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"When a metal-mining company takes out a workmen's compensation insurance policy, it does so to relieve itself of its uncertain and variable financial liability under laps requiring payment to employees for lost-time accidents, there-by passing the liability or to the insuring agency. For this service, or rather for the assumption of the risk, the insuring agency charges the mining company a price, or in insurance parlance, ""a premium"".The insuring agency depends upon a volume and variety of business to average the losses incurred by its individual policy holders, and determines its price to cover losses that are suffered and its cost of doing business.It is generally known that all types of insurance are founded on the theory of probability applied to large groups of risks, Workmen's compensation insurance is no exception, and the average price paid therefor must be based on the frequency and severity of accidents in the particular industry or branch of industry under consideration. The frequency and severity rates are determined by statistics, which, of course, unless standardized, kept carefully and consistently, and analyzed properly, are liable to be inaccurate and misleadingThe importance of large groups in arriving at an average price for insurance service can not be overestimated, For example the writer knows of one small group of some twenty metal-mining companies whose losses during the past two years exceeded their premium charge by 54%. Not a single individual company during the two years kept its losses below the premium rate. For several years the group as a whole has persistently exceeded its premium rate, Such risks are not profitable to the insuring agencies and can only be carried where a large volume of good risks will balance the poor risks, but in order to conform to good insurance ethics the premium rate must be based on averages for the industry as a whole, and kept sufficiently low to induce operators to sell their risks."

May 1, 1924

By Richard Moldenke

The author discusses some economic conditions which have made the career of the cast-iron pipe industry in the United States a checkered one. He next describes the two new developements in the manufacture of cast-iron pipe-both along the lines of centrifugal casting. The advantages and disadvantages of both processes are presented in some detail. Finally, statistics on the production of pipe in the United States at the present time are given, as well as the plants-and their capacities-so far as these are situated in the South. No SINGLE branch of the foundry industry has been brought to a production basis of huge tonnage, low manufacturing cost, and producing material of a remarkably high quality, as has the making of cast-iron pipe. The pipe shop is an excellent illustration of the fact that repetition work in specialties leads to mechanical equipment and manipulation that lower production costs to an. astonishing degree. Hence cast-iron pipe, in dull times, has been sold at a few dollars a ton over the selling price of the pig iron used. On the other hand, these same pipe, shops make fittings .of many varieties, and in much smaller quantities, where the cost is high, and when pipe may be sold, say, at $50 a ton, the fittings on the same shipment will be sold for nearly double that price. The history of pipe-making, in the United States, is a checkered one the mortality of plants is high and, from the nature of the industry, plants must be large to live. In spite of the fact that the best processes must be used to turn out this rather strict specification material, pipe is easy to make and a pipe plant is more of a tonnage mill than the really high-class specialty foundry it should be. Every time, therefore, that the demand for pipe is strong new shops spring up, only to close when the demand has ceased, but the financial damage to the more permanent plants has been done. Both the South and the North have had abundant experiences of this kind, and when recently a northern Public Service Corporation gave its order to France, the pipe plants thus adversely affected were content to have this occur rather than see-a plant started to supply the surplus demand.

Jan 9, 1924

By Rush Greenslade

THE oil and gas lease is the basic contract of the oil and gas industry; it is the foundation stone upon which the producing industry, particularly, is based. As the industry is precarious and highly speculative, the foundation contract should be of the utmost integrity and certainty. But right there an anomaly exists; the oil and gas lease is the most obscure, most uncertain, doubtful contract in the realm of law today. That is a condition that must be considered when taking oil and gas leases, and when buying, selling, and holding them. It may fairly be asked why should this industry rest upon so insecure a foundation. Why should not the oil industry rest upon the contract that is the basis of all industry, the warranty deed? There are many contributing reasons, but the principal one is business expediency. The Anglo-Saxon idea of ownership of land is that every land owner owns from the center of the earth to the sky all that is above and all that is below-consequently the oil and gas are owned by the person who owns the surface. That idea is not exactly true with reference to oil and gas, for many states have adopted the doctrine that oil and gas are like wild animals; they are fugacious and migratory and belong to the man that traps them. But, except for that doctrine, we believe that oil and gas are owned by the owner of the surface, wherein we differ from the Latin-American countries where the mineral rights are owned by the government. The United States was settled largely by homesteading. The owners of land were, in the main, farmers, who did not have the means or the faith to drill for oil or gas. The operators or speculators did not want to buy the land on the mere possibility of finding oil; hence a compromise resulted by which the land owner gave the speculator or the operator what he called an oil and gas lease, or a right to go upon his land and drill for oil and gas. What is supposed to be the first oil lease placed on record reads as follows: Agreed this 4th day of July, A.D. 1853, with J. D. Angier of Cherrytree township in the county of Venango Pennsylvania that he shall repair up and keep in order the old oil springs on land in said Cherrytree township, or dig and make new springs, and the expense to be deducted out of the proceeds of the oil, and the balance, if any, to be

