July 14, 1916.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

69

WASTE IN COKE MAKING.*

Waste in the manufacture of coke in the United States
was condemned by Dr. Charles L. Parsons, chief of the
division of mining technology of the Bureau of Mines,
in a recent hearing before the Ways and Means Com-
mittee of the House of Representatives.

The Bureau of Mines has long been interested in the
development of a by-product coke industry on account
of the tremendous wastes of valuable material that are
annually taking place. This ruthless waste of material
valuable to the farmers of the country for agricultural
purposes, to the manufacturers of the country for power,
and to the whole nation as a source of products which
might be used in time of war for explosives and in
time of peace for a dyestuff industry, was pointed out
by the Bureau in 1912. The figures given there for the
year 1910 showed that 63,000,000 tons of coal contain-
ing 22,000,000 dols. worth of recoverable nitrogen were
converted into coke; but only about one-sixth of this
coal was treated in by-product ovens or retorts which
could make the recovery of the nitrogen possible. J. D.
Pennock has shown that between 1893, when the first
by-product coke oven was built in the United States,
and 1910, the coke coked in beehive ovens, where the
volatile nitrogen was ruthlessly wasted in fire, amounted
to about 810,000,000 tons. Had this been coked in
by-product ovens, the volatile nitrogen of the coal would
have yielded 23 lb. of ammonium sulphate per ton, or a
total of 9,315,000 tons, which, at 60 dels, per ton, would
have had a value of 558,900,000 dols.

Mr. E. W. Parker has shown that the value of the
recoverable contents of the coal made into coke in bee-
hive ovens which was wasted in 1910 would have been
between 35,000,000 and 40,000,000 dols. If all the coke
made in the United States were produced in retort ovens,
these would yield from the carbon now wastefully con-
sumed, no account being taken of by-products, approxi-
mately 1,000,000 horse-power.

It is through this use of by-product ovens that Ger-
many has obtained the basis of both a high explosive
industry and a dyestuff industry. Through by-product
ovens are obtained and recovered large quantities of
ammonium compounds, which, on the one hand, are
used in times of peace for agricultural purposes, and in
time of war may be oxidised into nitric acid—the basic
and absolutely essential chemical for the production of
all of the prominent explosives used in warfare. It is
chiefly from ammonia obtained from by-product coke
that Germany is now procuring her nitrogen compounds
by the oxidation of ammonia. Furthermore, the by-pro-
duct coke industry yields large quantities of coal tar,
which furnishes benzol and toluol used for the basis of
most dyestuffs and a basis for the high explosives used
in shells, torpedoes, and the like, as well as the naph-
thalene, anthracene, and most of the other compounds
going into the dyestuff industry. In 1910 Germany
treated about five-sixths of her coke in by-product ovens,
while the United States treated only approximately one-
sixth, and these figures are in a sense a measure of the
degree to which the resources of each country have been
developed for the production of explosives and dyestuffs.

Since 1910 there has been a decided growth in the
by-product coke industry in the United States. Many
by-product coke ovens have been built, and. to-day
approximately one-third of the coke produced in
America is produced in by-product ovens, showing in
five years an increase of something like 100 per cent.
Since the war began the by-product industry has
received great impetus, as is naturally to be expected,
and ammonium sulphate, benzol, toluol, coke, and gas
from coal have been turned out in increasing quantities.
It is of the utmost importance to the country that this
industry shall be maintained and developed when the
present war is over.

As has already been stated, the explosive industry
and the dyestuff industry are intimately connected. The
same basic products are used in both. Essentially the
same basic chemicals, such as sulphuric acid, nitric acid,
chlorine, bromine, acetone, and many others are required
in both industries. Accordingly, the chemical industry
of the United States is as intimately associated wfith a
dyestuff industry, and is as intimately dependent for its
future upon a dyestuff industry as it is upon the explo-
sive industry.

