The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1911-01-17
INlsNNGIlNILE IIER

lltiullitsSlutl III LII =
INTERESTING STORIES All OUT
ssyt,AT is GOING ON \ Az THE
cAPlTol % STlsE UNITED
STATES. 4 iss /. Il
|sss5s'W1AsHlNGTo Jan. II Invest ga;
ton Of the manner OF storing coal on
United States battleships is expected
in the near future by oaicers q the
navy. Ks
The immediate cause for such an,
inquiry Is found IN the fact that with,
In two weeks, explosions recently oc.
cured In the coal .bunkers Of two bat.
|ltleships. causing the death OF man III
each instance. They were on the
North Dakota and on the Michigan.
Coal Spasser Evans, OF the North Da.
kota. died after lingering nearly two
weeks from the time lot his being
burned; BENJAMIN Nice leary, coal
passerr on the Michigan died within
two days after the accident. Both
men We're Injured while the feet was
In the English channel, Though spch
explosions are not unknown to & the
navy, officers are freshly alarmed Ut.
what seems to be an increase in their;
frequency 4 \; rs IS
According to the report OF tie board
Of inquiry on the North Dakota, coal
dust was responsible for the, explos.
Ion on. that battleship. Evans yaeclarr.:
ed that he had crawled into the bunker
to take nap. Meeting aA5llght, he
scratched a match and the explosion
followed. severely burning him. The
board reported that there was no trace
Of gas In the bunker. No detailed re.
port on the Michigan explosion has
yet been received, but the clrcuin,,..
stances. SO far as known, were similar.
Lack of ventilation, naval officers
say, is the dangerous factor in battle.
ship coal bunkers. On most Of the
ships. II the traps are opened and kept
open to admit air, water also gets In.
It Is well known that water in. small
Quantities with large amounts OF soft
coal. will induce spontaneous. combus.
ton. The difficulty Of the problem Is
increased by the fact that there is lit.
tie choice in placing the ibunkers, ali
must open into the fire room.
Many officers are convinced that
these recent explosions offer a strong
argument for the adoption Of oil burn:
ers. The danger from coal. they say sal,
Is too great to be longer tolerated.
4 MONOPOLY Of the manufacture Of,
rum In Honduras is held by the gov gov
lernment, and the business IS conduct
ed on; the basis Of a very liberal profit,
according to q report from Consul
Haeberle, who attends TO the interests
Of the United States In the Republic.
The government contracts with dis.
tillers in various parts Of the country
Tor supplies of rum. One Of these in.
formed Hneberle that 1t cost three
cents to produce a bottle containing i s |
ounces. 1t Is sold to the government
for seven cents and by the latter dis:
,tribated among the ultimate consum.
ers at 60 cents bottle. The rum is |
called guaro and is made from sugar
cane.
e AS to the need of roads Haeberle |
says:
One Of the enterprising merchants |
OF Tegucigalpa said that he is at pres.
,ent transporting machinery to his |
farm, 20 miles east Of the, city. Dur.
Ing the last week the oxen advanced
three miles. At many places his men
had to stop and fix the road before
proceeding. =
To ] transport heavy. machinery to !
the San iJuancito mine. from, the coast
requires from two to two and a half
months, sometimes seven weeks from
Tegucigalpa TO the mine, a distance OF |
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