The sun., 1918-09-08
By ROBERT G. SKERRETT.
THE mechanical energy of the coun-
Il try must be modified.

THE mechanical energy of the coun-
l. try must be modified.
This, in brief, is what the Secretary Of
War and the chairman of the War Indus
tries Board lave told Congress within the
last two weeks. Indeed, these gentlemen
have informed the Committee on Com
merce of the House of Representatives
that the shipbuilding programme and the
national war programme are menaced
unless ways can be found greatly to in
crease our available electrical power.
Without this, certain prime industrial
centres will soon be forced to slacken
production. The burden of output placed
Upon our, steel plants and our various
munitions factories has demanded a much
larger volume Of motive energy. The
problem now confronting us is twofold:
to utilize to the best advantage existing
power sources and to create more with all
practical speed.
The first step proposed by Messrs. Baker
and Baruch is the taking over of estab-
lished plants and, inferentially, as some
people think, cutting off current now fur
nished to non-essential industries. This
would help to a degree, but could not
satisfy the present imperative demands.
The only practical solution lies in extern
sively simplifying our energy making ia
cilities.
This very question has profoundly dis
turbed the British authorities of late. AS
a result the British Coal Conservation
Sub Committee has recently reported and
recommended that relief lies in the CEN
tralizing of generating stations. This
means the elimination of thousands Of iso-
lated steam plants which burn coal more
or less wastefully. The committee would
use big steam turbo- generators for the
production Of electrical energy to be dis
tributed over wide areas.
British Problem Differs Widely.
The British problem differs from ours
except in the need of more power. Be
cause of physical circumstances England
and Scotland, particularly England, are
compelled to depend largely upon energy
generated by burning coal. We, on the
other hand, have at our disposal ire
mendous amount of water power; and our
readiest relief will lie in fully utilizing our
rivers and streams.
The United States Government is to
furnish 100000 to help along S., 060,-
600 project near Pittsburg. The intention
is to establish big steam driven power
plant in the Allegheny Valley near a coal
mine. The purpose is to supply motive
energy to the Pittsburg district to relieve
an acute situation brought about through
the demands in that section for power for
munitions manufacture. 1t is well known
what the Federal authorities have done at
Muscle Shoals, Ala, in helping to create a
big steam plant for the development of
electricity for service in the air nitrate
works established there; and the national
funds are aiding in other directions to
swell our supply of steam generated en-
ergy. But there is limit to this order Of
expansion--a limit only partly set by the
coal supply.
No matter il it were practicable to
mine all of the coal we need for power
purposes it would be impossible now to
move that coal over our railroads and at
tho same time maintain the vital flow OF
other freight. But as matters stand our
collieries are incapable Of providing this