SMOKE ABATEMENT EXHIBITION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1074, 25 July 1912, Page 4

SMOKE ABATEMENT EXHIBITION.

,-Jiit WILLIAM KAAILAVW W iIIAVIL

\\ h,) not, abolish tin 1 coal mines.’ This poitelitous question was. raised by Sir \Vilnam Uamsay ul the Smoko Abatement JixInLntion which thu Uuko of Argyll opened recently p-ays tins Daily I'-xpros: «t the Agricultural Hull, Islington. iu ail scnouoin-.-s, ilio distinguished scientist pi*»posed a scheme which would do away wil.U die necrosiiy for coal indues, ;uid, uicidcn tally, tor coal miners. His .scheme, pul. in a few words, is nothing less than to bet lire to the coal where it lies Ui the depths _ ol the earth, and with the gas .which rises from it Joed gas engines. J-hese in then lurn would drive dyjuuuos, from which, electricity would be distributed all over the country so cheaply and abundantly that with it we could run our railways and our lactones, light our streets and our homes, cook our food anil warm our homes, all without taking a singlo ounce of coal I mm the earth. “It has occurred to me,” said Hir William Ramsay in ills speech, “that the mission of the Smoke Abatement Sociely would he very much .sinipiilied il no coal were burnt at all. The ideal state of things would I into have our gas retorts in tho bowels of the earth. There is absolutely nothing that 1 can sec to prevent a boring being’ pm down into the ground until iho coal stratum is reached. Wliai. is lo hinder the coal being lighted where it is. Why should not the gas bo made underground You would draw up the gas through your pipe, you would have, .your gas engines at the pit s

mouth, and having made your electricity there, it. would be a, very smu.ll matter to transform and convoy it.hundreds of miles under high tension.

‘That would solve the strike problem,” declared Sir William Ram-ay, ami then he littered this solemn warning—“1 suggest.” ho said. “thai. the miners should very carefully consider what they aie doing at present, lest their business is gone from them, as I fear it will be. The resources of science are not at an end. Wo can do without iheml I have dreamt a dream and 1 have seen a vision !”

Subsequently, in an interview with an Express reprcscnl at ive, Sir William Ramsay elaborated his idea in greater detail. lie said: “A tube six inches in diameter would probably suffice, and as it descended it would reveal (lie exam, naiure of Hie various sliata. Von would have no expensive shafl (o sink, tunnels to drive, rubbish to remove. The boring could probably he done, for £IOOO Io £SOOO. inside this tube yon could insert two smaller pipes, one inside the other, (lie sinalh r of H'e two for the purpose ef pumping out Hie water. and the other for passing down air. steam, or small quantities of water In burn with Hie coal—there is nothing new in that. The coal, of eonrse, would easily he ignited, in the first instance, hv passing down nnelecivie wire, which would then he withdrawn. Your gas engines would enable you to ulili.se 50 per cent, of the find value of Hie coal. In other words, you double your yield of energy. I exaggerated when 1 spoke of electricity costing a hundredth of a penny per unit, but supposing it cost only a sixteenth of a penny, that would ho enough to revolutionise the power system of the country. Transmission from the pit's mouth through high tension cables need present no difficulties. In Galifornia they have sent it 200 miles, and there is no reason why it should not- be .sent. 2000. Of course, the cables would have to be pul high iqi in (he air out of people’s reach — but. people soon get out of Hie way of getting themselves killed! Any old coal that is too bad to lie worth milling could lie utilised in this way; it could be made ro burn where it: lies. At first, of course, yon may find coal owners objecting to setting their coal mines on tiro. Also, if may be objected that, as Hie enal is liurid. out, (ho ground will sink. So it will, but this already happens in the salt districts, and nobody minds much ; it happens gradually, and people just accept- it. The existing coal mines. I should say, would be kept open as a «orf of reserve. The change is bound to be gradual. And for steamsliiji. of eonrse, the electricity from the pits would be useless; they will always need coal or some other' form of Find. What, the miners forget. 1 feel sure. Is (hat. there is always something else —.-omething to minimise labour. To look after a gas engine, for instance, is only part of a man's work.”