Jan 8, 1924

By David Reger

LITTLE new oil was found in West Virginia, during 1923, but there were important discoveries of gas. Most of the large oil producers have contented themselves with pumping old wells or in drilling only enough new wells in defined territory to maintain a fairly constant production, the attitude being that no, profit is made in producing high-grade oil at a low price and that an eventual loss is sustained by draining the reserves of a limited commodity that, at some more favorable time, will be of much value. The representative of one large company said: "We have done nothing but pump old wells during 1923 and we have made no plans for 1924." Careful attention to producing wells has been the rule, there having been few abandonments; the belief is prevalent that small wells will eventually become profitable under more favorable marketing conditions. In natural gas, the opposite point of view prevails. Because of the vast capabilities of the state for producing gas, its output being ahead of all others, great systems of transportation and distribution into the markets of four adjoining states have been built and a demand has been created that no present, or apparently potential, production can satisfy. This demand has become so great that large distributing companies not only discourage new applications for service but advise old customers to install coal furnaces for auxiliary fuel; some have requested public-service commissions to grant higher 'rates against large industrial consumers than those allowed for domestic heating. The response to this known market has been a rapid increase in price, both at the well mouth and at the door of the ultimate consumer, and the industry has become so stable that the only uncertainty, or hazard, appears to be the question of the presence of gas in fair quantity in a given territory under consideration. Several oil companies have now forsaken their policy of selling gas, wells outright when drilled and ;have organized gas departments to drill for gas and to dispose of the daily output by meter to distributing corporations. With such companies and with other producers whose interest is chiefly gas, the year has been busy and profitable. Some new territory of apparently large value has been proved and deeper producing sands in old fields have been tapped.

Jan 3, 1924

By Charles Camsell

At the last annual meeting of this Institute the programme very properly was drawn up and carried out with the special object of calling attention to the Dominion's position and problems with regard to fuel supplies. That subject, always one of serious concern, was a source of considerable anxiety twelve months ago. It is still so, but in a decidedly less degree than at that time. So far as the immediate fuel situation is concerned our anxieties have been relieved. And I think we can safely say that such a consciousness of our difficulties and determination to overcome them, has been developed in the minds of our people that there will be no slackening of the offensive until a final solution is reached. In selecting a subject of major importance for the present occasion I have felt free to digress from the pressing problems of last year and to go back, for a starting point, to the presidential address of two years ago .. I do not, however, wish to enter the controversy that has developed as a result of that address, though in spite of my own failure to amass a fortune from participation in certain mining ventures, I am decidedly inclined to the optimistic view that Dr. Corless presented of the future of our mining industry. You will perhaps have observed that in its general wording the title of my paper bears a marked resemblance to that of that address. This simila1ity of titles is not accidental. It is intentional on my part.

Jan 1, 1924

By Joseph Daniels

When Dame Nature shook her horn of plenty and distributed her bounties over the face of the earth, she blessed the Pacific coast with many riches, but with these she added many offsetting disadvantages or handicaps, designed, no doubt, to effect a proper balance between wealth and economy. Nowhere is the application of the law of compensation more aptly illustrated than in the matter of fuel and power resources. A glance at the map of the Pacific northwest will show that west of the Coast Range batholith we are bounteously supplied with coal, with timber, with water power, and with tributary resources of oil from California. Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, all contain large resources of coal; Oregon and California to a lesser degree, but, compensating the golden state for its deficiency in this respect, oil was placed in the treasure ,chest. Timber, of wide variety and in lavish quantity, covers the forests from tidewater to mountain slope, and within this protected watershed area flow streams which give the Pacific coast states the largest single share of the potential water-power resources of the country. Something over 40 per cent. of the total estimated horsepower of the United States is to be found in the Pacific states, and British Columbia has 15 per cent. of the total for Canada; but of this total less than 10 per cent. has been developed.

