The Detroit times., 1913-10-07
Uncle Sam Working to
Abolish Smoke Nuisance
RAYMOND w. PULLMAN,
Times washington Bureau. No.
AetrOpOltfQN Bunk Ruildinn.

RAYMOND w. PULLMAN, 10
Times Washington Bureau. No. 7O4
Netrop0lit0n Bunk Building. A
Perhaps the longest step In the
movement to abolish the smoke nui-
sance and obtain
Working to Abats greater economy In
Smoke Nuisance. the use OF fuel has
| been made by gov,
eminent experts of the United States
bureau OF mines In reporting the an.
alysis OF 5000 samples OF coal taken
from more than 1900 mines In va.
rious coal fields of the United States.
For the first time government pur.
chasing agents. operating engineers In
the fuel departments Of Industrial
concerns and large users Of coal In
other lines OF industry. will have OH.
cial data on the heating value and
chemical composition OF various Goals,
and information which will assist
them In solving various problems con.
nected with the use of coal.
Smoke IL not sign OF prosperity,
as many people often think, but, ac'
cording TO expert engineers. Is the
surest sign Of waste and mismanage.
ment Smoke can be prevented by
using proper methods In burning the
coal, and obtaining perfect combus-
ton.
With the information which the
government has collected an engineer
or coal user will be able to tell imme'
diately after chemical analysis
whether the coal which has been sent
him is from the field from which he
has ordered II or whether 1t IL just
the kind which IL intended for his
furnace. A fact which Is unknown
to many people outside Of mining anu
heating engineers Is that Goals from
different fields demand different kinds
OF furnaces. For instance, man with
a power plant or factory In Illinois
would have to decide whether he was
going TO buy Illinois Goals or Pennsyl
vania Goals In order to CONSTRUCT his
furnaces 80 that a given amount OF
coal will give him the maximum
Iamount OF energy with the minimum
OF ashes, and that the combustion Will
be so perfect that there will be ne
smoke Illinois Goals are rich In VIOLA
tile matter; that Is, they contain many
gases. and the flame burns high com
pared with the Pennsylvania Goals.
This means q larger space for the
coal chamber under the furnace in or
der to let the fuel burn perfectly and
the smoke be done away with. Ii
Pennsylvania coal we're being used a
different type Of furnace with small.
err coal chamber would be used.
The governments report, which has
just been published, is to give such
information to coal users that moth
ing will be left to chance, and that
ton whether the coal which Is sent
them Is just the kind which has been
ordered and whether 1t Is suitable for
their purposes.
Experts In various government bu-
reaus which are concerned with laws
for the control Of
! Sea Safety ocean navigation
i Conference. are taking lively
interest in the ar
rangements which are being made fol
the forthcoming international confer
ence on safety at sea, which Is to be
held In London, Nov. IL, and for which
President Wilson has named the
American delegates during the week
just closed.
or all the branches of the govern
ment the Department Of Commerce
has the largest number OF bureau.
which deal with subjects which viii
come up for consideration at the Lon
don conference. The bureau of navi
cation, the steamboat inspection ser
vice, the bureau OF lighthouses anC
the coast and peodetic survey, all o.
which work to promote safety of nav
igation, are included within Secre
tary Redfield's department. Other bu
reaus whose officials are interested II
the arrangements for the sea safety
conference are photographic ONCE o.
the Department of the Navy, which
furnishes wireless bulletins on thu
conditions Of travel over the principa
steamship lanes; the revenue cuttel
service, which conducts an ice patro
during the season when icebergs en-
danger navigation, and the weather
, bureau OF the Department Of Agricul
ture. whose reports are an importan
guide for mariners.
Commissioner Eugene Tyler Cham
berlain, Of the bureau OF navigation
and Inspector General George Uhlcr
of the steamboat inspection service
both look forward to the forthcoming
conference as one Of the most import
ant gatherings ever held In the inter
est Of safety at sea. The delegates who
will represent the twelve principal
maritime nations which will partici
pate in the conference will all be
navigation experts who have given
lifelong study, in most cases, to the
subjects which are to be considered
at the international conference.
When the giant passenger ship IT.
tanic sank in the early hours of Mon
day, April 10, 1912, and hundreds OF
lives were lost the whole world was