The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1916-02-19
Mis-. ENGINEERs, CONVENTION

4 Ahotehtt VI MINING Engineers WHICH
is in session here this week, consid-
cradle number OF mining questions of
nationwide importance are being dis
Icussed. Probably the chief OF these is
the question of the position which the
American mining engineer and the
miner will occupy in case OF war. With
the statement that in modern warfare
the services OF the mining engineer are
an almost supreme need and that an
engineer reserve corps should be or
ganized at once. member OF General
Woods stan opened the preparedness
subject on the first night OF the Con-
vention.
OF the $500 members of the Insti-
tute large number are in attendance
at the Convention, and the issue of
engineering preparedness, which had
been thrown before them somewhat
Unexpectedly has been received with
great enthusiasm. Probably the most
dramatic moment of the early hours OF
the meeting was when a speaker quot
ed Sir John French, of the English
army, as calling attention in the pres
ent war to the Splendid work carried
out by the Tunnelling Companies Off
cered largely by mining engineers and
manned by professional miners" In
addition to the military meeting OF the
first day seventeen papers were read
on technical subjects. and in the even
ing the engineers held gay reunions"
in the college clubs.
The feature OF the second day tues
day. OF the convention was paper by
J. NJ. Callow. a consulting engineer OF
Salt Lake CITY. Utah. entitled Notes
on Flotation" in which he explained
the theory of fiotation founded on the
electric charges OF the ore particles,
oil droplets. air bubbles, etc Mr.. Cal
low expressed hte theory briefly as
follows:
THAT oil flotation is an electrostatic
process. II Is scientific fact that
when a solid particle is suspended in
water, the water will form around the
particle contact film which generally
possesses an electric charge, the a
mount and polarity depending upon
the nature OF the surface OF the parti-
Gle and the electrolyte in which II is
suspended. The presence or these
charges can be demonstrated by the
fact that the particles possessing them
will migrate when placed in an electric
field. II has been demonstrated that
flotable particles have charges OF one
polarity (postive), and that non-fota-
BILE particles have charges of the OPP
poste polarity (negative); that the
froth is charged negatively and so at
tracts the positively charged or fiota-
BILE minerals, and repels the negative
" charged or non-hotable ones. lt is
this, IL is believed, that causes the
fotable minerals. galena. sphalerite,
etc, to adhere to the froth, and the
} gangue minerals, silica, etc, 10 remain
in the liquid whore they can be dis
charged as failing"
In the afternoon DIR. Richards T..
Ely, of the University Of Wisconsin,
gave an address on Conservation in
which he deplored the conservation Of
Americas resources by legislation and
urged the appointment Of an active
conservation commission. Among OF
her things DR.. Ely said.
The principle OF regularities in large
numbers forms the basis of the vast
business of insurance. II also furnish
es considerable scope for the activi-
~ OF the state in the conservation OF
human natural resources. IL is well
known that individuals, especially
. among the wage-earners, are too will
ing to take risks of life and limb. Let
us suppose the chance OF becoming a
helpless cripple In the course OF a
year Is MS 20 10000; this seems so
! small a, the Individual Is generally
ready Ia overlook II, and neglects
measures to remove the danger. But
10 society there Il no chance, only
certainty Of this human loss, which In
its ramincations = far greater than Is
at first apparent II means 100 wreck
ed existences PEE million and 10000
per annum in population Of one
hundred milion}
1t Is only though a conservation
commission or various commissions
e- .o,,nra1 may no rpauired that we
can put in force conservation. Legis-
lation can never solve these complex
problems but can simply lay down the
general principles. expressive OF the
will OF the legislature; and In concrete
. cases the commission must make appli-
| cation OF principles, In other words,
! l...i. IL nil nf the lnrialnInre.