The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1919-12-26

and additional markets. More coal
must go abroad. There is always
great demand for it overseas. With
| s per cent of the population of the
world, we produce as per cent of all
the coal consumed. In 100 years our
annual production has grown from
100000 to 100000 tons.
An immense amount of coal is
wasted. The fuel engineers of the In
terror Department discovered pre-
ventable loss of 10000 tons in one es-
Establishment alone. A railroad au-
thority says that every fifth shovelful
Of coal that the average fireman
throws into his furnace serves no more
useful purpose than'to decorate the,
atmosphere with long black stream
of precious SCOT. At best one-fifth of
all our coal is wasted" Universal is
the need of conservation. Mr.. Lane
calls for the Harvesting up of Ameri-
can water-power to save coal, the
wedding of the stream and the mine,
the white coal (water) with the
black" 1t is estimated by the Geo
logical Survey that the ultimate de-
velopment of the streams and rivers
Of the country would yield 100000
continuous horse power. Here is a
point brought out by Secretary Lane:
Seventy per cent of the horse power
now installed in "prime movers" is
east Of the Mississippi, but seventy
per cent of the available water power
is west of that river, therefore, "un-
less the East is to lose its industrial
supremacy, it must press, and press
bod fo, +hn la1,a1n,N,,,apt nf oil
terpower possibilities"
With the "age of petroleum" Mr..
Lane deals in his suggestive way:
"The oil spring which George Wash
ington found in West Virginia, and
by his last will called to the especial
consideration of his trustees, was the
promise Of continental well that last
year yielded 350,000,000 barrels" The
gushing of oil has made possible the
automobile, the airplane, the wonder
full Diesel engine, high explosives,
dyes, medicines. But oil wells fail,
and if the precious fluid cannot be de-
veloped in large quantities from shale,
the end of the supply in the United
States will not be long deferred.
with all the optimism that can be
justified" says Mr.. Lane, II would
urge a policy of saving as to petro-
leum that should be rigid in the ex-
treme." AS burning oil under boiler
to convert water into steam releases
but 10 per cent of the thermal units
in the oil, whereas if the same fuel oil
were used directly in Diesel engine
from 80 to 35 per cent of the oil pow
err would be secured, the Secretary
dc h,t ln n,o,o1 e
engine be used by the American mer-
chant marine. "a nation" he says,
chat could educate 10000 automobile
mechanics in sixty days might indeed
develop 1000 Diesel engineers in
year. We are in the petroleum
age, and how long it will last de-
ponds upon our own foresight, invent
iveness and wisdom" The United
States imported 40,0O0000 barrels of
petroleum last year. Secretary Lane
advises that our nationals be encour-
aged to acquire, oil lands in foreign
countries, with the understanding that
they will be protected in their rights.
One of the most impressive passages
| in the report is that in which Mr..
Lane calls for the conservation of the
American man, "the most neglected of
our resources" He illustrates Given
ty-fve per cent of the 100000 men
between 81 and 81 years of age who
were first drafted into our army
could not read nor write our language
and tens of thousands could not speak
it nor understand it. To them the
daily paper telling what Won linden
burg was doing was blur. To them
the appeals of Hoover came by word
of mouth, if at ALL" Americanize
these men, who are under the same
disability, is Mr.. Lanes counsel, and
vast will be the gain in the nations
resources