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In cooperation with the United States Bureau of Mines and the Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology, the University of Idaho offers in the School of Mines a number of fellowships. These fellowships are open to college graduates who have had good training in mining, metallurgy, or chemistry, and who are qualified to undertake research work. The income of each fellowship is $720 a year for the 12 mo. beginning July 1, 1919. Fellows will register as students in the University of Idaho and become candidates for the degree of Master of Science in Mining or Metallurgy (unless this or an equivalent degree has been earned). Their class work-will he directed by the heads of the departments of instruction, but the greater portion of their time will be spent in research work under the direction of the Bureau of Mines staff resident at the University. The purpose f this work is to undertake the solution of definite problems confronting the mining and metallurgical industries of the State of Idaho. For 1919-20 the following subjects are being considered: 1. Flotation-with especial reference to differential separation of various minerals. 2. Availability of western wood oils for flotation purposes. 3. Treatment of the complex gold-silver ores of southern Idaho. 4. Ore-dressing problems. 5. Mining problems. Applications, with certified copy of collegiate record, statement of professional experience, and names and address of three references, should be addressed to The Dean. School of Mines. Moscow Idaho_

Jan 6, 1919

CHARLES F. WILLIS,* Bisbee, Ariz.-(written discussion?).-The consensus of the discussion of the paper of Dr. Lanza indicates that the physical examination, while it is probably a good thing, is fought by the workingman, and that, because of this fact, it has been proved unsuccessful. The physical examination standing alone is worth but little, and could easily be made a subject both of ridicule and dissension unless the company having such examination shows its own good faith in promoting a thoroughly better health program. It is easily seen why a workman would resent his employer expecting him to be physically fit, if at the same time the employer provides un-healthful, unsanitary, working conditions, or if the town in which the employees are expected to live is dirty and unkempt. One mocks the other. The employer cannot say, "You must remain healthy so that I can get by with unhealthy conditions." But if working- conditions are as good as can be obtained to keep men well, the employer can ask his men to be in a healthy condition. A State examination and standard would have many difficulties, owing to the fact that a man would pass or would not pass the standard set, thus eliminating the discretion on the part of the employer in placing men whose physical condition might well permit working in one place and not another. Any physical examination that is run for the purpose of eliminating the physically unfit is unjust, both to the worker and to the nation as a whole; a State examination would make a distinct dividing line, whereas examination by the employer is conducted with a vision of the positions available. The workman's opposition to the physical examination comes from the fact that he has been taught to believe that it is an interference in his personal affairs, that he can be clean or dirty as he chooses, that he can he healthy or unhealthy, and that it is nobody's business but his own. The war has taught us, however, that the individual is no longer the unit and that all such propositions must be based on the greatest good for the greatest number.

Jan 6, 1919

The United States Civil Service Commission announces open competitive examinations for the positions of valuation engineer, assistant valuation engineer, and valuation aid for the Income-tax Unit of the Internal Revenue Bureau. The duties of these positions will involve the estimating of: (1) The quantity of mineral, oil, and gas or timber; (2) the theoretical and market values of mineral, or oil and gas in place, standing timber, and their products; (3) the value of equipment ordinarily used in discovery, exploitation, and utilization of such natural resources; (4) the cost of development, exploitation, and utilization of such natural resources. The entrance salary for each grade, within the range stated, depending on the qualifications of the appointee, is: Valuation engineer, $3600 to $4800 a year, though in exceptional cases higher salaries may be paid; assistant valuation engineer, $2500 to $3600 a year; valuation aid, $1200 to $2500 a year. Applications for valuation aid must have had a bachelor's degree from a college of recognized standing, graduation from a four years' high-school course, or education equivalent to that required for such graduation, and at least four years' experience in the technical branches of one of the industries mentioned in positions tending to qualify them for the duties outlined above.

