The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1940-08-01
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington. ID. C.-WNU Service.

prepared py National Geograpnic oocieS'
washington. D. C.-WNU service.
DREAT events have hap
pened and the lives of all
- Americans have been
transformed in many ways
since Obediah Gore, the Con-
necticut blacksmith, moved to
the Wilkes-Barre country and
taught the neighborhood smiths
how to fire their forges with
anthracite; since Jesse Fell in
vented the CRATE for burning
hard coal in homes; since
Philip Ginter stubbed his toe on
a piece of hard coal and there
by laid the foundations of the
Lehigh Coal and Navigation
system of coal mines and coal
roads. s-<sssgss4. ssas
Even in the depths Of the depres-
sion in 1891 Pennsylvania was pro-
ducing 10000, 900 tons of anthracite
and 97,000,000 tons of bituminous
coal, or approximately a third OF
the nations entire coal output.
When you consider how much the
country owes to its vast supplies of
sunshine stored up in the earth
through millions of years, you real
ize how great is its debt to Penn
sylvania, for in service to humanity
coal far outshines the magic wonders
of Aladdin's legendary lamp.
AS one travels through the coal
fields, there are many sights remi-
niscent of century of mining. One
sees in the anthracite fields every
type of coal breaker, from the old
dry breaker with dust everywhere
and much of the coal wasted, to the
latest Rheolaveur breaker where
water is used from beginning to end,
and where even the dust is saved.
Tremendous Coke Production.
Pennsylvania is the nations fore
most producer of coke.
For generations the beehive coke
oven had its day. It was waste
full day, it is true, but the beehive
oven fitted its time. 1t was not
until the World war period that il
relinquished first place to by-prod-
uct ovens.
Then the cry went up for more
and more of the chemicals hidden
in bituminous coal to take their
place in the explosives that were
indeed "the power behind the gum
of war-making Now the alchemist
of coal is getting more coke out OF
a ton of coal made in by-product
oven than could be obtained in a
beehive oven, and in addition he is
able to capture enough ammonia and
its compounds, light oil and its de-
rivatives, gas, tar, fine coke, and
other products to bring the total
value of by-products up to 1885 per
ton, all of which were lost in the
old-time beehive oven.
Those were spectacular nights be-
fore the World war when one rode
for miles through the beehive oven
districts. Today those old ovens
stand row after row along scores
of railroad tracks, some almost
completely in ruins but others look
ing as if they might be fired again
tomorrow.
Pig Iron and Steel.
Pennsylvania role in the iron
and steel industry is as remarkable
as her position in the coal and coke
industry OF the nation. In 1881 the
Keystone state produced only per
cent of the nations iron ore, but il
turned out % per cent of its pig
! iron and 80 per cent of its steel.
With every 1000 tons of pig iror
requiring in its making about l,80(
tons of ore, 700 tons of limestone
1000 tons of coke, and 4,500 tons ot
air driven by powerful fans, one
may easily imagine that its produc
ton is the Keystone states heavy
industry.
There was in the days of peal
production no more inspiring nigh
sight than the view from a high hill
at Pittsburgh, looking down the Ohio
and up the Monongahela and the AL
legheny rivers, beholding Titan a
work, Transforming ore into pig
| iron.
The era of the Besscmer process:
in converting pig iron into steel j.
largely gone in the Keystone state
No longer do these huge metallic
eggshells send their streams of fiery
sparks heavenward. The awesom,
splitting" of the spectacular con
verter during certain periods of tn,
blowing of air through it's molter
contents has given place to the opel
hearth.
New Ways Of Making Cement.
Here enormous jets of gas fam,
are played over the molten pig met
al, producing iron oxide which com
bines with added iron ore to form /;
basic slag-the "skimmings" of tn,
fiery caldron.