Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-04

liver his coal to the various buildings The
quantity delivered Is stipulated by the
government. however. for, though the
available storage capacity of the govern
ment coal bunkers is placed at the dis
posal of the dealers. many of the build
ings have only sufficient room for the
coal to be used Immediately. verbal or
written notice to deliver coal under
stipulated contract is sent to the dealer,
and a second notice may be served upon
the contractor to deliver coal within
twenty-four hours If the contractor
should for any reason fail to comply
with this request the government is at
liberty to buy coal in the open market
and to charge against the contractor any
excess in price over the contract price.
AS the coal is dumped from the dealers
wagons into the various coal bins OF
Washington's public buildings a shovel
full from each load is thrown to one side.
This pile. which is nearly as possible
representative of the whole. is then sys-
tematically crushed. mixed and reduced
in quantity TO a convenient size Tor trans
initial to the laboratory. This crushing
is done by a mechanical crusher or by
hand with an iron tamping bar on a
solid floor. Frequently to prevent the
possible admixture Of some foreign mat
ter. the sample is placed on canvas
during this preparation.
The coal is necessarily crushed several
times before it is ready for the labora-
tory, and between each crushing it is
thoroughly mixed in one Of the several
ways by which this process is carried
on. Should the sample be smaller than
$50 pounds IL Is mixed on a canvas about
six by eight feet in dimensions by rails
ing first one end of the canvas and then
the other, thus rolling the coal back and
forth. When it is desired. as is. often the
case with samples of over 80 pounds, the
reducing and mixing OF the coal Is car
ried on by what is known as the long
pile and alternate shower method.
A shovelful Of coal, weighing perhaps
about fifteen pounds, Is spread out in a
long pile of five to seven feet in length
Each new shovelful is spread over the
preceding one, beginning at opposite ends.
until all the coal contained In the sam
pie Is used. To reduce this pile by half
alternate shoveifuls are discarded to one
size and the remaining half is put into
a receptacle having a tight-f1tting lid and
a lock. Each sample is numbered and
the chemists in the laboratory keep track
of them by these numbers without know
ing what dealer sent the coal. Uncle Sam
also weighs all the coal purchased on his
own scales when II Is brought to the
doors of the public buildings.
Figures obtained from the bureau OF
mines give some idea Of the amount of
coal purchased annually under specifca-
tons for the various federal and mu-
nicipal buildings in the city. Since the
method of purchasing coal under specifi-
cation has become established bituminous
coal has rapidly gained in favor, for its
heating value has been found satisfac-
tory. and many OF the public buildinbs
have installed furnaces that burn this
coal without smoke. There were about
10000 tons of bituminous coal used this
past year in the public buildings of the
District. This is surprising, for the laws
of Washington have made ii almost a
smokeless city, and II was formerly con-
sidered impossible to burn bituminous
coal without accompanying smoke.
Some 5000 tons Of bituminous Goa