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Discussion of the paper of C. W. WASHBURNE, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 93,. September, 1914, pp. 2365 to 2378. ROSWELL H. JOHNSON, Pittsburgh, Pa.-It seems to me rather important to bear in mind one thing which is sometimes lost sight of, that the marine sedimentary rocks are laid down in water. We have to start with an initial charge of water. That being so, and the surface tension between the water and the -oil being as slight as it is, as referred to by Mr. Washburne,. the phenomena of capillarity are bound to be most important as between the liquid surface and the gas surface. So far as the liquid-gas surface is concerned, capillarity, in my opinion, is of the utmost importance, and it seems to me this paper of Mr. Washburne's is of great value to us for that reason. Starting out as we have, with our attention concentrated upon gravitational sorting, we have had to wait for the discussion of movement furnished by Munn, and this discussion of capillarity by Washburne, for a more balanced view of the situation. It seems to me that in the accumulation of oil and gas we have a problem of the interworking of gravitational sorting, capillarity, viscosity, immiscibility, and movement. All five things seem to me to be important. I would have expected Mr. Washburne to have given a fuller treatment of the relation of movement to capillarity. In my own experiments I find that gravitation and capillarity alone seem remarkably impotent when everything is at rest, but if I furnish a little movement, gravitation and capillarity step in and accomplish a great many results that one would not expect. Take a horizontal tube and fill a portion at the middle with an ordinary sand saturated with oil, and then put water and sand in each end, and the tube may remain at rest a very long time without that oil distributing itself along the top of the tube. But with a little motion that oil will gradually work up to the upper side. So gravitation and capillarity alone are rather impotent unless they get this element of movement. It would not be necessary to have very extensive movement, but some degree of movement is essential. Now if natural gas, in addition to the method of origin by the action of bacteria on organic matter in mud, may also arise by pressure at great depth, as the overburden is added, a great deal of motion may result. I think more motion is produced in this way than by the descent of meteoric waters.

Jan 4, 1915

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members.) Members and guests who registered at Institute headquarters during the period Feb. 10 to Mar. 10, 1915: W. R. Van Liew, Batoum, Russia. Edward S. Jones, Scranton, Pa. Olof Wenstrom, Boston, Mass. Scott Turner, Tromso, Norway. D. G. Miller, Denver, Colo. A. H. Boyd, Denver, Colo. E. E. Olcott, New York, N. Y. M. M. Thompson, Morsemere, N. J. Francis R. Pyne, Elizabeth, N. J. F. C. Merry, Brooklyn, N. Y. Charles W. Goodale, Butte, Mont. Charles A. Filteau has been appointed General Manager for the Inca Mining & Development Co., Province of Carabaya, Department of Puno, Peru. Charles T. Kruse has been appointed Superintendent of the Jones & r, Loughlin mines in the Marquette and Menominee ranges.

Jan 4, 1915

Meeting of Feb. 16, 1915.-The Committee on Membership was appointed with the following personnel: John H. Janeway, Chairman; Karl Filers, Lewis W. Francis, Louis D. Huntoon, and Thomas H. Leggett. President Saunders announced the appointment of the Committee on Increase of Membership, as shown on p. xxviii of this Bulletin. The reproduction by the anastatic process of 100 copies of Volume IX of the Institute Transactions was authorized. The sum of $50 and the exchange of the Bulletin. was awarded to the commission publishing the Annual Table of Constants. The sum of $49.07 was contributed to the expense of the John Fritz Medal Board of Award for the year 1914, and the Institute agreed in the future to share the annual expense for the John Fritz Medal Board of Award not to exceed one-quarter of $500 in the year. Upon the recommendation of the Committee on Membership, 36 Members, 1 Associate, and 13 Juniors were elected. The resignations of 26 members were accepted. L. D. Ricketts was elected a Vice-President of the Institute to serve the unexpired term of W. L. Saunders. George D. Barron was elected a Director to serve the unexpired term of L. D. Ricketts.

