Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1919-04-17
FEDERAL MONEY
TO HELP BOOST
LIGNlTE MINES

LlGNlIE MINES
North Dakota Will Receive
Hundred Thousand Appro-
priation, A. D. Games. Says.
Bismarck, N. D., April (Spe-
cial. l-Contiden that North Dakota
will receive its share of the 100000
appropriation to be expended by. the
federal bureau of mines for expert
ments with Ignite, and that the state
|,Will profit equally from experiments
to be conducted by the bureau in
Texas and other lignite-producing
states, A. D. Gaines of Minneapolis
and the Slope Is home from an east
ern tour more than ever optimistic
over the future of North Dakota 8
greatest undeveloped resource-its
E700 billion tons of black Ignite.
Mr.. Gaines, in addition to farm
ing and leasing several thousand
acres of land In Oliver county, is a
director in the large Consolidated
Collieries project at New Salem,
where Ignite is being mined on a
stupendous scale. He mades trip
east through Canada, down to his
own home in Vermont, and thence to
Washington, where, in company with
a nephew who is member of the
~. M. c: A. war council, he called
upon DR.. Hood, chief of the bureau
Of mines, to discover what was being
done about Ignite.
Money Actually on Hand.
"We not only have bill through
congress appropriating 100000 for
experiments with Ignite, but we act
ually have the money in hand" Prof.
Hood assured him. The chief of the
bureau of mines states that Texas
and North Dakota are presenting
equally strong claims for the use Of
this money, and he expressed the be-
lief that it would be divided between
the two states. He called attention
to the fact that 1t mattered little
where the experiments were conduct
ed, inasmuch as all lignite-producing
states would benefit from them.
The east realizes that its supply
Of anthracite. is limited" said Mr..
Gaines today s'It knows the time
will come soon when it must utilize
the cheaper Goals, and it>.has great
confd dence in the possibility of bri-
quettIng Sl1gnita. The Z bureau, of
mines desires sf1 locate fts expert
mental plants In towns which are
large enough to consume the gas and
other by-products which will be man
ufacture In the brfquetting Of cok-
ing Of the Ignite, thus making the
appropriation go as far ais possible.
Dr.. Hood is looking forward to OBJ
tanning a large number of oils and
gasses of commercial value, and he
believes that substitute. for gaso-
line which can be produced in large
quantities at price to compete with
gasoline will be one Of these.
Believein Coking.
CDR. Hood" continued the Ignite
enthusiast, believes that North Da-
kota Ignite can be retorted, convert
ing it into coke, and conserving the
volatile substances now lost in con-
sumption. Some will scout this idea,
claiming that because Ignite slacks
rapidly in burning 1t will not coke.
As matter of fact, under the coking
plan DR.. Hood recommends, the lig-
mite would first be reduced to pulver-
lied form, powered o pass through q
quarter-inch screen. ..4e,
The bureau of mines will also ex-
pertinent with the pulverizing Of lig-
mite and its use through blower
system. This is already being done
here In North Dakota.
on my way back from Washing
ton stopped of in Pittsburg to see
Consulting Engineer Taylor, an au-
thority on coking. Mr.. Taylor be-
lieyes Ignite will coke. He believes
1T can be successfully used In the big
Koppers plant at st. Paul, which Is
to cost IS, ,OO0, 0,O00, and of which q
$4,000, ,OOO-unit is now completed,
and in operation. When reached
st. Paul i went out to the plant and,
showed them samples Of our west
ern Ignite, which had been mined al
most q year. They were much In
terested I'm the possibilities this coal
offered and are anxious to make an
experiment. We probably Will ship
them q carload of our Ignite in the
near future, and II 1T works out as
well as they expect It TO, they Will
use nothing but North Dakota Ignite,
which they can buy for much less
than eastern bitumin0us. This will
furnish q great field for our; mines,5
and undoub btedly will pave the way
to the establishment Of cOking plants
in North Dakota. at the mouth 5of the
mines. 81 .F5 & ss 4 I;
Makes Many By-Pr Products.