Jan 6, 1919

The airplane, while not a product of the war, owes its present very prominent place to the war; if it had not been for the war its development would have been retarded many years. War planes were made for various purposes, but their most important use was for photographing the enemies' lines. The same methods; with some modifications, are now

Jan 6, 1919

Seventy-one delegates, representing 74 organizations with a membership in excess of 105,000, attended a conference of technical societies, in Chicago, Apr. 23-25. It was called by Engineering Council, and unanimously adopted a resolution urging Congress to establish a Department of Public Works. This would include the services and bureaus having to do chiefly, with matters of engineering and architecture. Among the bureaus, services, and activities, which logically belong to a Department of Public Works, are the following: Bureau of Public Roads; the United States Reclamation Service; the Alaskan Engineering Commission; the Construction Division of U. S. Army; a Bureau of River, Harbor and Canal work, including such functions as are now exercised by the Mississippi River Commission and the California Debris Commission; a Bureau of Architecture; a Bureau of Surveys, including the Coast and Geodetic Survey; a Bureau of Mines; the Geological Survey; the Forest Service, at least until the same is divorced from the supervision of water powers and road building; and the Bureau of Standards. Later, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: RESOLVED, That this conference be known as the Engineers, Architects, and Constructors Conference on National Public Works; that it continue in existence until dissolved by its own action and that its officers and committees be empowered to further the organization and development of a National Department of Public Works. RESOLVED, That for the purpose of furthering the passage of a bill for the creation of a National Department of Public Works there be set tip by this Conference an Executive Committee, a Committee on Text of Bill, and a Campaign Committee. The Executive Committee shall have the power to create a Finance Committee and other committees and to add to its own membership or to that of its committees.

Jan 6, 1919

JOHN H . NELSON,*Worcester, Mass.-In reply to the question "Is there any final information in regard to the relation between the temperature or the rate of cooling of a piece of heat-treated steel from the drawing temperature, and the so-called notch toughness?" I might say that we have conducted a large series of tests in the study of impacts on chrome-nickel and carbon steels and have gone into the subject of quenching from drawing temperature quite thoroughly but have found that one cannot lay down any definite rule or law with respect to the effect of quenching from the drawing heat. We conducted experiments on the effect of cooling by quenching in water, cooling in air, and burying the coupon in lime. Steels that have practically no impact value when air cooled may show very marked results when they are quenched in water, depending on the temperature at which the drawing is done.

Jan 6, 1919

The program of 'the Chicago meeting, which is to be held Sept. 22-26, is as follows: Monday. Morning-Registration. Afternoon-Technical Session. Evening Smoker. Tuesday. Morning and Afternoon-Excursion by boat to Gary and trip, through United States Steel Co's. plant. Evening-Technical Session. Wednesday. Morning- Technical Session. Afternoon-Technical Session. Evening-Banquet, Congress Hotel. Thursday. Morning and Afternoon-Special train to La Salle and De Pue, Ill., Inspection of Zinc Smelters, Cement Works, and Coal Mines. Trip to Starved Rock and points of historical interest. Evening-Return by train to Chicago. Friday. Morning-Optional trips. 1. East Chicago Metallurgical Plants and Oil Refineries at Whiting, Ind. 2. North Chicago and Milwaukee. 3. Local Chicago Plants. 4. Coal trip to Franklin and McCoupin Counties.

Jan 6, 1919

CHARLES F. WILLIS,* Bisbee, Ariz. (written discussion ?).-There are few mine officials who will not say that there is, great need of vocational schools in mining communities, but the absence of success of so many of these ventures makes them wary about establishing such schools. They have neither the time nor the facilities to study the systems and to analyze the factors that have made certain schools a success and others a failure. In the first place, it is difficult to secure the proper instructors. Educators cannot make the appeal to the workmen, because of their lack of experience, and experienced men who are capable of the appeal are not usually educators, knowing nothing about the presentation of the subject. Then, too, there is ordinarily no objective in a mine school. The workman is not reached by a school that makes him merely a more valuable man to his employer, unless he can participate in the gain. An objective, as promotion or financial gain, would appeal to the man and would make for regular attendance. Usually vocational schools are run like all others-a number of subjects at a time, continued from one day to another. This is impractical for the workman, whose mind cannot work like the mind of a school boy. The school boy is spending most of his time in school work, while the man is doing it as a side issue, and he cannot be expected to pick up tonight's lesson where last night's left off. The workman is accustomed to the idea of completing a job and doing one thing at a time; his mind is trained that way, and for this reason a school that works on the principal that each lesson is a complete job, with no reference to the previous or following lesson, will go a long way toward removing one of the things that has caused many failures. The usual vocational schools .in mining communities are either very elementary, or are run by the engineering staff and, consequently, are too advanced. There is no plan between. It is believed that there is a possibility of a halfway type, but this is a subject that is large enough for a paper by itself and is entirely, too broad to be presented as a discussion.