Jan 4, 1915

Discussion of a paper of S. S. Rummy and W. F. SCHWEDES, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 94, October, 1914, pp. 2613 to 2635. K. A. PAULY, Schenectady, N. Y.-I have seen this installation and I wish all those interested in the question of electricity as a mine pumping agent could see it. It is not only a model for mine installation, but might well serve as a model for any electrically driven pumping plant. I think I am correct in saying that the pumps are the largest electrically operated centrifugal pumps in mine service in America. I talked with Mr. Rumsey in Duluth just before coming here, and he told me that the actual tests of the equipment as installed checked very closely with the shop tests; that the water delivered by the pumps was slightly in excess of the guarantee, something like 3 or 4 per cent., and that no troubles except of a very minor nature had been experienced with the installation from the start. One point which has been brought out by Mr. Rumsey, and by others who have looked into this question, is the marked saving which' can be made by the application of electricity to pumps, especially to the main sump pumps. The pumps are always located a long distance from the boiler plant and the losses in the steam mains are large. While many of the steam pumps are of a very high grade, yet the tests seemed to indicate that the steam consumption is extremely large. The reduction in operating cost of one small installation which I. have in mind pumping against a head of approximately 2,000 ft.-which by the way was a reciprocating pump-reduced the pumping cost to the neighborhood of one-fifth of the previous steam cost. . The high steam cost was probably due to leakage in the engine and the loss in transmission in the mine, the pumps being located almost half a, mile from the boiler plant.

Jan 4, 1915

Discussion of the paper of HOWARD N. EAVENSON, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 94, October,' 1914, pp. 2637 to 2660. GEORGE S. RICE, Pittsburgh, Pa.-I think it is very wise to point out the greater liability to explosions in certain parts of the year, if there be such difference, with the caution, however, that vigilance be not relaxed at other times. In comparing the figures for the United States with those of Europe, I think we should separate them as far as possible according to cause of origin and means of propagation. That is to say, it would appear to me that the majority of our explosions are due more directly to the ignition of coal dust directly from the flame of explosives, whereas, judging from my inquiries and observations in some of the mines of Europe, the majority of their explosions have been caused by the ignition of fire damp. Now, in the case of fire damp, I do not think that anybody has yet attempted or has been able to find any connection between the seasons and the issuance of methane into mines. One thing must be borne in mind, that if you get a strong explosion of fire damp, dust of a character that might not ignite readily by itself might assist in the extension of an explosion of fire damp through a considerable area in the mine, if not throughout the mine. While it is true we have many lesser explosions in this country attributable to fire damp, it would appear that the majority of all the mine explosions of the country, in considering the means of propagation beyond the locality of the origin, are due to coal dust; and it is the liability to coal-dust explosions that appears to be affected by seasonal changes. Hence the desirability of separating statistically (if it could be done by the inspectors) fire-damp explosions from coal-dust explosions, in order to obtain the true value of the seasonal effect. Nevertheless, in spite of the inclusion of fire-damp explosions with coal-dust explosions, the preponderance of the evidence, as indicated in Mr. Eavenson's figures for American mines, has shown that' in this country there were more explosions in the winter and spring months, when the mines are drier; that is, when the mines are apt to be drier. Whereas, according to the European figures that he has gathered, it seems to be very clearly demonstrated that in France, England, and Belgium, the time when explosions occur has no connection with any particular season. That, I think, is partly due to the point just mentioned, that a majority of their explosions have originated from fire damp. The European mining men have been more careful, generally speaking, with the use of explosives than we have, so that the cause of ignition from that source has been less. Only comparatively few of the mines in foreign

Jan 4, 1915

Reply to discussion of the paper of C. W. Washburne, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1914 (Trans., xlviii, 687 to 694 (1914)). C. W. WASHBURNE, New York, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary*).-Professor Lane makes an interesting contribution to the study. of chloride waters, in saying that calcium chloride waters occur not only in the greenstones of the Lake Superior copper mines, but also in the interbedded -felsitic conglomerates and "in far-removed sandstones, e.g., near Whitefish lake, and Ontonagon, in the Michigan iron mines, and in the Storm King granite." Surely these are not connate waters preserved from the Algonkian sea, assuming that the Algonkian sediments are marine rather than continental. Finding the same type of water in the Storm King granite points rather toward an abyssal source. The possible connection of these waters with the magma of the greenstone is immaterial, although some basic calcic magma is the most probable source. It is to be expected that the ascending water of the region would be found not only in the greenstones, but in all the rocks which it could penetrate. The ascent of water of this kind along vertical passages, and the consequent addition of a common ion: to the circulating sedimentary salt solutions, would explain the precipitation and localization of the "giant, concretionary" salt plugs of the Gulf Coast, without making the ex-excessive demand for an improbable quantity of salt in the adjacent sediments that is required by the unmodified theory of Harris. With-out such a precipitating medium most of the dissolved sodium chloride would have been lost by passing on to the surface without precipitation. The base to which the chlorine ions were attached is immaterial, providing they were sufficiently concentrated, but the presence of the chlorides of calcium and magnesium in the solutions is indicated by the associated bodies of secondary dolomite.

