The weekly Alaska citizen., 1917-11-12


 made at the great coal shipping ports. such as New York and Nor folk, where coal Is being delivered for sar Use of the Navy and the Pana- ma Hallway company. The tests ev- vn show whether the contractor has furnished coal from specified mines, L.-t as an assaycr can determine the locality of gold dust The gross sam pies taken are reduced by crushing. mixing. and quartering, to samples that weigh about three pounds. These are sealed in air-tight cans and sent by mail to the laboratories at Wash .ugton, D. (. Analysis of mine sam pies are generally made at the Pitts burgh plant. The general purpose of the analysis and tests of coal mad" at Pittsburgh is to determine the character of the coals and other min eral fuels belonging to the United states. and the manner in which these fuels can be developed to the best advantage and wi.h the least waste.
 The primary aim If the fuel test 4H.r di.ision was the more efficient Use by the Government of fuels pur-
 .a7.I nader it. auFeTyISion; Subse- fuvutly the question of waste in the inning and handling of fuels belong He to the Government and the most appropriate us. of each fuel for any particular purpose. Bureau analysis If coal for the various State gov rrnmcnI has been authorized by the n.w organic act, and the more eff cient methods of purchasing coal de veIopcd for the National Government ale now being adopted, with bene- fclal results, by many State and mu- 1ic.pal governments and by many of .hn larger industrial plants.
 The steaming tests that have been conducted by the Bureau and the ad rice given by the Bureaus engineers the Government. By a change of ,o-,, one Government boiler plant is sFeNd.ug between $l,O00 and $5,00O a year less than formerly for fuel; mother Government plant reduced it aruual expense for fuel about $15.- 590. Among other striking example,
 s that of the Panama Railway and Steamship company, which reports
 til larger savings.
 The specification method of pur- chase protects the Government against the delivery of poorer coal than that guaranteed by the contract DIS and incites dealers to prepare the 'aai more carefully.
 The benefits to the general public
 esult.ng from the fuel testing work for the Government may be judged from the fact that practically all of the larger cities, number of states, and lnnumerable private corporations and business concerns in different parts of the country have followed he general plans laid down by the government for the purchase of its coal. Also the analysis of coals from different parts of the country have been of great service to engineers in charge of power plants and to manu- featuring industries throughout the country, enabling users of fuel to de termine in advance the character of the coaIs available for local or spe- cial use.
 The San Francisco Experiment Sta ton has offices at Berkeley, Cal, through cooperative agreement with the University of California, and the Salt Lake City Station oc- cupies quarters furnished by the Uni ycrsity of Utah, while the station at Urbana, H., is housed in the build ings of the State University there The University of Washington houses both q Mine Safety Station and &ining Experiment Station on it's campus. The universities of Wash
 ngton and Utah both offer Bureau of Mines felloWships to especially able students, giving them the priv Jege of doing special research post graduate work, paid by the Univer- sity, under the direction of the Blu reau of Mines, thus tending toward national rather than purely individ- ual gains. Carrying out this gener- 2l policy of the Bureau, Superin- tendent Davis, of the Fairbanks Sta tion, has offered to cooperate in every possible way with the direct OTIS of the new Agricultural and Min ing College to be established here. He has offered the equipment of the Experiment Station to the new col lege, for certain days each week or at such times as may be needed, which will mean a saving of about F25,OOO in the cost of equipment for the school, since the equipment at the Experiment Station is complete and n detail exactly that which would be required for a practical technical school of mining. When the school is in running order, fellowships, coy ering further cooperative work be tween the institutions, will doubtless be arranged
 The Investigation of certain miners diseases, especially miners con sumption" or miners phthisis, and miners hookworm, has been under taken in cooperation with the Pub lie Health Service and attention has been called to methods which should bp a6opta5 1ooGipn +o ', 1o.,o ~