138 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. January IS, 1915. LETTERS TO THE EDITORS. The Editors are not responsible either for the statements made, or the opinions expressed by correspondents. All communications must be authenticated by the name and address of the sender, whether for publication or not. No notice can be taken of anonymous communications. As replies to questions are only given by way of published answers to correspondents, and not by letter, stamped addressed envelopes are not required to be sent. UTILISING ENEMY PATENTS. Sirs,—Might I be permitted to refer in your columns to the emergency patent laws, offering the right to manufacture under enemy patents, the facilities afforded by which are, I fully believe, more far reaching than is realised by a large section of the manufacturing com- munity. The right to manufacture is, of course, granted in the form of a personal licence in favour of the manu- facturer applying to the Board of Trade, and, as you are doubtless aware, it is now clear, from statements made by the Commissioners for tbe Board of Trade at hearings of these cases, that, except in perhaps the case of trivial manufacturers not involving extensive outlay, the licensee will not be deprived of his right to manu- facture upon the expiration of hostilities. If, after hostilities, the British licensee cannot come to reason- able terms with the foreign proprietor, the matter will be settled by arbitration conducted by the Board of Trade. If, however, advantage is not now taken of the law, the enemy patents will, in their entirety, be restored to the enemy proprietors after the termination of war. There are undoubtedly a large number of valuable patents under which British firms would, in times of peace, one would believe, welcome an opportunity of obtaining a licence, which licence the foreign proprietor would be unwilling to grant, and tbe introduction of this emergency law thus offers an opportunity of obtaining an asset which might never have been obtain- able bad. not the war occurred. It is important to realise that the substantial advantage arising out of this asset might arise after hostilities, and at a time at which a number of manufacturers, having lost the opportunity of taking advantage of the law, may ptobably regret having done so. Lewis Wm. Goold, F.O.I.P.A. 5, Corporation street, Birmingham. January 11, 1915. ELECTRIC LAMPS IN COAL MINES. Sirs,—As various reports on upkeep o± electric lamps, showing different results, have recently been appearing in the colliery and mining papers, may I, as one who has been in close touch with electric lamps for a considerable period, be allowed to state a few facts ? An efficient electric lamp cannot be produced in a few weeks, and experiments extending over many years, and costing thousands of pounds, are necessary before the inventor may reasonably hope to look for any adequate return for his labours. As a commercial proposition, a colliery cannot afford to instal electric lamps that are going to prove expensive in upkeep, and be a continual source of trouble, and the lamp manu- facturer knows this quite well, and that to be a success, the lamps must be above all, efficient and cheap in upkeep, and, in order to obtain these results, two of the principal points are choice and care of accumulators and bulbs. In dealing with an accumulator, one cannot do better than liken it to the human body. Treat it well and wisely, and it does its duty; neglect it, overfeed or underfeed it, take more out of it than is put in, and it suffers, and the cost of upkeep in new plates, etc., quickly increases. Treated in conjunction with the accumulator is the bulb, and even in this much careful- ness is shown in order to get the most suitable bulb, and it is therefore necessary, in order to obtain the best results, to always use the bulb supplied by the lamp maker for his lamp. To all collieries who are, and who intend testing electric lamps, it is absolutely necessary that they should follow in detail the manufacturer’s very simple instructions, and unless they are prepared to see that these instructions are followed out they will not, neither can they reasonably expect to, obtain satisfactory results, and it would simply be a waste of time and money. The figures recently quoted by two well-known York- shire collieries showing such good results on 3,000 and more lamps, however much they may surprise other collieries, cause no surprise to the lamp makers them- selves, who always have stated, and still continue to state, that if properly treated according to instructions, electric lamps are cheap, and compare most favourably with the cost of oil lamps. There seems to be an idea that highly skilled electricians are necessary to look after electric lamps. But this is not so, as the fact proves that there are at present men looking after electric lamps and getting good results who previously looked after oil lamps. Personally I am of opinion that the men a e somewhat afraid at first, and though minor difficulties may at first present themselves they quickly disappear with use. Everything in connection with the working of the lamps is so very simple that no skill is required. The charging board has both a meter and a resistance fixed to it, and by moving the pointer on the resistance the finger on the meter is automatically moved to the charging rate 1 ampere or 1’5 ampere, as the case may be. For testing when the cell has reached its full capacity there is supplied a hand voltmeter, and, when the prongs are brought into contact with the positive and negative terminals, shows just what capacity the cell contains. The proper figure is marked by a red line, and when this line is reached the cell is fully charged. Every five or six weeks it is advisable to pour out the acid in the