New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-18
BRITISH SCIENCE
The Coal Scare-Super- Dread.
noughtS-Art Collecting.
London. September 9

Vaccinations Of several eminent inyestl-
gators to the round number OF four CEN
turtles, after which the home supplies ot
coal would be exhausted and the COM
mercial supremacy based upon them
would decline. sir william Ramsay. in
his presidential address 10 the British
Association. cuts down the period 10 III
years and describes II as "a span In the
life Of a nation" When IL has passed
there will be no more coal in sight which
can be profitabIy mined, national re-
sources for competing with rival coun.
tries will fail and the kingdom viii Do
overwhelmed with starvation and mis-.
cry. The conjurer with radium, after
Of one metal into another represents an
almost infinite reserve Of energy, loses
faith in his own msryels and admits
that coal is England's capital source Of
wealth and that it is rapidly shrinking
THE coal scare has been created 90
many times AZ sessions of the British
Association that skeptcs feel at liberty
10 laugh at it, Drawing elastic conclu-
sions from the accidental discovery OF
seams Of coal in Bucknghamshire and
underneath the racecourse at Doncaster,
they assume that there arc large poten-
tial sources Of supply in Scotland and in
the southern and western counties y,
England, and they forecast the cheap.
ening and Improvement Of processes ot
mining under stress Of necessity 50 tina,
coal lands now considered unproductiye
can be proftably worked, precisely a.
low grade iron ores arc converted into
superior steel They also enlarge upon
the substitution of oil and peat for coal,
and are confident that the resources OF
science during the next lT5 years will
suffice for the discovery and utilization
Of new sources Of power in radium solar
Heat. the movement Of the tides, the
revolution Of the earth on It's axis or the
internal heat of the planet. Z These
happy-go-lucky calculators are not SIP.
ported by the British Science Guild,
which has been investigating available
sources Of energy, and Sir William RAM
say himself does not encourage eXpecta-
ton that the wheels Of commerce can be
turned by radium or the rapid decom.
position of elements. Yet these easy.
going optimists console themselves with
the reflection that the allotted span for
British coal is a long one and that some,
thing will turn up to take its place.
Sir William Ramsay's plea for the
conservation Of coal supplies may be
taken more seriously than the warnings
of previous prophets because he is not
content with scientific calculations and
medical allegories put makes pointed
reference to the systematized work done
IN America for the conservation Of nat
ural resources and the prevention Of
waste. He describes the operations OF
the permanent commission initiated by
President Roosevelt and recommends tho
adoption of a similar method Of national
stock taking in the United Kingdom,
With legislation for enforcing economy
in the use of fuel and FOR increasing by
public loans facilities for forestry and
water power. The Development Board
which was one Of the characteristic feat.
ures of Mr.. Lloyd Georges famous bud
get, might easily be converted into A
similar commission by the addition Of a
body of scientific experts Something O,
this kind may be anticipated as the d.
rect outcome of the presidential address
at Portsmouth, emphasized as it is by
American example. II there were a
tariff reform government IN power there
might be a chance for levyIng a heavy
export duty on coal, which would dimn.
ish the annual drain on home supplies
Radical ministers are committed 70 the
laissez faire plan Of unrestricted trade
exchanges as a safeguard against waste
of home resources and allowing the
future 10 take care Of itself. So the old
country will drift on as helplessly as
ever, and at the end Of another decade
enc of Sir William Ramsay's successors
may cut down the margin Of coal supply
from 10 to 30 years. and there will "a
a fresh series Of thoughtful leaders,
There may be a lack of practical Sci
ence in the conservation of natural re.
sources in the kingdom, but there is mons
in the development of the destructive
powers Of the British navy. A compare
son Of Dreadnoughts i'm Germany and
England is timely when hotheaded pa.
triots on each side are talking recklessly
about a naval war i'm the course Of the
autumn; and when IL is made f. proves
how effectively the Admiralty here has
kept ahead of its ambitious rival Il
orders should be received during the att
tumn by the home fleet for q sudden
swoop across the North Sea there would
be sixteen Dreadnoughts against eight,
and that would be practical eyidencs
that two keels had been laid for ons
The evolution Of the battleship al a for.
midable engine Of war has been carried
TO a more advanced stage in England
than I'm Germany. The original Dread
noughts had ten Pinch guns. The
German designers increased the number
to twelve but allowed only eight 10 os
concentrated for broadside fire. The two
British super Dreadnoughts which are
about to be commissioned will carry ten
13I2-inch guns on the central line, ana
can fire them together The broadsids
IRE of the first Dreadnought has oeea
doubled and every vessel in tho German
fleet has been outclassed.
Not only are the new 76-ton suns WIN
their t.25O-pound shells, superior &c any
or,itIory of tho German fleet. but va