Jan 6, 1919

GEORGE F. BECKER Dr. George Ferdinand Becker, notice of- whose death appeared in the May Bulletin, was born in New York City Jan. 5, 1847, the son of Alexander Christian Becker, member of a Danish family, and Sarah Cary Tuckernian Becker of Boston. Dr. Becker was the last member of the group of distinguished geologists who, in 1879, were associated with Clarence King at the time of the organization of the United States Geological Survey. He was a leader in mining geology and geophysics, and for many years had been the chief of the Division of Chemical and Physical Research in the Geological Survey, and the investigations under his direction led to the establishment of the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Dr. Becker was a graduate of Harvard University and received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Heidelberg, and in 1871 passed the final examinations at the Royal School of Mines in Berlin. He was for four years an instructor of mining and metallurgy in the University of California, from which he went to the United States Geological Survey. In 1896 he examined the gold and diamond mines f South Africa and at the time of the Spanish-American War was detailed to serve as geologist on the staff of General Bell with the army in the Philippine Islands. He died at his hone in Washington, D. C., on Apr. 20'.1

Jan 6, 1919

During the war, American chemists were puzzled as to the scource of the enormous amount of sulfuric acid the Germans were able to secure. Information now in the hands of the Bureau of Mines shows. that at no time during the war was there any particular stringency in Germany's supply of this acid. During the early months of the war, before conventions could be made with neutral countries, very large shipments of pyrites were made to Germany; in fact, the importation of pyrites into Germany continued in some volume throughout the war. This reserve built up at the beginning of the war gave Germany time to find new resources of sulfuric acid. A noteworthy development of the Meggen pyrites took place and other pyrite beds were opened in Germany and Hungary. Considerable sulfur was also obtained from Asia Minor. In addition, Germany made important use of its rich beds of blende and galena. Means was found promptly to eliminate the lead dust, which has been a source of trouble in the contact process of manufacture. Kaiserite and plaster of Paris also were sources of sulfuric acid; some sulfur was also obtained by purifying gas at coke plants. As a matter of fact, sulfuric acid was so plentiful in Germany near the close of the war that restrictions on its use by industries were rapidly being lifted.

Jan 6, 1919

The Ural Mountains, which were formerly the dividing line between Asia and Siberia, area chain of low mountains, the highest peaks reaching only a little over 5000 ft. The country has been much eroded and the mountains now appear as rounded hills. In the central and northern parts turf swamps abound. The range is covered with forests except at the extreme southern end. The trees are mostly pine. Birch grows on cut-over areas, but never to large size. The rivers are small or the fall is slight, so no large water powers are available. A series of rivers with a north and south course, and which are navigable for long distances, furnish cheap transportation during the summer months. Railroad communications are very insufficient. The first active exploitation of the mineral wealth was initiated by Peter the Great, who sought iron and copper for use in his wars against the Swedes. He selected a blacksmith named Demidoff to supervise operations and gave him rights to most of the Ural and to the Altai. The Nijni Tagil Estates are still in the possession of the Demidoff family. The original large grant was subsequently subdivided through inheritance and marriage, but the Ural is still a country of very large estates, some of them held as leases only and some of them by actual ownership.

Jan 6, 1919

I. N. KNAPP, Ardmore, Pa. (written discussion*).-The possibility of storing natural gas in the sands f exhausted gas pools might be, in many cases, a, good engineering proposition, but it cannot be considered a practical business proposition tinder the usual competitive leasing and operating conditions that exist in the natural-gas business. Under the usual conditions of diversified land ownership and leasing with all lack of cooperation, various operators drill into the same pool or reservoir and drain out the gas under each other's land. To attempt to use for storage purposes the depleted sands f any one pool having such various competing ownerships would be highly impractical, considered from operating and business standpoints, unless there was cooperation with the interests owning adjacent wells and leases or the purchase f the same. Also, it would be very difficult to find out whether all old or abandoned wells in any pool had been properly, plugged and thus prevent the waste of gas brought from a distance for storage. Another objection to Mr. Panyity's proposition is the probability that no lease made in the past contemplated the use of a gas sand for storage purposes. Very likely, then, the operator would have a lawsuit on his hands for the unlawful use of a lease if he attempted the storage f such gas without first obtaining additional lease rights. In some instances salt water could not be pumped from a gas well in the customary way of pumping oil wells on account of the deposition of salt in the pump valves or in the working barrel or tubing. Very ingenious compressed air jets have been devised and arranged with suitable piping to blow out such salt-water accumulations. In many pools it would be impracticable to drill a water pocket below a gas sand, as suggested, since such deeper drilling would probably. intensify water troubles.

