The weekly Alaska citizen., 1917-11-12

.ag or hydraulic mihe-fIling to pre- ,,at surface subsistence, loss of coal. and mlHe fires. This method of fill Ing abandoned workings with sand -.uu other material originated in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania; 1-t lt Is now more extensively em ployed in the Westlalian and upper rlIcslan coal fields of Germany, and Il the French and Belgian coal mines. 70. working thick or thin pitching -eds like those in our own anthracite fields.
 h 1912 also, al the invitation of he Bureau of Mines, there was held tt Pittsburgh an international con -elence of mining experiment sta -ons, at which delegates were pres ent from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain and the United States. The Frelnch delegate was recalled at -nc last moment on account of d mine disaster that needed his atten- toI The delegates agreed that it "as desirable to form permanent organization, that the appointment of delegates be made through the reg ular diplomatic channels, and that the IeNt meeting be held in 1914, Tn Bel gum. To the sorrow of the nations
 l"il, in Belgium other interna- ,onhl conferences than those for the saving of human life and the pre- ,cnt.on of mineral waste were go-
 ng on. It Is to be hoped that after the great war Is over these broken mes of international cooperation will he taken up again. Certainly our own experience in working shoulder to shoulder with our allies in all the many phases of war endeavor should be a great help in this and open up new ways of getting to- gother to talk things over.
 4 committee of consulting engi- neers comprising representatives rom the leading mining societies of the nation and composed of such men as ". R. Ingalls,, J. Parke Chan ming, James Douglas, J. R. Finlay. and John Hays Hammond, cooperate with and serve in an advisory capac- fly to the Bureau of Mines, when re quested, much as do the experts call ed to Washington since the war be gan to advise with officials there on questions of national defense.
 The Bureau Co-opcrates with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the de Yeiopment of the oil lands belong ing to the Indian tribes.
 In order to make more effective its efforts to increase safety and eff clency in the mineral industries the Bureau has made cooperative agree m"ntS with various Government bu- reaus and various state institutions and departments; and in order to use
 m the conduct of necessary inves- ugatons special and expensive euuip- ment that could be procured with the limited funds available, the Br rcau has made such agreements also with private organizations, when pos sible.
 A bulletin of 2,00o pages, entit Led Limited States Mining Statutes Annotated" which contains all the laws enacted by Congress that re late to the mining industry, with abstracts of all decisions construing these statutes, was published in 1915 compiled by the Legal Department Supplements have been added yearly
 Following a series of explosions in grain mills and elevators throughout the country, a scientific study of the eHplosibility of grain dust was under taken in cooperation with the mill inr interests of the coun-r-. Tte mllIeTs' association made an appro- priation to carry on this work, the contribution from the Bureau of Mines being technical advice and the loan of it's facilities for testing the eXplosibility of materials
 Believing that many of the engi- neering problems encountered in the construction of the Panama Canal might be of interest and value to mining operators generally, the Bu- reau arranged to publish a report on the mining, quarrying and eXcavat- ing methods used. This report was written by the Geologist of the 18th milan Canal Commission.
 From the War Department have come, among others, requests for in formation relative to the best fuels available for aviation motors.
 The Navy Department, wishing to obtain a sufficiently large sample of coal for tests on a warship, the d- rector of the Bureau of Mines was asked, in the summer of 1915, to or ganlze an expedition on behalf of the Navy to obtain a large sample of coal from the Matanuska coal field, where he believed coal suitable for the use of the Navy might be found. Dr. Holmes himself exercised general supervision, while the imme- diate charge of the work was given to G. w. Evans, of Seattle, assisted by John T. Ryan. A camp was es- tablished 70 miles in the interior, and 900 pounds of coal brought out for coking tests, which were tested in the Pittsburgh coke ovens and showed very fair grade of coke The expedition mined about 1000