Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-14

monoxide in the air, for that Is the
product Of combustion of automobiles,
deadly II confined In q closed garage.
Probably thare Is nothing new in the
above disclosure Of what constitutes city
air. but the interesting fact is that its
quantity can be measured and the totals
are startling from two standpoints-the
menace to health and the economic
waste. Washington may be freer from
such contamination than great manu-
featuring cities, but even here there is
the presence of similar impurities. One
OF the outstanding problems of science
Is to overcome that condition, utilize
what Is now poured wastefully into the
atmosphere and convert the fuel Of the
air INTO heat for industrial enterprises
and home comfort.
No possible use has been found for
the $4,000 pounds Of New York ashes
fioatlng above the city-66, 900 more
each day. It has been attempted to
mix the ashes with cement, but they are
too light and fluffy" to handle They
cannot be dumped into the water with
out communicating 1t, unless the water is
quite deep.
DR.. Frederick @. Cottrell Of the
American University washington, D.
Co and Of the Research Council has in
vented an appliance for precipitating
dust from smoke and other fumes And
thereby hangs romance Of science
which dtfferentiateS science from pure
business" Could Wall Street business
man comprehend the workings of a
scientists mind, who would solve the
problem OF stopping damage of millions
of dollars in amount annually, and ac-
tually getting protective patents on his
processes and then organizing a re-
search council on the basis of no profits
TO become dividends on the stock, but
all such profits to be reinvested in pure
science" for further scientific research?
II
Who's looney now?" must be the
query Of the New Yorker who still lives
under the overhead" of floating
debt" Of daily outgo of 5000 900
pounds Of fuel, gone where so much
Wall Street stock goes-to the blue
SKYE" Why. that fuel would take a pro.
cesSion OF coal carts miles in length
and another one tomorrow and a new
one each and every day of the year.
The secret OF how to save that leakage
would amaze Mark Twain's Col. Sell
lers," for there's millions in it." And
Dr. Cottren donated 1t all to science,
out In Detroit a great establishment
Is even now investing about half a mil.
lion dollars to erect one Cottrell cleo
tro- precipitation plant, which will cleo
tr1fy Its smoke and fumes and thereby
deposit from 100 to 400 tons of ashes
day out Of what would otherwise float
of In the air. And that does not in
clude the floating fuel in the air. DR..
Cottren explains that the most eco
nomical way to catch that fuel is to
first catch the fireman stocking his fur
mace that way. Today, mechanical
stokerS replace human handled Shovels,
even for coal, as well as oil, burners.
The coal Is powdered and sprayed onto
the fire as oil is sprayed. Combustion
Ia thus increased and made more per-
feet and the waste Of fuel in the smoke
Is saved. But the chief source of con-
tamination remains-the flivvers of Mr..
FORD ct al; that's as bad as bad food.
The day will come, says Dr. Cottrell,
when even domestic heat will become
"foolproof" against wasted fuel, because
1t will all come from q central plant
gas works or electric workS-and there
Will be no need to keep the home fires
burning"
His electro precipitator will then be
of value to the Householder because it.
will make the operations of the central
power and gas house more economical
than is possible while tons OF fuel be-
cloud the sky. Dr. Sheldon measures
the atmosphere over New York as SAL
1000 cubic feet. Every column, one
foot square and reaching up to the
outer surface Of the atmosphere, weighs
q little over one short ton-or about
one long ton Of 2.20o pcunds-so the
2 900 tons of impurities he finds in it
all Is not a great percentage-one ton
for each Is, 500 such columns Of air, or
about one city block--but 1t takes only
q little poison to make serious con-
or even fatal consequences
Of breathing. No continuance can reach
up into the air and draw down the
poison gases. but the Cottrell pre-
cipitator can stop the contamination
at its source.
The original idea was discussed in
England two decades ago by Sir Oliver
Lodge, but 1t remained for this WASH
lngtonian to apply 1t practically and
then give 1t away so theoretically.
Who's smoky now? Looney humanity.
That's pure science" mocking selfish
big business" even while rendering all
business this unique service.
49, r-..Ga -.