Jan 5, 1919

D. B. DOWLING,* Ottawa, Ont.-I do not propose to start any argument, but really there is a comeback to what Mr. Coste says.1 Geography is probably not geology, but geology is geography. You cannot regard structure as geography on the surface, but it is geology as soon as you get under the surface. In Canada, it is quite true that they went too close to the Rocky Mountains. When boring in the foothills, as Mr. Coste says, they were too close to the mountains where they got into a faulted area, and if there had been storage, it probably would have lost a good deal of the oil. The situation in the Calgary field is one that might be interpreted in many ways, but in front f the foothills there is a very deep syncline. The gas and oil that is recovered on the edge of the, foothills is of such a nature that we must assume that it is not the pure crude oil. It seems to be somewhat refined, or a condensation product. The solution, or at least the argument that appeals to me, is that as the deeper part of that basin is, say, 6000 ft. below sea level, there must have been some breaking up of the oil on account of pressure and of the heat, and we are getting gas, traveling up toward the surface in the foothills; and as it comes up, it probably condenses again, and is caught in folds on the edge of the syncline so that we have a natural condensing machine there. The oil is not found on the eastern side of the folds, it is found on the western side. On the eastern side and on the summit there is a little light oil, gasoline, we will say, blowing into the well once in a while; now that looks like a natural condensation of the gas and a storage behind the summit.

Jan 5, 1919

OIL FLOTATION DISCUSSED BY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SECTION . A meeting of the Section was held in the home of R. H. Norton, 335 W. 27th Street, on Mar. 10, thirty-two members and five guests being present. Vice-chairman Staunton opened the meeting with a description of an experiment he made with oil flotation, and then introduced the guest and speaker of the evening, L. C. Penhoel, of the South-western Engineering Co., who gave a very interesting and informal talk on the subject of Flotation. During the talk, as points were raised, there was a general discussion, in which valuable information was brought out. A number of examples of successful competitive, results by cyanidation and flotation in large milling plants in this country and Mexico were cited and discussed. The latter part of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of the bill introduced in the California State Senate, to license and register engineers. Mr. Ernest Strout gave a most favorable opinion of the principal of licensing mining engineers from his extensive experience in the working out of such a law on the Rand. All members who spoke were opposed to this bill as drafted but felt that the subject was of too great importance to the profession to attempt to amend the present bill in the week or two that remains, and that the passage of a bill that was so crude and inefficient for the achievement of the results desired, would harm the engineering profession. After the meeting adjourned a short time was spent in social intercourse, during which light refreshments were served. The appreciation and thanks of the Section is extended to Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Norton for their hospitality. ALVIN B. CARPENTER, Secretary-Treasurer.

Jan 5, 1919

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during. the period Mar. 10, 1919, to Apr. 10, 1919. AFFLECK, B. F., Pres., Universal Portland Cement Co., 210 So. La Salle St., Chicago, Ill. BENSUSAN, ARTHUR J., The Ouro Preto Gold Mines of Brazil, Ltd., Passagem de Marianna, Minas Geraes, Brazil, S. A. BIERBAUM, CHRISTOPHER H., Cons. Engr., & Vice-pres., Lumen Bearing Co., Buffalo, N. Y . DEWITT, OSCAR E., Geol., Vinegar Hill Zinc Co., 622 North Court St., Platteville, Wis. DOTY, L. C Mine Supt., Bullion Beck & Champion Co., Box C, Eureka, Utah. ESPIE, FRANK F Burma Mines, Ltd., Namtu, Upper Burma, Asia. FOZARD, J. L., Gen'l Supt., Beatson Mines, Kennecott Copper Corpn., Latouche, Alaska. GRANT, BENERE Supt., Bulluhacker Min. Co., Butte Mont. HARDEL, JEAN A., Engr., French Government, 21 Rue du Colonel Moll, Paris, France. JANSSEN, WALTER A., Operating Mgr., Canadian Steel Foundries.Ltd., 120 St. James St., Transportation Bldg., Montreal, Canada. KNOWLES, RALPH Roy, Supt., Radium Plant, The Minerals Recovery Co., 457 So. Elati St. Denver Colo.