The great difficulty which the ammunition plants of
the United States have had to meet during the past year
in order to supply the demands made upon them has
been the procuring of sufficient sulphuric acid and nitric
acid to carry on their work. It is at present even more
difficult to secure necessary supplies of these two acids
than it is to supply benzol and toluol. However, the
heavy chemical industry has greatly expanded in
response to the demands upon it, and probably at least
1,000,000 tons more of sulphuric acid were made in
1915 than in the previous year. The production of
nitric acid has also increased to a previously undreamed
of figure.

The basis of nitric acid in the United States is now
solely the sodium nitrate known as Chile saltpetre,
imported from Chile. The ammonia obtained from
ammonium sulphate can now be commercially oxidised
to nitric acid, and the ammonia produced in the by-pro-
duct coke works would help to supply a large amount
of this absolutely essential chemical if for any reason
the Chile deposits should be, no longer available.

Since the explosive and dyestuff plants require essen-
tially the same raw material, the same chemicals, and
to a large extent the same apparatus for sulphation and
nitration, it is a simple matter to convert any dyestuff
plant into a foundation for an explosive industry, and,
conversely, an explosives industry can be turned with
comparative ease into a dyestuff industry, if the price of
dyestuffs is sufficient to warrant the change.

* Mining Congress Journal,

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE.

KING’S BENCH DIVISION.—July 12.

Before Mr. Justice Scrutton.

A Bunkering Dispute.

Mann and Company v. Hull, Blyth and Company.—This
was a case with regard to the supply of coal to steamships
for bunker purposes.

Mt. Stuart Bevan (for Messrs. Mann and Company)
explained it was an award stated by arbitrators, and came
before the court in the form of a special case. The dispute
was between two firms, who, with others, were signatories
to an agreement known as the “ Hampton Roads Coaling
(1915) Agreement.” Its object was to regulate the price and
sale of coals to ships for bunkering purposes at Hampton
Roads, U.S.A. Those who signed the agreement were all
agents for coaling firms, and had this agreement been entered
into by the coaling firms themselves, it would have been a
contravention of the anti-trust laws of America. A point
which arose was whether the agreement was legal; another
point was the construction of the clause providing for notice
being given to withdraw from the agreement.

Mr. Justice Scrutton gave judgment without calling upon
Mr. Balloch to reply for Messrs. Hull, Blyth and Company.
He said the agreement was to last for a year, at the end of
which the question arose of new coaling contracts. In that
connection, the meaning of clause 9 had to be considered. It
said that any member might secure freedom of action with
regard to the year 1916 by notification of his intention to
withdraw. Such notice should not be given before
September 10, and should not take effect until 21 days
thereafter. He held that the object of the agreement was
to give everybody a fair start if the combination broke up,
and that Messrs. Mann and Company, who gave notice on
November 9, were wrong in claiming that the agreement
meant 21 days after September 10. As to their further
claim that the agreement was in restraint of trade, the
arbitrator had seen nothing unreasonable in it, and he (Mr.
Justice Scrutton) saw no reason to differ from him. The
decision in the special case would stand, and Messrs. Mann
•and Company must pay the costs.

OBITUARY.

Mr. S. C. Wardell, J.P., one of the best known mining
engineers in the Midlands, died at his residence at Tibshelf
on Saturday at the age of 70, succumbing to pneumonia.
Mrs. Wardell died a month previously of the same malady.

Maj. W. Eaton Walker, of Rock House, Basford, Notting-
ham, managing director of Clifton Colliery, Nottingham, has
received notification of the death in action of his eldest son,
Capt. Guy Walker, of the Sherwood Foresters. Educated at
Nottingham High School and Worksop College, Capt.
Walker was articled to Messrs. Williams, Berryman and
Snook, solicitors, Nottingham. He entered the Sherwood
Foresters some years ago, and was promoted to a captaincy
last vear. Much sympathy will be felt for Major and Mrs.
Walker, who lost a younger son, Lieut. Harry Walker, in
March 1915 at Neuve Chapelle.'

Capt. James Samuel Davidson, Royal Irish Rifles (1st
County Down Volunteers), who has been killed in action,
was the only surviving son of Mr. S. C. Davidson, founder
and managing director of the Sirocco Engineering Works,
Belfast, of which firm Capt. Davidson was himself a
director, and for many years, prior to the outbreak of war,
acted as general manager. He proved a keen and able
officer, and was most popular with all with whom he came
in contact. His gallantry in action, in the words of a
brother officer, deserved the Victoria Cross.