Jan 1, 1924

By J. W. Bingay

The expansion of the mining industry, with other industries, of course, is dependent upon a supply of fresh capital from year to year. Mining is a speculative form of investment, though there is a wide range of risk as between indiudual undertakings. All of the leading financial writers, nowadays, agree that expansion is being seriously interfered with by the unprecedented load of taxation Canadians are carrying. Individuals have less for investment and corporations are obliged to defer necessary expenditures in order that the demands of the taxing authorities may be met. Naturally, speculative investments such as mining exploration suffer first. Undoubtedly, a great deal of cash raised by taxes, if left in the hands of individuals and corporations for investment and expansion, would have been far more beneficially used and would have developed the country more than any use made of it by the government, in the way of bonusing new industries, or the undertaking of large schemes of development. Government undertakings of this nature are often entered into without a proper knowledge of cost and probable return. Expert expenditure of the same sums by business men or corporations undoubtedly would generally produce more prosperity for the country as a whole. The absolute necessity for lower taxation is being increasingly known to the public at large, and eventually it is hoped that our governments will see the economic impossibility of continuing the present rate of expenditure. The successful Finance Minister of the near future will not be the one who can borrow the most money.

Jan 1, 1924

By T. T. Read, T. L. Joseph, F. H. Royster

In a preliminary study of the beneficiation of iron ores conducted by the Bureau of Mines, one of the authors (T. T. Read) found it necessary to ascertain, if possible, how much effect a decrease in the silica content of an iron ore has upon the cost of making pig iron from the ore. In the beneficiation of iron ores the most important impurity to be removed is usually silica, and the amount that can be expended on a beneficiation process to reduce the silica content of the ore is obviously determined by the amount of increase in the value of the ore after beneficiation. The price that can actually be obtained for a beneficiated ore is, of course, a matter of negotiation between the seller and the buyer, but since the relative value of different grades of iron ore must be chiefly based upon the cost of making pig iron from them, an approximation as to the effect which decrease in the silica content of ore has upon the cost of snaking pig iron is an important guide in estimating what probable average gain will result from subjecting an ore to a beneficiation process. A search of the literature failed to reveal any detailed statement on this important topic, but fortunately the data are at hand to permit making an approximate calculation of the probable effect. For the purpose of the calculation assume three iron ores with the following composition (natural):

Jan 1, 1924

By Arthur M. Whiteside

Discussion of the laws bearing upon the economics of mining in this province at once resolves itself under three headings: (a) The rights and obligations of holders of mineral bearing lands; (b) Taxation of mines; (c) Regulation of methods adopted in financing mining operations. Titles: The law relating to titles is contained in the Mineral Act, Placer Mining Act and Coal Mines Prospecting Act. Origin: Mining laws in force in this province and elsewhere on the continent had their origin in the rule-of-thumb regulations adopted by prospectors themselves, when, far from the centres of civilization and the seats of the courts of justice, they found it necessary, for mutual protection, to fix the conditions of possession by right of location, and to prescribe the duties to be performed in order to enable the individual to maintain his ground against all comers. These regulations have been codified and added to by legislatures, until we find adequate protection and safeguard to property in the laws of this province.

Jan 1, 1924

By Rush Greenslade

The oil and gas lease is the basic contract of the oil and gas industry; it is the foundation stone upon which the producing industry, particularly, is based. As the industry is precarious and highly speculative, the foundation contract should be of the utmost integrity and certainty. But right there an anomaly exists; the oil and gas lease is the most obscure, most uncertain, doubtful contract in the realm of law today. That is a condition that must be considered when taking oil and gas leases, and when buying, selling, and holding them. It may fairly be asked why should this industry rest upon so insecure a foundation. Why should not the oil industry rest upon the contract that is the basis of all industry, the warranty deed? There are many contributing reasons, but the principal one is business expediency. The Anglo-Saxon idea of ownership of land is that every land owner owns from the center of the earth to the sky—all that is above and all that is below—consequently the oil and gas are owned by the person who owns the surface. That idea is not exactly true with reference to oil and gas, for many states have adopted the doctrine that oil and gas are like wild animals; they are fugacious and migratory and belong to the man that traps them. But, except for that doctrine, we believe that oil and gas are owned by the owner of the surface, wherein we differ from the Latin-American countries where the mineral rights are owned by the government. The United States was settled largely by homesteading. The owners of land were, in the main, farmers, who did not have the means or the faith to drill for oil or gas. The operators or speculators did not want to buy the land on the mere possibility of finding oil; hence a compromise resulted by which the land owner gave the speculator or the operator what he called an oil and gas lease, or a right to go upon his land and drill for oil and gas. What is supposed to be the first oil lease placed on record reads as follows: Agreed this 4th day of July, a.d. 1853, with J. D. Angier of Cherrytree township in the county of Venango Pennsylvania that he shall repair up and keep in order the old oil springs on land in said Cherrytree township, or dig and make new springs, and the expense to be deducted out of the proceeds of the oil, and the balance, if any, to be