Jan 4, 1915

Discussion of the paper of O. P. Hood, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 94, October, 1914, pp. 2607 to 2611. R. V. Norris, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-I have had a little experience with gasoline locomotives and I want to indorse very strongly Mr. Hood's point with regard to the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. I think .the terrible danger is not fully realized. I was foolish enough some time ago, in investigating a gasoline locomotive, to attempt to walk out of the mine entry behind it, and for several days I felt very seriously the carbon monoxide effects. The use of gasoline locomotives ought to be confined to mine entries where there is a very large amount of air. One of the grave dangers is their great convenience and the temptation to run them into chambers for just a few moments to get a car or two. GEORGE S. RICE, Pittsburgh, Pa.-Apparently one of the great dangers is in the style of the gasoline engine. When my attention was. first directed to the type of gasoline locomotives which I saw in the foreign mines-France, Belgium, and Germany, I was most favorably impressed with them, and they have given no trouble on account of fumes, so far as I could learn. Large numbers of them were being used, but all were of small capacity, and of a kind in which the speed control is by a governor of the hit-or-miss type, the engine running continuously. Their power capacity was very low, if I remember correctly it was not over 4 or 5 h.p., but they were used under favorable conditions where the grades in the mines were slight, since the entries or tunnels bad a slight grade in favor of-the load, making about the same pull for the empties against the grade as for the load with the grade. I understand the hit-or-miss valve arrangement enables a setting that will give more perfect combustion than can be insured with the valve controlled by the operating man, as in the automobile type of valve and engine used in this country. Apparently the European type of locomotive does not have the capacity to permit use under the conditions existing in this country, where most of our entries or tunnels have variable grades and long heavy trips of mine cars are used.

Jan 4, 1915

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period Jan. 10 to Feb. 10, 1915: Members AGASSIZ, RUDOLPH Louis, Vice-Pres.,Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., Boston, Mass. AMIDON, RICHARD G., Min. Engr 3659 Girard Ave. N., Minneapolis, Minn. ANDERSON, HECTOR G. S., Min. Engr 323 N. 13th St., Muskogee, Okla. ANDERSON, JOHN CARTER, Petroleum Engr 2307 S. 33d St., Omaha, Neb. CLARKE, ALEXANDER FIELDER, Works Mgr., Firth-Sterling Steel Co., McKeesport, Pa. CROSS, CARLOS GARCIA, Min. Engr Calle Valparaiso 194, Vina del Mar, Chile. DAWSON, THOMAS WILLIAM, Min. Engr., Asst. Chief Engr., H. C. Frick Coke Co., Scottdale, Pa.

Jan 3, 1915

(Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons.) Opening for three unmarried draftsmen with large mining company in Chile, S. A. Two must be designers familiar with the layout and detail work connected with a large milling and smelting plant; the third must be good steel designer. Salary starts day of leaving New York; all expenses paid to Chile and return; three-year agreement required. Applicants should state age, experience, and- salary expected. No. 27. ENGINEERS AVAILABLE (Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary. of the Institute by members or other persons introduced by members.) Member, aged 43, with 25 years' experience as engineer, examiner, and superintendent of steel, copper, lead, nickel, gold mines, and plants. Record for organizing and handling work quickly and economically even in remote districts. Last position five years' heavy reconstruction work covering blast furnaces, converters, roasting and refining plant. Ready to go anywhere, similar fields. Speaks German. No. 188.