Capt. Geo. Henry Hall 'Scott, of the Queen’s Royal West
Surreys, who was killed in action on July 1, had made his
mark in his profession as a consulting mining engineer, and
was a director of Bolsover and Blackwell Collieries, Derby-
shire, and of Newbiggin Colliery, Northumberland. A
younger son of the late Sir Henry Hall Scott, of Hipsburn,
Northumberland, who received the honour of knighthood for
his services in raising the Northumberland Yeomanry during
the South African War, Capt. Scott was born in 1882.

Mr. J. G. Weeks, who was agent and managing owner
of the Bedlington group of collieries, and also one of the
owners of Seghill Colliery, died at his residence at Bedlington
on Saturday last, aged 74. For over 50 years he was an out-
standing figure in the Northumberland coal field, and was a
representative of the county coal owners at conferences on
wages and other questions with the miners. He was presi-
dent of the North of England Institute of Mining and
Mechanical Engineers from 1900 until 1902. He took a
deep personal interest in the welfare of the workmen, especi-
ally the older men, and it was on his suggestion that the
late Miss Easton erected the Fasten Homes of Rest for the
exclusive use of retired Bedlington miners. He was a county
magistrate and a member of the Bedlington Urban District
Council, until failing health caused him to relinquish most
of his public activities. He represented the coal owners on
the Blyth Harbour Commission up to the time of his death.
He leaves a widow, one son (Mr. R. J. Weeks), and two
daughters.

Mr. Charles Croudace, for many years under-manager at
the Doctor pit, Bedlington Colliery/has died at the age of
74 years. He was in the employ of the Bedlington Coal
Company for 53 years, retiring nine years ago. On the
occasion of a presentation which marked his retirement, Mr.
J. G. Weeks recalled an instance in which, by his ready
resource and promptitude, when a fire occurred at the pit
heaps, Mr. Croudace succeeded in saving the company
thousands of pounds.

Mr. Henry Ness, a well-known Fife coal master, died at
his residence, Hillpark, Dunfermline, on Sunday last. He
began his working life as a miner, and for a number of
years managed Muir'beath and Muircockhall collieries, belong-
ing to the Dunfermline Corporation. On the death of the
lessee, he became the tenant of the Town Council, and at one
time he owned Benarty Colliery, Blairadam. While
residing at Bandrum, near Saline, he sank two pits on the
estate, but the mineral did not prove of marketable value,
and he closed them. Deceased was 79 years of age.

Mr. James Latham, of Atherton, who served for several
periods on the executive of the Miners’ Federation, died
recently at the age of 65. He was closely associated with
miners’ organisations in Lancashire, and also served for
about 12 years on the Atherton Urban District Council.

The late Mr. Thomas Southworth—described as one of
the best-known and most respected of local public men—died

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in Hindley, where he was born in 1834. Since 1855 he was
associated with the business of John Scowcroft and Company
Limited, colliery proprietors, Hindley Green.

Mr. Edward Kenyon, of Woodhouse-lane, Wigan, who
died last week in his 80th year, had been employed for 72
years at the Rose Bridge and Douglas Bank Collieries. He
retired last November on a superannuation granted by the
firm.

Capt. P. A. Murray, mining engineer, of Whitley, has
been killed in action. When war broke out he was engaged
in his profession on the coast of Africa. He was 44 years
of age, and last October married Miss Dorothy Kirkup.

Mr. William Ormerod, of Bacup, for 35 years in business
as a coal merchant, died last week, aged 76 years.

Lieut. H. M. Ormrod, of the King’s Own Yorkshire Light
Infantry, who has been killed in action, was the son of Mr.
John Ormrod, coal merchant, of Alphon sus-street, Old
Trafford, Manchester.

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—July 11.

Coal Prices in Dublin.

