Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-01-27
u. S. COAL TESTED

One Of tho functions of the United
States Bureau of Mines is the analyz-
ing Of coal used by the government. In
explaining the nature Of his work DR..
F. G.. Cottrell, director OF the bureau
made this statement:
"A large service is maintained
which analyses all government coal
OF. samples each year which are col
lected by bureau field engineers. Thus,
gradually, there is being accumulated
exact information as to the nature and
character of every kind OF coal from
every district in the country. In the
actual testing work special attention
has been given to tho economic COM
bustion of coal by the small user, rep
rosertod mainly by the small hand
fred boiler plant and by the. domestic
consumer. 1t a been easier and
cheaper, also, to study the small fur
mace, and much fundamental data has
been obtained and disseminated as to
what actually takes place in the fur
mace during combustion of the fuel
CIVILIZATION Of lower grade and
cheaper fuels as substitutes for more
costly fuels has been demonstrated
and put into effect in many lines.
Startling wastes of energy in the ordi-
nary plants have been proved and
OuS III " II4S edILCIlI4olI Va AAC poDAA~s
Today the situation is more alive and
more worthy OF attention than ever be-
fore. In pre-war days, with coal in
many regions available at about O
dollar a ton. care, refinements. and
possible saving of energy were often a
matter Of technical interest only,
where today, with coal at several
times the above price, even small per-
centage savings Of fuel are a dividend
paying necessity.
ITO the fuel engineer. the possible
ties for the future are almost without
limit. To the nan who doubts the wis
dom. of research with public money.
here is a field where the initial ex-
penses of establishing and conducting
real research arc too great to justify
private individuals or corporations to
undertake, from the standpoint of
money returns to themselves alone;
yet, because the results of the re-
search affect thousands of furnaces
nation wide benefit is UNNECESSARILY
more than the initial expenditure. The
successful researches Of the Bureau
of Mines with natural gas heating and
cooking appliances are a case in view.
For the future. the public must
realize that the serious city smoke
troubles are remediable nuisance, de
pendent for remedy equally on the
public, the fuel engineer, the consum-
er of coal. and the fireman. Either the
fireman and the mar for whom he
works must be taught to burn the coal
without smoke, or else artiicially pre-
pared fuels from which the smoke
forming tars and volatiles have been
taken must be used. In both lines, the
interest of the bureau is paramount.
"The program should be: First. in
vestigating, teaching and educating
the great fuel-burning public to the
money and health value of the right
fuel, and the right furnace in the right
place, fired in the right way. Second,
aiding in the development of prepar-
ing now fuels, especially from waste
and low-grade fuels. such as lignites.
II we add to these problems the host.
Of fuel problems that are acute in the
petroleum product using or internal
combustion field. and the necessity for
getting more energy from the national
and rapidly wasting asset--petroleum
1--we, must see that the right use OF
fuel has become a national concern"
s4s.sN- 49, $50 G4f