The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-08-05
By FREDERICK J. HAsK1N

WASHlNGlON, ID. c., Aug. ga
plan for the conversion of coal into
electric power at the mouths of coal
mines and transmitting the current to
the industrial consuming centers has
been called to the attention of the
president, Secretary of Commerce
Hoover, and other high officials of the
government.
In proportion to it's value, both in
money and in heating power, coal Is
Unfortunately 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 so per cent of all the
freight hauled A very large portion
of this coal is railway fuel-that is,
coal to fire 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
Commerce commission, estimated THAI
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 S700,000,000 To transport coal
! to meet the American demand, 10000.
600 cars are employed annually and
of these, 100000 cars are employed
in hauling coal for the railroads owr
use-coal to be consumed in the loco.
motives that haul the coal and other
traffic. These figures have been filed
with the Interstate Commerce COM
mission.
The commission has found, in one
of its investigations into the coal
traffic, 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.
General Plan
Proposes Plants
In general outline, the new plan
would provide for the erection at-the
coal mines of gigantic plants. The
coal would be brought up JUS fast
enough to be put into the furnaces
ana maintain a steady head of steam
10 keep the dynamos turning.
One OF the underlying reasons for
dlscontent 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 165 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.
1t is the opinion of experts that the
coal industry is over-manned. There
are some 100000 men engaged in it
! Under the power plan, the int ermit
! 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 The requirements of the pow.
| er generators could be reckoned in
advance with fair amount of &C
| cufacy and the coal could be kept com
Ing above ground regularly all the
! year round. Fewer men would be
Il required to take care of this produc
ton and while the change would throw
many thousands out of work, it would
be gradual and ultimately would re
suit in a clear economic gain, it is
claimed. Fewer men would be doins
one branch of the worlds work TIL;
remainder would become engaged il
other productive labor.
The first step in the plan for the
identification of the nation is tn.
changing over of railroads from steam
to electric power. The railroads eros.
the country IN every direction and the
cities and industries which consume
Il power are built up along their tracks
Power cables would parallel tht
tracks but would carry so much more
power than would be required for the
railways that the surplus would be
: ample for diversion of the cities Ell
route. This would run the mills ant
factories, light the cities and furnish
power for municipal traction lines
While William G. McAdoo was di
rector general of railroads during fed
i eral control III the war time, he salt
that if government control were t
be permanent, or even long extended
] his first step would be the electrifi
! cation of the railroads. Some of tn
) roads have taken the step already
, Miles of the Baltimore and Ohio, tn
+ Boston and Maine. the Chicago AM
! St. Paul, the Erie, the Great Northern
f the Michigan Central, the New Yorl
Central, the New York, New Have
and Hartford, the Norfolk and Wes1
, ern, the Pennsylvania and the South
) ern Pacific systems already operat
! by electricity and the benefits are re
duction in fuel cost, in maintenance
cost, elimination of coaling engines
! increased tonnage per train, increase
| speed on grades, increased reliability
, reduced train crews, increased safety
..as4.-