Jan 3, 1915

By F. Julius Fohs

WITH portions of two coal basins within its borders and a few scattered fields already developed, the question arises: What is the future of Ken-tucky as an oil-producing State? Is the long list of failures due to lack of 'commercial pools, or unintelligent prospecting? A study of its beds and irregularities of structure points not only to a large waste of development money on unpromising areas, but also to the presence of a few structures well worthy of development. The surface rocks of Kentucky show in succession more than 4,000 ft. of Paleozoic sediments and more than 2,000 ft. of Cretaceous, Tertiary, and more recent deposits. Folding and erosion have brought these beds to the surface, where they have been observed and studied: in detail by my associate, James H. Gardner, myself, and others. This has given opportunity to observe the beds offering suitable reservoirs and having the proper impermeable covering; also the mapping of outcrops and outcrop lines, taken in conjunction with available well records, indicates that certain areas are worth testing, and with even greater definiteness shows areas which should be excluded, as devoid of possibilities. West of the Tennessee River, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary sediments occur so that all trace of ancient folding is obliterated, the sediments overlapping unconformably Mississippian rocks. This area embraces 2,000 square miles, or one-twentieth of the area of the State, the Paleozoic rocks covering the remainder. Since there is nothing upon which to base the location of tests for oil and gas in the Cretaceous-Tertiary beds of Kentucky, the Paleozoic area will be chiefly considered.

Jan 3, 1915

By W. R. Shimer

IN his valuable report on Finishing Temperatures and Properties of Rails, I Dr. G. K. Burgess, Chief of the Division of Metallurgy, U. S. Bureau of Standards, has begun a line of investigation which should be continued by those interested in the subject, and who have proper facilities for carrying put the work. For the past year or more the Bethlehem Steel Co. has been conducting experiments to learn the effect of rail finishing temperatures on their physical properties and microstructure and the results are here given for the consideration of those interested in the rail situation. . Considerable differences of opinion have been expressed by various authorities, in the past, as to the effect of large or small grain size and high or low finishing temperatures of steel rails on their physical properties and wearing qualities. Low finishing temperatures and, therefore, low shrinkage, have been advocated on the theory that the wearing qualities would be improved. Others have recommended high finishing temperatures. The generally accepted cause for rail failures, due to the development ,of transverse fissures, is excessive wheel pressure on hard rails. One of the causes advanced for hard rails has been that they contain too high per centages of carbon and manganese; another that the rails were finished at too low a temperature, i.e., at or near the critical point. In the experiments herein described the rails were rolled from reheated blooms. All the rail blooms were charged hot in a reheating furnace and brought up to about the original ingot-rolling temperature before rolling into rails. These rails gave better results in deflection, withstood a greater number of drops before breaking, and showed greater ductility, than. rails of identically the same composition and section which were rolled, direct from the ingot. Rails rolled from reheated blooms, finished at somewhat higher temperatures than when rolled direct from the ingot, have a different microstructure, which the writer does not believe is due so much to the difference in finishing temperatures, as to the difference in

Jan 3, 1915

By Walther Mathesus

INTRODUCTION THE use of high blast heats on furnaces melting Mesaba ores is still the exception, the average blast temperatures carried on Mesaba stacks seldom reaching 1,100° F. Some 15 years ago, when the use of fine Mesaba ores in larger proportions to the total burden first came into practice, it was found difficult to employ even those blast heats which it had been possible to carry with the Old Range ores. The furnaces refused to "take" high heats, and would persistently labor with irregular stock movement, which impaired the practice and increased the coke consumption. By lowering the blast temperature, the working of the furnace became smoother, and experience taught that with the softer and more easily reduced Mesaba ores, satisfactory practice could be obtained with comparatively low blast heats. Therefore a large number of Mesaba furnaces have ever since been operated on very low blast temperatures, ranging between 800° and 1,000° F. In the face of these difficulties, furnace men were slow to recognize that furnaces could be so designed as to permit a free movement of the charges in combination with the use of higher heats. Since higher blast temperatures did not seem to offer great advantages in the smelting of Mesaba ores, investments in hot-blast stoves were not as attractive to the furnace man as labor-saving devices and means of obtaining greater tonnages. The effect of this preference is keenly felt at the present time. It has brought about the peculiar situation, that the majority of our furnace plants (among them some of the most progressive) lack modern and efficient stove equipment. The result is that, even where the proper furnace lines have been adopted and conditions are now favorable to the successful employment of higher blast temperatures, the heats required for the greatest fuel economy are not available.

