Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-10-13
NEW INDUSTRIAL ERA
By Frederic j. Haskin

ton. This commission Is headed by
| Morris l.. Cook, who organized the
| power section OF the Emergency
Fleet Corporation. He Is assisted by
Robert II. Fernaid, director of the
Department of Mechanical Engineer
ing of the University of Pennsylvan-
la. and Frederick K. Newell. former
chief of the United States Recla-
nation Service
Governor Pinchot is himself a
member of the commission, which
also includes Attorney General
George w. Woodruff; w. D. b. Ainey.
chairman of the Public Service
Commission; Frank Willis; Secre-
tary of Agriculture; Royal Meeker.
Secretary of Labor and Industry,
who was formerly at the head of one
of the important bureaus of the
Federal Department of Labor; State
Geologist George II. Ashley; and
Deputy Attorney General Phillip p.
Wells.
This commission will devote eigh-
teen months to its task before MAX
ing its recommendations to the PEN
sylvania legislature. 1t will look
thoroughly into the problem of gen.
Grating electrical power at the mines,
and incident to this will make a
study of the best methods of extract
ing ~by-products from coal. The en-
gineers look forward to a time when
raw coal, taken from the mouth of
the mine, will go through a process
whereby its gas. tar. oil, ammonium
sulphate and coke will be extracted
after which the remaining fuel will
be used for power. Henry Ford is
said to be accomplishing great things
in this direction. although he trans
ports his coal from his Kentucky
mines to his Michigan plants before
he puts it through the process for
removing by~-products.
An attempt is to be made to de-
wise a plan that will do for power
what the railroads have done fol-
commodities of all kinds, that is, tc
make available at every mans door
plenty of power at low prices. Elec.
IRRIGATION of the railroads and 6
direct connection between them an6
the power resources available will BIZ
considered by the commission. It i;
the belief of the engineers that thu
general efficiency of the roads woult
be greatly increased by electrified.
ton. One-third of the present rail,
way tonnage in Pennsylvania is coal
1t is cheap tonnage. BY eliminating
much of this freight the railroad:
will have more facilities for other
traffic.
The losses of the railroads on the
freight on coal would be largely off
set by increased revenues from
freight originating in the smaller
cities and towns from the new in
dustries. 1t is also commended thai
employment will be stabilized by tht
development of giant power stations
at the mines, and that a more ex,
tensive use of power will result from
lower rates made possible by eco,
nomic production conducted on tht
largest possible scale.
One of the biggest items in tn,
cost of producing electricity is thu
transportation of the coal which
furnishes the motive power. If thi
cost could be eliminated and tn
coal utilized right at the mines, pro
ducing energy to turn wheels hun
dreds of miles away, operating cost
in every factory would be reduced
I
Our first concern will be tn
small user. particularly the farmer
said Governor Pinchot, in discussinI
the work of the commission. IN
system of electrical development
would be technically sound If no
built on estimates of the industrial
power load. Just so our system CA
not be considered socially sound !
it ignores the more or less immed
fate requirements Of the 10000
farmers and perhaps as nan urbal
and semi-urban householders i
Pennsylvania now without current
, Power mean wealth, comfort
safety, progress. Great blocks of on
people fail to get what they shout
out of civilization because they ar
! able to get and to use far less powe
than they should. Giant powe
means that more people will ge
/, more power than YER before. 1t
: the open door for better living t
all our people, and that is true no
only of Pennsylvania but of tn
whole United States"
w. s. Murray, a consulting engin
cer, who made a study for the Geo
logical Survey OF a s~uperpower sys
tenn for the region between Wash
ington and Boston, reported that tn
, $4,000 manufacturing establishment
: within that cor could by 1896
through the maximum economics
use of purchased electric energy
save $190,0O0.0 900. annually abov
the fixed annual charges. against
, capital investment of $185,000.00
, to provide the motor equipment nee
lessary to receive and use this power.
The combined capital investmen
, necessary for the electric utilize
! and the Industries as of 1890 there
fore amounts to $1,294,5 64 900,
Mr.. Murray's report continues, IAN
! this total investment will yield an
nually above the fixed charges tn
sum of $429. 900. 900 or 3S per cen
on the investment"
1t is the belief of this expert tina
the greatest promise regarding pro
cess fuels lies in the direction of de
vising plants that will convert ray
fuel lies in the direction of devisin
fuel entirely into gas for consunp
: ton under the boilers at steam sta
tons and thus eliminate the enor