The Washington herald., 1914-05-31

DEVICES IOSAVE
LIVES OF Miners
U. S. Engineers Perfect Five
Inventions to Prevent
Disasters.
ANOTHER STOPS WASTE
Apparatus Dedicated to Use of People
ANOTHER STOPS WASTE
Apparatus Dedicated to Use of People
Without Royalty to Prevent Mo-
nopoly Of Manufacture.


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Engineers of the United States Bureau
Of Mines recently perfected six devices
fve of which Indirectly involve the saw
ing OF human life. and the sixth thu
saving from waste of natural resources
In each instance. application has beer
made for a patent In order to retain thess
devices for the use Of the people without
the payment of a royalty, and to pre-.
vent any commercial concern from gain
ing monopoly In their manufacture.
Perhaps the most important of the In
ventions that are to be dedicated to the
free use of the people relate to improve
ments in the rescue apparatus worn by
miners following disasters. This ap-
paratus which supplies oxygen to the
rescuer permits him to enter poisonous
gases and carry on his work for a period
of two hours In the Bureau Of Mines
experience with this oxygen-breathing de-
vice three rescuers have lost their lives.
and in each instance 1t is believed their
deaths were due to certain defects In
the apparatus.
Successful Experiments Made.
This led to desperate attempt upon
the part of the engineers to construct an
apparatus that would be reasonably safe
The engineers found considerable dim-
Guilty in the absorption of the poisonous
matter of the breath in the apparatus,
and also in the reduction of the high
pressure oxygen carried in the tanks on
the backs of the rescuers. Both problems
were submitted to William E. Gibbs,
consulting engineer of the bureau, and
after research covering several months,
the solution of both problems Is an
nounced in applications made for patents.
The caustic soda, which Is used in the
apparatus in taking up the poisonous
exhalations of the breath, has been so
adjusted as to permit a continuous flow
of the expired air. A series of successful
experiments have already been made upon
this device.
The second problem-the reduction of
the oxygen pressure of 1000 pounds to
the square inch to the proper amount
needed by the rescuer-has been accom-
plished by the invention of new type
of valve. The apparatus at present re-
duced the oxygen pressure, but supplies
the oxygen at a constant rate, no mat
ter how much the wearer needs. With
the new valve, the supply Of oxygen is
by the demands of the wearer
Of the apparatus and no oxygen goes to
waste through a relief valve as in the
devices now in use. In making these i'm !
provements for safety, Mr.. Gibbs has
succeeded in reducing the weight of the
breathing apparatus fully 40 per cent |
The apparatus at present weighs forty |
pounds. which proves a serious handicap
to the rescuer in his work.
CoIIapsibIe Mine Cage.
A third invention is that of collap
sible mine cage for use in rescue work
following a mine disaster. Often the
mine cage is so badly shattered by the
effect of explosions that IT cannot be
operated. In such instances, it is
:laimed. the collapsible cage would save
hours of delay in rescue work and per-
naps be the means of saving many lives
rhe designer of this cage is George s.
Rice the chief mining engineer OF the
Bureau of Mines.
]. W. Paul, engineer in charge of the
nine rescue work of the Bureau OF
Mines, is the inventor of an electrical
ignaling device for use in shafts. espe-
ially following disasters. With this de-
yice, a person descending shaft will be
Ible to signal the hoisting engineer. II
he man on the cage is overcome and the |
apparatus falls from his hands. circuit
S Immediately closed and gong in the
.ngine house gives a sudden warning.
such a Device it is claimed by Mr.. Paul.
would have been useful at the Cherry
line fire in Illinois several years ago,
where so many men lost their lives. The
escue crews there had to subject them
elves to unnecessary dangers in de-
cending the wrecked shaft because OF
ack of means Of signaling. The device
5 so arranged that in the absence of
luman intelligence to direct the giving 1
4 a prearranged code Of signals. the
ong on the surface and in the engine
Iouse would ring continuously, which, in
very case would be the signal to hoist ]
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Many Other Patents.
The bureau also has applied for num-
er of patents on processes for extract g
ng vanadium, uranium. and radium
rom ores. such as carnotite ore. These
PROCESSES are the result of the work of |
he Denver, Colo, laboratory Of the Bu-
eau of Mines, and their purpose Is to c
educe the cost of making radium and to q
revent the monopoly which goes with I
he so-called secret processes.
The patents have been asked for in a
he names of Richard B. Moore, in
barge of the Denver laboratory, and
Zari Kithil, his assistant. With the
reat demand for radium in the treat p
lent of cancer, the Bureau of Mines
,oks cpon this invention as another pos '
Ibie means of saving human life It
estimated that-these new methods will o
ut the cost of radium fully one-haif U
nd perhaps more. They are to be for n
ne use of any citizen of the United n
tates.
Still another engineer of the bureau, t
fired G. Heggem, in charge of oil in I
estigations, has invented a new type q
{ valve to control casing heads for oil p
ellis, a device that will at once shut of \
he flow of gas or oil in new well and a
that way stop the enormous waste of
,ese resources that has been going on u
n YEARS in the United States. The new 4
alive has been tried in the Gushing field a
! Oklahoma and has proved success h
H. 1t is said that in the past it has e
zen difficult to control many of the c
els and that millions of dollars worth
oil and gas have gone to waste. This d
aw device, which like the other patents. 3
to be dedicated to the public, is expect u
to stop much of this waste. h
TWAS A SNAKE, NOT CANCER. t
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