Arizona republican., 1914-12-14

an explosion to the portion of the
mine in which it started, and thus
save the men working in other parts
of the mine.
! In the accomplishments of the year,
| Or. Holmes calls attention to the
statement of his engineers that, with
al expenditure of $4,000. they have
/ brought about a saving Of natural
gas worth $15.000,000, a sum many
! times greater than the total cost of
] all the work done BY the bureau dur
! ing the four years Of its existence
( This was done by introducing better
methods in the drilling for petroleum
and gas. This waste of gas stopped
! totaled 350,000.00O cubic feet per day.
equivalent in heating value to 1900
tons Of coal per day.
I'm preventing the escape Of this
enormous quantity Of gas" says Di-
/ rector Holmes, another saving was
made the value of which cannot be
estimated-the elimination of danger
/ to human life from the escape Of
/ this gas into the atmosphere"
DR.. Holmes estimates the loss to
/ this country each year in the devel-
] opment Of the oil fields to be not less
! than $4,000 600, and that a large part
Of this loss is preventable. The fact
/ that the principal oil-producing areas
/ of the country are now believed to
! be well Defined says Dr. Holmes.
J and the fact that the next few
years will see a constantly diminish
/ ing instead of an increasing produc-
ton, unite in making imperative the
| need of extended inquiries"
| Director Holmes also calls attention
to the discovery Of process by the
chemists Of the bureau whereby ra-
dunn. which is much sought for its
supposed curative qualities, can be
produced at one-thrd Of its present
cost. With radium now selling at
! $4,000 a gram. it's reduction in price
to $4,000 viii, it is said, result in
many hospitals throughout the coun-
! try being able to purchase a supply
| The process devised by the bureaus
chemists has already been tested
with success in the plant of the Ma
tional Radium Institute, which is UNI
der the supervision of the technical
staff Of the Bureau Of Mines
The bureau also claims that
through its scientific method of pur-
chasing coal BY measuring the heat
units the federal government has
saved during the year 100000 and
that the various cities of the country
that have taken up this plan Of buy
ing coal have reported a saving of
last year Of thousands of dollars. Di-
rector Holmes places the present
waste of mineral resources of the
country at the sum of one million
dollars a day and declares that in a
large measure this waste is unne-
cessary.
"In one respect at least" SAYS the
director. the consideration f mineral
waste has 2 basis quite different
from the consideration of agricultural
wastes. Oar crops represent an an
nual production from reasonably
permanent soil; our forests may grow
again, though much longer period
Of time is required; and the soils
themselves may be reproduced from
the subsoil and the rock benath. But
l
only the one supply. This supply is
to a considerable extent destroyed by
use, and at the present increasing
rate at which we are using and vast
ing it our one supply of a number of
the resources will be either exhaust
ed or largely depleted while the ma
ton is yet in its YOUTH
Referring to coal, DR.. Holmes says:
"A careful estimate indicates that in
the mining of 600,000,0O0 tons Of coal
during the last calendar year there
was wasted or was left underground
in an unminable condition 300, 900 000
tons of coal AS a result of careful
preliminary inquiry it is believed
that more than one-half (250, 00C
tons of coal) Of this yearly waste is
preventable under existing economic
conditions But the bare statement
of the enormous losses does not, per-
haps. express the most important part
of the situation, which is that the
coal we are now using and wasting
represents the cream of our supplies
namely, the coal that is the best, is
most easily and cheaply mined. and
is nearest the great centers of in
dustry"
Referrrin to still other wastes, DR.
Holmes says: A preliminary inquiry
as to the cooking of the coal in bee
hive ovens has shown that the tota'
value of the by-products annually
| lost in this country through the use