cells, wash them out in hot water and refill with fresh acid of the specific gravity advised, and to be sure to always keep the plates just covered. The light itself is enclosed in an airtight chamber, and there is no necessity to touch this at all, except to replace a new bulb, and in a ‘‘ Ceag ” lamp this should not be more than three times a year ; in some cases it is less, and the figure of the 0 45d. per lamp per week upkeep given by one large colliery proves this is so. I might add that this figure does not, of course, include labour, but the labour is less than was required when oil lamps were in use. Assuming that a colliery generates its own electricity at the cost of Jd. per unit, it takes 6 to 7 units to charge up 100 cells, which would give a cost of 3d. to 3^d. per 100 cells. The accumulator costs complete about 7s. The positive plate has a life of nine months, and the cost is something under 2s. In well-managed cabins, both in Lancashire and other parts of the country, we have known positive plates to go for 13 to 14 months. The negative plate has a life of about double the positive plate, and costs less. From the foregoing statements, it will be easy to account for the cheap figures given by large users over a period of 12 months or more. The various statements made here with regard to life of plates, &c., are on the underside if anything, and in actual use should work out considerably better. As previously stated, it rests with the colliery authorities to insist that electric lamps are treated as they should be, and the various instruc- tions carried out. The lamp agents and ti eir men are always calling at the colliery, and are willing and anxious to give all possible help. The market for electric lamps is such a wide one that the electric lamp people have every inducement to do tbe very best they can, in order to be able to show good results, and it is only by actual results that they may hope to do business, and it does more harm than good to make all manner of rash statements The following are a few of the many advantages claimed for the electric lamp :— The lamp is absolutely safe, even if handled carelessly, and never becomes hot. The glasses never become clouded or dull. Can be placed in any position and will not go out. ‘ No lighting stations are required underground, there- fore saving in wages here, and no risk of accident through travelling to lighting station. A bigger and cleaner output of coal may be expected. If 1,000 electric lamps are ready for the morning shift, and only 700. men turn up, the other 300 are put on the rack, and are ready when the men do come, thereby a saving in the lamp cabin. Another rather important feature that may not be generally known, is that some insurance companies are prepared to offer reduced rates where electric lamps are installed, on account of their greater safety, and I myself know of one such company. I might add that figures and remarks made here refer to the “ Ceag ” lamp, and my connection with it is representative to the selling agents in Lancashire, Staffordshire, Cumberland, etc. W. G. Lincoln. Manchester, January 8,1915. COAL SHIPPED FROM PORTS IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES During December 1914 Compared with the Corresponding Month of 1913. The following figures, extracted from the monthly coal tables issued by the Commissioners of H.M. Customs and Excise, show the quantity of coal shipped from each group of ports during December:— Cargo. Dec. 1913. Dec. 1914. Tons. Tons. Bristol Channel ports 2,527,707 .. . 1,755,817 North-western ports 73,999 . 91,257 N orth-eastern ports 1,935,312 .. '751,218 . .. 1,017,520 Humber ports .. 345,504 Other east coast ports 41,489 .. 10,756 Other English ports 10 . 10 Ports on east coast of Scotland 708,539 .. .. 308,993 Ports on west coast of Scotland 191,179 .. .. 169,017 Total 6,229,453 .. .. 3,698,874 Bunker. Dec. 1913. Dec. 1914. Tons. Tons. Bristol Channel ports 430,212 .. . 356,111 North-western ports 341,642 .. .. 292,676 North-eastern ports 299,017 . .. 205,851 Humber ports 280,203 . .. 135,916 Other east coast ports 189,108 . 95,786 Other English ports 77,223 . 20,373 Ports on east coast of Scotland... 117,941 . 57,317 Ports on west coast of Scotland... 103,692 . 80,312 Irish ports 2,968 . 3,873 Grand total 1,842,006 . .. 1,248,215 An interesting report, which has just been compiled at the Department of Mines of West Virginia, is that giving the nationalities of the coal miners employed in the State, wherein the total mining population of West Virginia is given at 78,041, of which 49,458 are Americans (white and coloured) and 28,583 are foreigners. They are classified as follows :—Americans (white), 36,101; Americans (coloured), 13,357; Italian, 10,276; Hungarian, 4,761; Polish, 3,136 ; Slavish, 2,229; Russian, 1,737 ; Austrian, 1,472 ; German, 577 ; Greek, 571; English, 557 ; Roumanian, 510; Granish, 149; Lithuanians, 414; Litvitch, 389; Scotch, 221; Irish, 202; Spanish, 230; Horwat, 430; Syrians, 115; Croatians, 115 ; Bohemians, 89 ; Serbians, 60 ; French, 46 ; Turks, 45 ; Swedes, 21; Bulgarians, 12 ; Welsh, 11; Montenegrins, 10 ; Belgians, 8 ; Danish, 1; Hebrew, 1; unknown, 188 ; total, 78,041. TRADE AND THE WAR. Advisory Committee on Commercial Intelligence — Huge Italian Contract Placed in America—Gas Works and Their Goal Supplies—More Sales of Tonnage—Coal in Holland—Employment of Refugees—Leeds and the Dye Works Scheme. A meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Board of Trade on Commercial Intelligence was held at 7, Whitehall- gardens, on Tuesday, January 12. It was reported that the total number of written and personal enquiries at the Commercial Intelligence Branch in 1914 (exclusive of those received at the Foreign Samples Section) was 40,600, as compared with 16,700 in the previous