the
ishes until the ton had been consum-
I'd. Then he weighed his ashes and
ound that he had just IS pounds of
ashes from the ton of coal All OF the
,oal had been practically consumed in
he frebox and only part of it had con
ributed to the sum total of heat pro
iuced. II proved a most gratifying ex-
pertinent and the professional man
vas converted to the heat unit idea.
MEANS REIMBURSEMENT.
The general application of the test
o the ordinary soft coal on the mar
,et will make a REIMBURSEMENT of the
Oal business.
The price of the poorer grade of
Gal will naturally be reduced. and as
esult the price for mining this coal
will have to be readjusted or the
mines closed.
According to men who have made a
tudy of the coal situation, the selling
f coal by heat units is sure to come
nd the only question is how soon the
Individual consumers will accept this
$ the standardization to go by.