Jan 3, 1915

New York L. W. FRANCIS, Chairman, WILLARD S. MORSE, Vice-Chairman. THOMAS T. READ, Secretary, Woolworth Bldg., New York, N. Y. P. A. MOSMAN, Treasurer. LOUIS D. HUNTOON. WILLIAM A. POMEROY. Boston HENRY L. SMYTH, Chairman. ALFRED C. LANE, Vice-Chairman. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary-Treasurer, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. ROBERT H. RICHARDS, ALBERT SAUVEUR. Columbia FRANK A. ROSS Chairman. RUSH J. WHITE, Vice-Chairman. LYNDON K. ARMSTRONG, Secretary-Treasurer, P. O. Drawer 2154, Spokane, Wash. FREDERIC KEFFER, FRANCIS A. THOMSON.

Jan 3, 1915

On Wednesday evening, Jan. 27, 1915, were held in the auditorium of the Engineering Societies Building the inaugural exercises of The Engineering Foundation, established by the United Engineering Society. The initial gift to the Foundation of $200,000, made by Ambrose Swasey, Past President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, was formally accepted at this time. So far as known this is the first instance of a foundation devoted to engineering purposes. This meeting con-stituted also an appropriate tribute to the generous gift made to the Foundation and gave opportunity for expression of the satisfaction and approval which are felt by engineers everywhere at the establishment of a means of promoting the good of mankind through the work of the engineer along the broadest lines. Gano Dunn, President of the United Engineering Society and Past President of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, acted as presiding officer, and on the platform were seated representatives of the three societies constituting the United Engineering Society, and of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Members of the four societies and many other friends interested in the profession composed the audience.

Jan 3, 1915

By Howard Hughes

IN drilling for water and oil to reasonable depths through the generally soft yielding clay and sand formation of the Coastal Plain of Texas, . Louisiana, and Mississippi, the rotating method of drilling was adopted, principally on account of the easy and quick penetration, and the low cost of the drilling plant. In favorable ground, free of heavy gravel and rock strata, as much as 1,000 ft. has been drilled in less than 36 hr., although such performances were of course rare. Hydraulic rotary drilling, or, as it is now called, rotary drilling, was used in the above States as early as 1880. The plant consisted of an ordinary derrick, a 25-h.p. boiler, a small hoist, a steam pump, and a water swivel with hose attachment, and an ordinary flat diamond-pointed bit. The successful drilling in of a phenomenal oil well by this process on Spindletop, near Beaumont, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1901, and the ascertained impracticability of drilling subsequent wells in the same locality by other methods (owing principally to heavy quicksand under pressure from below), brought rotary drilling into great prominence, practically to the exclusion of any other process throughout the Coastal Plain, and later on elsewhere. The method, as its name implies, involves the rotation of a pipe by means of machinery placed on the derrick floor. A drill bit attached to the lower end cuts a clearance for the drill pipe, with much the same motion and effect as an auger. Water forced through the drill pipe by means of a pump, and escaping through the bit, removes the cuttings and returns to the surface outside the drill pipe. In this manner the hole is kept open, permitting the drill stem to rotate freely. The pressure of the column of muddy water holds up the walls of the hole until it has been cased. Practically all the wells of the Gulf coast region, numbering nearly 10,000, have been drilled with this system. During the last five years its use has been extended to many other States and countries.

Jan 3, 1915

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members.) Members and guests who registered at Institute headquarters during .the period Jan. 10 to Feb. 10, 1915: N. H. Emmons, 2d, Dover, Mass. R. 0. Hocking, Redruth, England. Paul W. Gaebelein, Cornucopia, Ore. G. H. Carnahan, New York, N. Y. H. D. Kinney, Easton, Pa. W. A. Wilson, Salt Lake City, Utah. W. D. McDougall, New York, N. Y. H. V. Winchell, Minneapolis, Minn. Kirby Thomas, New York, N. Y. Mrs. H. V. Winchell, Minneapolis, Minn. V. T. Lawshe, Newark, N. J. Keijiro Nishio, Tokyo, Japan. Henry S. Stebbins, who has been connected with the firm of Oglebay, Norton & Co., Cleveland, since 1892, has resigned to accept a position with M. A. Hanna & Co. of the same city. E. L. Newhouse has been chosen First Vice-President of the American Smelting & Refining Co. in place of the late Barton Sewell.

