The evening herald., 1917-12-17
DomcaIlc siringcncN.

deposits The homes OF the country
must begin 10 turn aside from the
luxurious and costly anthracite and
look more to our vast hituminOus
resources. which are widely distribut-
cd. favorahly situated. and can no,
80 readily be tied up by concerted
strikes or 80 easily held down by
traffic congestion. But bituminous
coal is dirty; and its widespread util-
ization az such would he n long step
backward. retarding progress in civic
bettcpmcnt a. well as involving "A 30
per cent waste IN commodity bulk.
This waste. however which appears
in the guise of smoke, is in reality
convertible into gas, tar. ammonia,
be2ol. and an endless number OF other
by-proGucts such as dyes. medicines
ana explosives. II II therefore pos
siblo. by proper shaping Of economic
policy. to remove the disproportionate
drain un the limited supply Of an
.hracite. Co turn the wasted third part
OF bituminous coal into useful prod
ucts, - eliminate smoke from our
cities, and 10 40 distribute the sources
nf domestic fuel supply as To alleviate,
II not entirely solve the labor and
transportation pcrplcxities OF the
present situation
Progress j. slow.
These desirable results are already
in course Of natural development but
progress IL disastrously slow. impcd.
ed as II is by lack OF proper stimulus
ana excess OF misdirccted pressure
The advance So far has been solely
in the metallurEical field. For con-
vcrting iron ores into metallic iron,
substance known as coke Is needed.
This IL made artlfcially from coal
by driving off It's volatile portion. It's
smoke. 50 To speak Almost q sew
cnth OF our coal j. made into coke.
SO great are the demands Of the iron
industry. but 'wo thilds Of this coke
is produced without regard e. saving
the valuable products driven OF dur
ing its manufacture. Therefore We
face the alarming conclusion that only
about : per cent uf the coal mined IN
the Tai'ed States yields it's fun value
10 society
Progress In coal utilization depends
fundamentals upon the production Of
more coke. At present the situation
IL limited hy the needs of the iron
industry. The quantity aud type Of
coke thus far produced has been
determined 10y its metailurgical use
Sporadic attempts to apply mcnllurg-
ical coke to household purposes have
met with failure ana placed coke in
an unfavorahlc light Coke must be
made OF such kind ~ 10 be suitable
for domestic use. This can be done:
ana the accomplishment is an urgent
necessity Domestic coke. in reality,
viii be artificial anthracite.
Can Effect u saving
There is room in our industrial sys-
tom for greatly changed utilization
of coal. In short. for coal Ia he|
used in the form Of anthracite arti-
ficidi anthracite domestic coke and
steam engine cokcl mctallurrical
coke. gas for Illuminating and power
purposes hcuzol for automobile en-
ginos. and nt the same time made
20 yield "a suffcioucy of nitrogen. dye
stuffs, explosives, and other coal
product chemicals There is present
| need FOR an these products The prob
! lem IS 10 make the necessary read
iustmcnts such as may be done
through the development Of domestic
coke. the application of coal gas TO
power plants. the adaptation of hen-
zol to automobile engines. and so on
when this iS accomplished. the fuel
efficiency Of our coal supply will be
% per cent greater, transportation
difficulties ror domestic fuet Will hc
! lcSnencd. and In addition the country
| will be cultvatinf Wide range Of
industries. giving employment 20 la
bor and using the part now wasted
! Of our most important single resource
ha aENta trHf .
ou, of proper coal development viii
serve To render the nation iudustyiallN
independent u great many essen
tnls iu agriculture. pharmacN photo
gtaphy. tcNtilcs. disiufcctants eve
plu~ivcs. refrigeration, painting, paw
ing. water -pruofng. wood prcsorya-
ton, and In AN ever widening circle
OF more specific requirements touch
ing every aspect of human ne.
such an attainment viii require a
long process Of organized adjusting.
II can not be- leFislatcd into existence.
Il is matter wherein the govern
ment can take the lead hy shaping q
suitable economic policy. II is par
tculnrly % matter wherein enlightrn-
rd puhhc opinion can contribute ty
appreciutug the situation anh dirrci-
ing action toward proper Industrial
coordination ana growth.
The solution to the whole coal proh-
lem. in short does not consist in cut
ting down industrial activities to meet
present coal output. nor iu rircuw-
scrihiur the scale of economic INc 90
fii present misdirccuou Of coal re-
sources nur Lies ia Workiug toward
an industrial situation that will both
permit and demand q wide spread
treatment of htuuiunus cuai su ts tn
vIrid uu the 600" hand sWohclo-s
fuci 5000 uunclHl anthracite ~o 60