Pueblo chieftain., 1921-04-01
BY Frederic ]. Haskin.


Washington. d. c.. March 5i-"Blark
as COAL won't mean anything in the
United States in another 20 years. be-
cause most OF the coal which We will
use then will be brown in color and
will come in the form OF neat bri-
quettes which will not soil the fingers.
This new fuel should also be much
cheaper, for the by-products which
will be extracted in the process of
making the briquettcs should more
than pay for the cost OF mining. A
ton OF this new coal will yield not only
fuel for tho furnace. but also fuel for
the rivver. cooking gas Tor the kitchen
range, fertilizers. high explosives. cos
metics and n number Of other things
The consumer will call the new pro.
duct brown coal. but the scientist VIII
know 1t as Ignite Ignite. the poor
relation of the black coal known to-
day has been despised and ignored for
generations. but II is at last coming
into Its own as the benefactor OF man
kind.
The United States has the worlds
greatest supply OF Ignite. There are
some thousand billion odd tons OF Il
| waiting to be mined. The supply Is
practically tnexhaustibtc. Long after
the last piece OF black coal has been
mined the Ignite mines will sull be
doing business and the many by
products OF Ignite will b- used in the
household and shop. LiSnite Is. ac-
cordine to experts OF the Bureau OF
Mines. the commercial and economic
future OF the United States.
This heretofore despiscd member OF
the coal family. they say. is to sup
plement the rapidly dwindling petro-
leum supply OF this country. II Is well
known that about half OF our pctro-
lcum production Is gone and that prac-
,,caily every American oil field is on
l,A -
fuel oil and lubricat!ns oil our army
and navy in time or war would be so
terribly handicapped as to invite de-
feat. In time OF peace our merchant
marine and industries generally would
suffer.
TIE Fuel shortage
| The only answer to the problem
world seem to be conservation. And
| America Is not conserving fndlc-,-
tons are. according to government in
| lvestIEa;ors. that the consumption OF
motor fuel will double within the mex,
few years. American tndustrys life
blood is petroleum The blood Is today
| coursins tucrrily thru tndustry's veins,
bu, should the supply be exhausted
Industry would perish. unless eomc
Substitute is found.
t.trnltc Is not a newly discovered
substance. II is far from a mystery in
the scientific world and Its wonderful
possibilities have long been thorough
lily understood But Ignite has been
apparently hopeless from q commercial
viewpoint. II was known as the soft
est, dusticst. poorest grade of coal cx-
tant. II WAS known that its physical
and chemical characteristics lay some
where between those of peat and BIZ
luminous coal.
II was unmarkctablc chiefly because
~ parts with most OF its moisture
when exposed to the weather and falls
into dust much more rapidly than or
ldlnary coal. When first dug II is
sponEy. containing anywhere from q
to 20 per cent OF water. Once taken
from the ground its disintcKration Is
rapid. Unless los led Immediately into
cars in zero weather 1t slacks with
the evaporation OF Its moisture and
cracks like dry mud. falling into dust
Science has now solved this problem
by distilling the more volatile SUB
l.sianccs out Of Ignite. and pressing the
residue into smokclcss briqucttes. The
briuucttcs are TO he used In the family
and shop furnace. The distillatior
products include gas. oils. ,ars. dyes
fertilizers. drugs, Photographic chcmi.
Gals. acids. perfumes. and variety o'
of this has been proved. All that Is
needed Is a Ignite distilling Industry
The United States Bureau OF Mines
Is back Of the project, to create suci
an industry.
The United States holds the greatest
deposits OF ignite. But there are
, numerous smaller beds of It scattered
thruogt Europe. Germany has hei
Ignite fields and is making srca'
lstridcs in the use OF them.
Germans the Pioneers.
Tho fuel problem has becn ever 8
more serious matter In Europe than II
This country. In fact 1t has been re-
gardcd as the most serious obstacle 1t
the road to her economic recovery
Germany is suffering with the rest o
the European nations. Her fuel famine
has threatened her industrial progress
FOR many years. She is now turning
30 Ignite as solution. and so Is show
ling the United states the way.
Brown coal mining as now praCtiset
IN Germany Is simple. As i'm thl'
country the coal beds lie very near tn,
surface. some OF tho beds arc withr