Jan 1, 1924

By G. A. Vissac

In this paper we intend to deal particularly with the economic side of coal washing as it applies to our mines. We will then discuss why the dry-cleaning process has been selected, and give a brief description of our plant, dwelling only on its specific features and referring the reader to the numerous papers published on the subject for any details on the principles and machinery used in dry cleaning. ECONOMIC DISCUSSION The washery introduces an extra cost for depreciation, operation, and loss in treatment. A certain proportion of the coal, now being sold, and which the miners have been paid for. will have to be wasted. As a whole, the total increase in cost would be approximately 60 cents per ton. On the possibility of recovering this amount depends the success of the washery. There are two advantages to be expected from the washery, the first, which occurs at the mine and which will be certain; the second, more difficult to estimate, because it depends upon convincing our customers that they should pay more for a better product.

Jan 1, 1924

By George Watkin Evans

The United States Geological Survey has estimated 1 that the State of Washington contains 11,412,000,000 tons of bituminous coal and 52,442,000,000 tons of subbituminous coal, in beds more than 14 inches thick. As the present rate of production is about 4,000,000 tons a year, Washington apparently contains coal enough to supply Pacific coast markets for many years. The character of the coal beds of Washington renders the production of clean coal very difficult, and a considerable proportion of the output is washed before it is marketed. In 1915 Washington ranked fifth among the States in the amount of coal washed, though only twentieth in total output. In that year 37.9 per cent of the coal produced in the State was treated in surface cleaning plants.

Jan 1, 1924

By Henry D. Hibbard

THIS article aims to clarify the use of some terms often occurring in writings on iron and -steel, and also to suggest several new short abbreviated names for some of the things related to the subject which now are indicated by phrases. Crude or Crude Iron The name crude or crude iron is recommended for the iron produced from ore by the blast furnace. When necessary it can be specified as pig iron when in the form of pigs (usually cold), or as molten iron, commonly called hot metal to distinguish it from cold iron in pigs. The product of a direct process of making wrought or malleable iron from ore is not included.

Jan 1, 1924

By WALTER M. DAKE

WITH the renewal of the contract between bituminous miners and operators, whereby a period of three years is assured without the devastating effect of irregularity of operation due to general strikes; and, with the increasing comprehension on the part of the large consumers as to the stabilizing effect of adequate storage upon prices; the coal industry has reached that period of its history in which permanence of purpose towards necessary changes is being crystallized, and these changes accomplished by the industry. It is to be hoped that during this era the phrase- " Our National Coal Problem "-will be relegated to the limbo of' antiquated expressions. That this epoch is upon us is evinced by the fact that operators are turning to consolidations, whereby financially sound companies will acquire smaller production units and place themselves in position to maintain constant supervision and control of their development and output; and, as further proof of the arrival of these changes, may be cited the entrance of additional members of the engineering profession into the many phases of management and operation, where- by the cost per ton of output will be, constantly reduced through the increasing use of modern methods and equipment. As an instance, attention is specifically called to the developments in mechanical loading, proposed and actual continuous underground transportation systems and betterment in methods of preparation.

Jan 1, 1924

By Nathan C. Rockwood

WHILE mining engineers have been searching in far corners of the country and of the world for hidden wealth there has grown up around us in nearly every city great wealth-producing mines calling for the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars and yielding products now sold for over half a billion dollars yearly-largely unknown and almost wholly neglected by mining engineers. But this neglect is explainable and excusable. They are industries of very recent origin-practically the growth of the last 25 years. They are in a very large measure the result of tremendous developments in engineering construction and the rapidly expanding use of portland cement concrete for structures of every description. Concrete as a material of construction is going through an evolution very much as did cast iron and other metals used in engineering; and this phase of the industry should appeal to the imagination of metallurgical engineers. At first iron was iron-a material of uncertain properties, owing both to small differences in chemical composition and in methods of manufacture. By successive steps iron was studied and knowledge of its properties developed-the striking effects of very small percentages of other minerals and of various heat-treatments.

