The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-14

The desire for knowledge is nearly universal Not only are prospectors and capitalists seeking information along scientific lines. as to prospecting and mining: and in relation to the mineral resources within the earth; but the in tellectual public is seeking information along all scientific lines.
 In the past professional men were not expected to inform their clients Tn relation to cases entrusted to their care : but today they are not warranted in hiding their light under bushei, and the more intelligent the client is the easier it is for the professional in charge
 It is conceded that no one can hold an intelligent view of any matter unless the subject matter is understood Man kind in ignorance will believe almost any proposition. To the unlearned sophistry is as forceful as pure reason. Belief presupposes evidence. State lnents unsupported by evidence should have no weight in any investigation. We frequently hear, This is my opin- ion" when in very truth the memory has recalled statement of some one else, and 1t is given out as our own.
 To be entitled to an opinion on any subject, not only all the knowable facts, and all obtainable evidence must first be had and then fairly analysed; but our minds must be free from prejudice or bias, and evidence must not be soft ed or tortured to uphold re-conceived opinion. Our courts render an opinion only after the laws and evidence appli- cable to the case have been carefully considered.
 In order to make the subject given in the caption as plain as l possibly can to those that have not had an opportunity to study or investigate the subject. l win use non technical language when ever it is possible to do so. and the ll- lustrations will be familiar ones, readi- |ly comprehended. The data in relation to the subject intermin gles so greatly that in many instances the question will be discussed without a division of topics.
 Without regard to the views that l hold. I have selected the testimony of scientists that have world wide repu- tations and will give their views be- fore introducing facts or my own opin- ions.
 The subject will naturally be divided as follows:
 1. What relation, if any, exists be- tween coal, oil and gas?
 ?. How were they formed? 3. What was the order of their forma- tion?
 Professor Steele says Mineral coal was formed during the carboniferous agf. The earths climate was then trop- ical, the air was richer in vegetable food than now Large areas of the earth were then a swamp, moist and hot. Ferns grew to the height of trees. As they matured and fell into the then swamps, they gradually changed. At many points the earth settled, floods covered the vegetable mass, erosion and disintregation of the then hills and mountains followed, the sediment be- came a covering that settled over the swamps, heat aided in expelling the gases, and in this way the vegetable mass was changed to coal"
 Professor Winchell says: Carbon is precious It is the basis of combustion. It warns and blazes in petroleum and coal; in gas and peat Vegetation pre- served carbon for our use. The earth In It's comparative neWness retained the warmth necessary to stimulate the root. The air was full of plant food. The tree fern and herbaceous fern, calamite and sigilliana, began their work. Plants fell down and added to the peat beds of for rier growths Water protected from de- composition. Cataclysms occurred. Old ocean covered the deposits of vegeta- A. .I... lss swamps were made over the old beds of vegetation, and new growths of sim liar vegetation followed; all this to pur- fly the atmosphere for the advent of man"
 (Calamite, a jointed reed like rush. | Sigilliana a tree like fern, in size like our swamp cypress)
 Professor Danna says: "The vegetable origin of coal may be proved by the fol lowing facts: Trunks of trees, retaining their original form, have been found, in coal. Beds of peat, vegetable growth, l exist in modern marshes, in some cases, 1 the lower parts altered to an imperfect coal. Remains of leaves and branches, as we'll as the trunk and leaves abound in coal measures.'
 Petroleum
 Professor Steele says: ''The word pe- troleum is derived from petra a rock and oleum oil. and is probably the prod uce of distillation of organic matter, beneath the surface of the earth. This distillation must have taken place at a much greater depth than that at which the oil Is now found; 1t would naturally rise through the Assures of the rocks, and gather into cavities above"
 Professor Danna says: Petroleum Is result of the decomposition of vegeta- ble substances. It proceeds from rocks of various ages. It is always found be- low the coal formation" Again he says; Petroleum, when purified for burning, is the kerosene of commerce. The wells are borings into an inferior part of the