Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-07
Peace Use Is Found
For War Inventions
BY Fred ric ]. lIasiEiK

Washington, ID. c., Jan. THE
Bureau OF Mines began working ON two
listening devlccs-the geopbonc and the
microphone-when America entered the
war, with view to using them on the
battlefield. They were French inven-
tions, but the French, with the enemy
Mt their door, did not have time to develop
them although they were used to limited
extent in attempting To locate German
artillery and 10 tnnpcling The geophone.
MS its name indicates, records the tremors
of the earth When gun is fired n
tremor runs through the earth and the
gcophone locates that tremor When
the German long-rangc gun started
firing on Paris, il took some time to find
out where it was. With the geophone,
its location could have been determined
in n few minutes
In describing the marvellous ability
Of the geopbone, an official OF the 3 reau
of Mines said: "The dropping Of a pin
on this office floor, recorded by the geo
phone, would sound like the discharge
OF cannon"
TOO LATE FOR WAR.
The geophone IS a practical Instru-
ment was one of the secrets that the
Allies were carefully cherishing as sur
prise to the enemy, but it arrived too
late Nevertheless, it has not lived in
vain. The Bureau OF Mines has succeeded
in getting IL installed on rescue cars
connected with American mones, ard it
is now consented To n highly con-
structive purpose. Those tragedies OF
the past in which miners have been walled
up In n mine and have starved to death
while people On the outside were making
vain attempts To hocate them will never
be re-enacted. For now the slightest
movement made by man caught in such
an accident can be recorded by the
geophone and their location discovered
by the rescriing party.
Another war invention developed BIZ
the Bureau of Mines that will be useful
IN peace is new type of marine boiler
which SAVES coal When the Emergency
Fleet Corporation began tnnlding ships
to meet the tremendous transportation
needs OF the nation, the Bureau Of Mines
turned its attention to perfecting better
type of marine boiler. They succeeded
IN developing one, at last, which, when
tried out on o six thousand ton vessel.
used only six tons Of coal TO do the work
for which seven tons had been used before
With this boiler the vessel made the trip
across the Atlantic for $3.50 less.
during our coal shortage, it has perma-
nent significance. For some time there
have been pessimistic rumors 10 the
effect that an American merchant marine
will never pay because il cannot compete
with the low wages Of European seamen.
But If American engineers can cut down
operating costs by the invention of more
efficient machinery, we need have no
fear Of this competition. The. Bureau
OF Mines s still working on marine
boilers with view to developing even
more economical ones.
OF LAsTISG IEACE BENEFIT.
The work OF the Bureau Of Mines
IN developing poisonous gases and gas
masks for war, while little celebrated,
was not only invaluable to the govern
ment, but has proved of lasting peace
benefit. When the United States first
entered the war it was too much pre-
in organizing its forces to give
the matter OF poisonous gas immediate
So without waiting for
which is always slow in coming,
the Bureau Of Mines undertook some
Investigations on its own hook It en-
listed the aid of American chemists all
over the country, who responded so
enthusiastically that when the War De-
partnent finally got around to the matter.
the Bureau of Mines had a force of 200
chemists to turn over TO it. These chem
lists succeeded in developing poisonous
gases OF o secret and deadly nature which
were about TO be released for the benefit
of the Hun army WREN it collapsed.
They also developed gas mask so
efficient that the War Department issued
the statement that if a man were gassed