year. Of these the number of enquiries in the last five months of 1914 was 29,700, against 7,400 in the corresponding period of 1913. The number of bulletins issued by the Branch dealing in detail with enemy trade in certain important classes of goods was 102, and the total number of copies distributed was over 330,000. The number of firms on the Special Register of the Branch at the end of the year was 2,536, as compared with 1,535 at the end of the previous year. Successful exchange meetings, each lasting two days, have been organised by the Foreign Samples Section at 32, Cheapside, E.C. The number of firms who were represented at the meetings was 2,376, and the number of samples shown nearly 20,000. Arrangements for similar exchange meetings in respect of other branches of trade are being made. Large numbers of samples of German and Austrian goods have been received from British trade commissioners and consuls, and arrangements are being made for their exhibition in London and at the chief industrial centres concerned. The Committee approved a proposal of the Board of Trade to supplement the “ exchange meetings ” by the organisation of a “ British Industries Fair,” to be held in London in the spring, at which samples of British manufactures in certain groups of trade should be exhibited somewhat on the model of the well-known Leipsig Fair. Other matters considered by the Committee were the new Anglo-Portuguese commercial treaty, recent commercial missions, the possibilities of extension of British trade with Russia, and the forms of certificates of origin. The Consolidation Coal Company, largest producer of coal in West Virginia, has closed a contract with the Italian Government for 3,000,000 tons of coal to be delivered during the next two years. The coal will be shipped from the piers of the company at Baltimore. The deal is large and is based on quarterly settlement, imposed by the Italian Government, hence additional financing was required, and it is announced that arrangements were made for financing the operations through the Federal Reserve system. The Institution of Gas Engineers recently addressed to the War Office a letter calling attention to the serious difficulty which is being experienced by some gas under- takings in obtaining adequate supplies of coal and other materials to their works owing to railway communication being interrupted. A reply received from the Assistant Director of Movements states that the Railway Executive Committee are taking the necessary steps to relieve the situation, in the interests of all concerned, adding that it will be of great assistance if consignees will make every endeavour to release trucks at the earliest possible moment after they are placed in position. A letter on the subject received by the institution from the Railway Executive Committee states that they are fully alive to the situation and are making every endeavour to ensure the main- tenance of the coal supply to gasworks. The dangers which beset the present-day oversea trade was grimly illustrated last week, when the steamship “ Elfrida,” of Newcastle, bound for London, with coal, struck a mine off Scarborough. The whole of the crew fortunately were saved. It is also feared that the Danish steamer “ Ingolf,” which left Copenhagen on December 23 for Hull for a cargo of coal, has suffered a like fate. The sale of two more prize vessels took place at the Baltic Exchange last week. Interesting as these sales undoubtedly are, they have not been of sufficient dimensions as greatly to ease the critical freight situation. British owners have already made offers to the Government for the hire of captured German vessels during the war, and there can be no question that such a course, if adopted, would materially relieve the tonnage difficulty. It is stated that a coal famine is threatening Holland. According to Het Volk only 45 per cent, of the usual quantity of coal imported during normal times from Germany is now crossing the frontier, and in a short time this quantity will be still further reduced, as three-quarters of it will be sent to Belgium, where numerous factories are said to be now working for Germany. The Maastricht correspondent of the Handelsblad learns that in the coal mines in Wandre (Belgium) 400 labourers are working four days in the week. The Government have now appointed a Commission to put into execution the recommendations for providing occupation for Belgian refugees, contained in the recently issued report of the Departmental Committee which has been considering the subject. Enquiries should be addressed to Mr. H. A. Leggett, the secretary of the Commission, at Winchester House, St. James-square, S.W. Regarding the Government scheme to place the British dyeware industry on an independent footing, the Leeds University have proffered the suggestion that nothing short of a national co-operation will meet the needs of the position. In the Danish Second Chamber on Tuesday the Prime Minister proposed a bill providing for heavier punishment for disobeying the Export Bill. The goods will be confis- cated as well as the means of transport, viz., the ship. Every lawbreaker will also be prohibited carrying on his trade or of being a navigator. Mr. Rene de Cevenville, presiding at the ordinary general meeting of the Pekin Syndicate Limited, stated that the outbreak of the European war temporarily interfered with the company’s business. A certain amount of coal has been seized by the German authorities at Shantung. The company’s property, however, was not likely to be interfered with. The speaker also stated that a recent report from the medical officer at the mines certified the complete eradica- tion of the diseases known as “ miner’s worm.” A preliminary agreement between the company and the provincial authorities had now been signed.