Jan 3, 1915

By J. B. Tyrell

A SHORT time ago I paid a visit to the alluvial gold fields on the tributaries of the Chaudière River in Beauce County, Quebec, in company with A. 0. Dufresne, late manager of the Champs d'Or Rigaud-Veaudreuil, and now Assistant to the Superintendent of Mines of the Province of Quebec. As the conditions under which the gold occurs in this district are not very generally known, and present some interesting features, a brief description of these conditions, and a consideration of the causes which gave rise to them, may be of interest to other mining engineers. During the latter half of last century the country was visited by many mining engineers and geologists, and many references to it may be found in the reports of the Geological Survey of Canada between 1848 and 1911. The most important of these are by J. A. Dresser and J. Keele and the late Robert Chalmers. The Department of Colonization and Mines of the Province of Quebec also published a report with map on the district by J. Obalski. From the earliest times the valley of the Chaudière River formed one of the main avenues of approach to the St. Lawrence in the vicinity of Quebec from the country to the south as far as the seaboard of the States of Maine and Massachusetts. The Indians had a well-known trail along the banks of the stream, and armed troops and foraging parties constantly moved backward and forward along it between Quebec and New England in those insecure times before the ceding of Canada to Great Britain. Even yet the natural advantages of this old military route are recognized, and the government of the -Province of Quebec has now under construction along it a magnificent highway from Quebec to the International Boundary Line, which is to form part of a through highway from that city to Boston; The land along the valley is naturally well suited for agriculture, and about the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries farmers began to go back from the St. Lawrence, and to occupy the higher lands along the upper portions of the Chaudière Valley. This settlement has gone on until now the country is peopled with a prosperous agricultural population.

Jan 3, 1915

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. on all week-days, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received. may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 3, 1915

The work of the Committee during the year 1914 was especially directed to the securing of a larger representation in the Institute of those engaged in coal mining and coking. While these industries exceed in volume and in monetary importance all other mining industries in the United States, the membership of the Institute representing them has in recent years been relatively small. It was thought that an increase in the membership of the Institute obtained from among those engaged in these industries was desirable in order to increase interest in the work of the Institute, for this result can only be reached by securing the presentation and publication of a larger number of papers relating to these industries. It is evident that the reading of such papers will tend to increase the attendance at the local and general meetings of the Institute. Sessions of the Coal and Coke Committee were held and a number of papers relating to these subjects were presented at the meetings at Butte, Salt Lake, and Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh meeting especially being planned with this in view. The activities of the Local Section of the Institute organized in the Pennsylvania Anthracite region have reawakened interest in that district and it is hoped that the same object can be obtained in the bituminous coal fields, either through the organization of one or more. local sections, affiliation with some of the local coal-mining societies, or through activities of the Coal and Coke Committee. Referring to the work of the Committee in its efforts to increase the membership of the Institute, the Committee desires to acknowledge the services rendered by many members scattered throughout the various coal-mining districts of the United States, in compiling lists of those qualified for membership in the Institute, but who have not yet become members. The lists so compiled comprised about 1,100 names, which were furnished to the Committee by the co-operation of 40 or 50 members of the Institute.

Jan 3, 1915

By J. Parke Channing

THESE days of great industrial and social problems in America produce many suggested solutions and great changes. The practical engineer and employer of labor views these problems differently from the labor leader or the social reformer, but as never before he is sincerely interested in solving them in a way that will be just to all. The inevitable tendency of the day is toward "industrial betterment," "safety," "industrial education," "efficiency," and the many other things' which have become so familiar to progressive employers. There is no longer any question that these things are worth while from both the hu¬man and economic standpoints. They "pay" in dollars and cents. The very center of final success in improving conditions and increasing the efficiency of workingmen must be the spirit of fairness and a knowledge on the part of the employer of how to deal sympathetically and intelligently with his employees. Every progressive employer knows how greatly he desires foremen, superintendents, managers and others who possess these qualities. On the other hand, we are all familiar with serious mistakes made by young graduates of engineering schools who have had no opportunity to develop these qualities, and who have no real appreciation of the worth of the workers. Indeed, one wonders whether much ill-feeling, labor difficulties, and many strikes could not be avoided if such men had the right attitude. Is there any way of remedying this condition? If this particular difficulty can be solved, if these young engineers, many of whom are our coming leaders of industry, can be given the right perspective and the right understanding of these other problems in addition to fair, sympathetic methods of handling men, many of our other problems will be solved-not at once, but gradually and permanently, as these men make good and become influential in paths of industrial righteousness and industrial peace. Many progressive employers of to-day have enlarged their own perspective and realize the great importance of enlarging the perspective of those who shall follow them.

Jan 3, 1915