Mr. Field asked the President of the Board of Trade
whether he was aware that the freight now levied by ship
owners is a principal factor in the price of coal and other
commodities in Dublin, and whether the Government wfill
take measures to enable a more moderate profit to ship owners
in the interest of consumers.

Mr. Pretyman replied that lie was aware that freights were
an important factor in the price of seaborne commodities.
All practical steps were being taken, and would continue to
be taken, to alleviate the tonnage difficulty.

Mr. Field asked what steps were being taken, as the people
in Dublin were complaining of freights. Their business was
practically stopped.

Mr. Pretyman said that it was the practice to direct the
tonnage as far as possible to those trades and places where
tonnage was most required.

Mr. Thorne asked whether the Board of Trade had power
to prevent ship owners charging extraordinary freights for
coal.

Mr. Pretyman replied not except in the direction indicated,
or by taking ships under Government control. In response
to another query, he promised to enquire into the possibility
of sending some of the captured vessels into the coal trade
to Dublin.

July 12.

Mr. Ginnell asked whether the Foreign Secretary had
obtained and would make available to those interested in
the promotion of peat industries in Ireland after the war
any of the information frequently asked regarding the work-
ing of such industries in other countries, especially in Sweden,
the nature of the bogs, conditions of labour, number employed,
processes, cost of Anrep and other machinery, output,
facilities of transit, value, and financial results for the latest
period for which these were available; if not, whether any
deputation was being sent to Sweden to study those things
there; and, if not, whether facilities would be afforded to
private enquirers to go to Sweden for this purpose.

Lord R. Cecil replied that this matter could not be enquired
into at present, but enquiries wrould certainly be made after
the war. He was not aware of any deputation being sent
to Sweden to study the question, but if any competent and
properly accredited private individuals wished to go there
for this purpose, the British Minister at Stockholm would
afford all proper assistance.

Excess Mineral Rights Duty.

In a debate on Clause 41 of the Finance Bill, relating to
increase of rate of excess mineral rights duty,

Mr. Currie moved the addition to subsection 1 of the
following words : “ Provided that no person shall be liable
to pay excess mineral rights duty whose mineral rent in the
accounting year is less than the average of any two of the
three last pre-war rent values, and any person to whom this
proviso applies who has already been assessed, or has already
paid excess mineral rights duty, shall be entitled to repay-
ment or relief accordingly as the case requires.” He
objected to the present sliding scale arrangement as being
unjust and anomalous.

Mr. Pollock supported the amendment.

Mr. McKenna stated that where the duty on mineral rights
varied with the price of the minerals, the Government based
the charge upon the price of the mineral. Supposing that in
any colliery less coal was worked but a higher price charged
for the output, then it might be true that less would be paid
in respect of mineral rights, because the output was less;
but the rate of mineral rights would be higher, because the
price of the coal was higher. The owner of the mineral
rights if the coal was not worked had still got his mineral
rights on the unworked coal, and he would have received in
respect of the amount of the coal which had been worked an
increased in.come, not in total amount, but according to the
amount of coal worked, because of the rise in the price of
coal. He submitted that that increase of income ought to be
subject to excess duty, otherwise the owner of the mineral
rights would escape paying the excess duty altogether. There-
fore the Government adopted a different principle by charging
according to the value of the minerals, and not according to
■the amount of minerals worked.

The amendment was negatived.

It is stated that Mr. William Brace, M.P. (Under-
secretary of the Home Office), Sir Richard Redmayne (Chief
Inspector of Mines, and chairman of the Coal Supply Organi-
sation Committee), and Mr. Delevingne (df the Home Office),
have arrived at Buxton to confer with the miner’s' leaders on
the question of the suspension of the August holidays and
the continued working of mines.

The office of H.M. Trade Commissioner in Australia reports
that tenders arc invited by the Supply and Tender Board,
Adelaide, for the supply and delivery of 12 weighbridges of
30 tons capacity for 5 ft. 3 in. gauge railway. A copy of
the specification, etc., is available for inspection by United
Kingdom constructors of weighbridges at the office of the
Agent-General for South Australia, 85. Gracechurch-street,
London, E.C.