Jan 1, 1924

By Richard W. Smith

THERE are three distinct varieties of phosphate rock, in Tennessee, known commercially as: (a) the "brown" rock, which is the residual pro- duct of the weathering and natural concentration of certain phosphatic Ordovician limestones; (b) the "blue " rock, which is an unaltered phosphatic stratum of Mississippian or Devonian age; and (c) the "white" rock, which is the result of chemical replacement and deposition. Before 1894, South Carolina and Florida had supplied most of the phosphate of the United States, South Carolina leading until that date and Florida from then until the present time. In December, 1893, the blue phosphate of Tennessee was discovered almost simultaneously on Swan Creek, in Lewis County, by two independent parties-by one as the result of a careful and systematic search for a workable deposit of the long known kidney phosphate, and by the other through mistaking it for a "bloom" of coal. Leases were taken and, with further prospecting disclosing other deposits in the region, the development progressed as rapidly as 'could be expected without railroad transportation

Jan 1, 1924

By GEORGE ROBERT DE BEQUE

WHAT is wrong with oil shale? The answer is of interest to the public, to the oil refiner, and to the engineer. Many people have invested in shale land or shale securities, and others would invest if early development of the industry were certain. In the face of increasing demands for oil products, oil refiners are threatened with inability to maintain present output unless the supply of domestic petroleum is supplemented. Development of the oil shale industry would open a new field for engineering services. The object of this paper is to suggest reasons why there is but one shale plant in operation in the United States, and to discuss the probable time when the business will be firmly established in Colorado. As the Colorado deposits are the richest and largest in the world, ample supply of material is assured, consequently, this discussion will be confined principally to technical problems and economic problems affecting shale development.

Jan 1, 1924

PRESIDENT PRYDE: I think that the overcutting machine undoubtedly presents a great many benefits, especially where the roof is frail. I have found a good substitute for the Arcwall, getting a lighter machine by equipping a machine with a turret truck, you get a much lighter weight, and while the cutter is not movable vertically, you cut not on top of the seam, but about the middle of it. MR. SC'HLOSS: I would like to ask Mr. Pryde the advantages of cut- ting with this turret-mounted Shortwall machine. PRESIDENT PRYDE: It is better for development work in narrow places. In development work you have a lot of narrow places. MR. LITTLEJOHN: Mr. Chairman, we were compelled at Winter- quarters, one time, to introduce them for reason of sand rolls'. We have in that mine a condition-we have sand rolls from twelve inches to two and a half feet, sometimes higher than that-usually twelve inches to two and a half feet, and we had to get some of the C. E. 7's on the turret there and used them for advance work not only in the entries, but in rooms; not only in that particular district, but in fact all the districts in the mine-we have abandoned the power trucks. You can cut without unloading, and that is one of the principal advantages, and when the sand rolls come in it enables you to cut over the top of the sand roll, but the particular objection, we were working a nine-foot wall, and some of the coal was twelve feet thick, so that the miners have raised a little objection to the drilling.

Jan 1, 1924

This growing dependence of Canada upon foreign mineral commodities, just referred to, applies particularly in the direction of the United States. There is, in fact, no more significant feature of Canada's mineral trade than the manner in which it affects the Dominion's commercial standing with that country. Our heavy adverse balance of trade with the United States is perhaps not a matter of such wide concern or frequent comment as was the case two or three years ago. It is, of course, a well-known fact that the Dominion each year buys from the States a volume of goods to a value enormously in excess of our sales to that country. And it has come to be accepted as a ?normal, though not altogether satisfactory, feature of our international commerce that a huge portion of the bill incurred by our American purchases must be met, not by our American sales, but by the proceeds of our sales to other countries, not-ably Great Britain. It is a three-cornered situation in which our trading deficit with the United States is covered largely by our trading surplus with the United Kingdom. In this situation the mineral trade plays a remarkable part. If one delves into the details of our transactions with the United States it will be found that, in one sense, the mineral trade is entirely responsible for the huge annual balance against the Dominion. In fact, Canada gets decidedly better than an even break on Canadian American trade, if one leaves out of account the three mineral groups, "iron and steel", "non- metallic minerals", and "non-ferrous metals".

Jan 1, 1924

By Lucius W. Mayer

WHILE the mind of the financier does not normally run along channels similar to those of his technical adviser, engineers, because of their exactness, are ever more called upon to manage affairs where financial matters are involved. It is, true, not a relatively large number have thus far functioned in this capacity. It is also true that the essentially financial mind could not serve in a responsible engineering position; for to be a successful engineer one requires precise thinking, making due allowance for factors of safety. To be a financier seems to require less aptitude for exact thinking than of enthusiasm and confidence in capitalizing prospective possibilities. Both require imagination, the engineer being, more conscious of the limitations of natural conditions. It is to be regretted that the engineer' stands so far aloof from financial matters. Many consider them- selves successful, as did Steinmetz, as long as their reward is the consciousness that they are giving supreme service to mankind. They are 'generally happy in their work and, like our honored brothers who are teachers, gain their greatest satisfaction, not in the amount of their remuneration so much as in the service rendered society and in the excellence of results achieved. Indeed, these sentiments bespeak character and command respect.

Jan 1, 1924