Jan 5, 1919

CHAIRMAN (J . E. JOHNSON, J R., New York, N. Y.).-It may be n matter of some interest that sodium cyanide is now being made commercially by melting together in an electric furnace calcium cyanide with a common salt, which produces calcium chloride and sodium cyanide. It seems to me entirely possible that you have here about the same results that would be obtained by melting calcium chloride and ordinary cyanide together, only you obtain it a good deal cheaper. There is no doubt about that reaction once it is being carried on on a large industrial scale for the manufacture of cyanide for other uses. I think probably the same, thing takes place here, with the possible exception of lowering the melting point due to the presence of the calcium chloride.

Jan 5, 1919

A bibliography of the use of pulverized coal for the years 1917 and 1918 has been compiled by the Library for the Institute. It comprises three typewritten sheets. Copies may be obtained by those interested at $2 per copy.

Jan 5, 1919

J. S. UNGER,* Pittsburg, Pa, . (written discussion?).-The author of the paper has given an excellent description of the appliances used to cool parts of an open-hearth furnace, and some of the reasons why the refractories fail in service. Personally, I favor water-cooling, but to a limited degree. At one time I advocated more universal cooling than is now practised, but believe I must change my mind. Water-cooled, thin-lined blast furnaces have not proved as satisfactory as anticipated. While this may retard the building of many such furnaces, it will not prevent the use of regular tuyere- and bosh-cooling appliances. Water-cooling any furnace may be easily carried to the extreme. In an open-hearth furnace, excessive port or roof cooling, or cooling the working floors may preserve the lines of the furnace, lower the cost of refractories, acid to the comfort of the workmen, and necessitate fewer shutdowns for repairs, but it may not be good economy on account of the high first cost, the cost of cooling water, maintenance of cooling appliances, and the immediate reflection in a higher fuel cost. The question becomes a financial one, and is answered by using water-cooling devices up to the point at which they cease to show true economies. Open-hearth furnace bulkheads, roofs, and ports fail rapidly in about the order named. If they could be made to last indefinitely by water-cooling, the furnace would still have to be shut clown periodically for cleaning the slag pockets, regenerator chambers, and flues. Extra, or spare, pockets and regenerator chambers have been advocated to permit of continuous operation, but the space required, the cost of installation, and the fuel required to initially heat such cold chambers will largely prevent their adoption. Some particular fuels, as high-ash powdered coal, require frequent stoppages for cleaning, but for this particular fuel a special provision can' be made.

Jan 5, 1919

J. A. MATHEWS, * Syracuse, N. Y. (written discussion?).-The reagent described by Mr. Archer seems to be a selective reagent, useful in one particular field. Nevertheless, the field is one in which it is likely to prove of considerable value, because there is a great deal of alloy steel FIG. 1.-ETCHED 1 HR. IN ARCHER'S FIG. 2.-ETCHED 1 HR. IN ARCHER'S REAGENT. PLOD 60. X 188. REAGENT. IZOD 10. X 188. heat-treated to approximately the properties mentioned in the paper. If it is found, by further tests, to be applicable to a wider range of compositions than merely chrome-nickel steels, for the most part discussed by Mr. Archer, its value will be thereby increased to just the extent to which it can be applied. In view of the fact that certain of these chrome-nickel steels, very similar in physical properties and hardness, show very different results in the Izod or notch test, and in view of the fact that when such differences are noted in the fracture the brittle steels usually

Jan 5, 1919

FREDERICK LAIST, * Anaconda, Mont. (written discussion?).-All who are interested in the treatment of oxidized copper ores by leaching have been awaiting the publication of this paper, which comes up to our expectations in all respects. Messrs. Tobelmann and Potter are to he congratulated upon the excellent way in which they have set forth the workings of the process as applied at Ajo. Numerous attempts have been made to apply the electrolytic copper process but all have failed, except the installation of the Chile Copper Co., at Chuquicamata. Some of these failures were due to insufficient financial backing and inadequate ore reserves, which necessitated opera-

Jan 5, 1919