The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1922-10-06
Plan for Conversion of Coal into
Electric Current Where
1t Is Mined.
IT WOULD MEAN VAST SAVING
TRANSPORTATION Of the Fuel Would Be
Avoided, and Fewer Men Would Be.
Required in One Branch
OF Worlds Work.


hitting the currents to the industrial
consuming centers has been called to
the attention of the President, Secre-
tary Of Commerce Hoover and other
high officials Of the government.
In proportion to its value, both in
money and in heating power, coal is
inordinately bulky More than one
third of the total railroad freight of
the United States Is coal. On some
roads in coal-producing sections coal
amounts to 80 per cent Of all the
freight hauled. A very large portion
Of this coal is railway fuel-that is,
coal to fire the engines which haul
the trains.
Louis Brandeis, now an associate
justice Of the Supreme court of the
United States, In his brief in the Five
Per Cent case before the interstate
when all items Of cost to the railroads
Of buying and hauling their own coal
were added, the total would be $780,
100000. Since that estimate was
made, prices and costs have increased
and the railroad coal bill has amount
ed to $7OO,OOO,OOO.
To transport coal to meet the Amer
lean demand, 100000 cars are en-
plOyed annually and of these 2,6OO,-
600 cars are employed in hauling coal
and other traffic. These figures have
been filed with the interstate COM
merce commission.
The commission has found, In one
Of its investigations into the coal traf-
f1c, that approximately 81 per cent of
all the coal cars return to the mines
empty.
These figures give an impression of
the extent to which the transportation
system is burdened with the move
ment of this bulky material and show
how much more railroad equipment
would be available for general freight
II the power which springs from coal
could be handled in another manner
Power Plants at Mines.
In general outline the new plan
would provide for the erection at the
e6al mines of gigantic power plants
The coal would-be brought up just
fast enough to be put into the
furnaces and maintain a steady head
Of steam to keep the dynamos turn
ing.
One Of the underlying reasons for
discomfort among coal miners and
therefore one Of the main causes of
the coal strike is the intermittency in
the industry. The big demand for
coal comes in the winter time; in the
summer months it falls off. Coal is
mined as the market calls for it.
Therefore, when the demand is light
there is little mining to be done. The
men are thrown out OF employment.
The result is that coal miners work
but from 1856 to 21O days a year.
While their wages are regarded as
good their work is not steady and
therefore their earnings for the year
are not large
It is the opinion of experts that the
coal industry is overmanned. There
are some 100000 men engaged in it.
Under the power plan, the intermit-
tency in the work of coal miners
would be eliminated. The coal would
be feeding machines running steadily
and not an ever-changing open-market
demand.
Fewer Men Would Be Needed.
The requirements Of the power gen.
orators could be reckoned in advance
with fair amount of accuracy and
the coal could be kept coming above
ground regularly all the year round.
Fewer men would be required to take
care Of this production and while the
change would throw many thousands
out Of work 1t would b. gradual and
ultimately would result in a clear
economic gain, 1t is claimed. Fewer
men would be doing one branch of
the worlds work. The remainder
would become engaged in other pro-
ductive labor.
The first step In the plan for the
Identification Of the nation is the
Exchanging over of railroads from steam
| to electric power. The railroads cross
the country In every direction and the
cities and Industries which consume
power are built up along their tracks
Power cables would parallel the
tracks, but would carry so much more
power than would be required for the
railways that the surplus would be
! ample for diversion to the cities en-
route. This would run the mills and
factories, light the cities and furnish
| power for municipal traction lines.
When William G. McAdoo was d.
rector general of railroads during
federal control in the wartime, he
said that If government control were
to be permanent or even long ex-
tended his first step would be the
identification of the railroads. Some
Of the roads have taken the step al
ready. Miles of the Baltimore & Ohio,
the Boston & Maine, the Chicago.
Milwaukee & st. Paul. the Erie, the
Great Northern, the Michigan Central.
the New York Central, the New York.
New Haven & Hartford. the Norfolk
& Western. the Pennsylvania and the
Southern Pacific system already 0p-