Show 0 MINING AND THE WAR how a great governmental agency engaged in saving the lives of miners and promoting the welfare of the industry at the call to arms was instantly turned into an engine of death and destruction to enemies As Is detailed in the annual report of the bureau of mines department of the interior by van H manning the director the report tells of the strenuous part played by the bureau of mines in assisting to build up the terrifying machine of death that would not have been felt with its fullest force by the hun until the following spring with the cessation of war the germans it is said will never be able to realize what the full force of americas military might would have been or the many devices and methods that were the result of american ingenuity for the war department is keeping the best of these a profound secret at the same time great good for the future peaceful pursuit of industry in this country and for the saving instead of killing of men has come out of this welter of death dealing experiments certain experiments peri ments with delicate instruments known as microphones and geo phones in order to detect the direction and the distance of enemy mining work in tunneling and the location of enemy artillery no matter where placed has disclosed that these same instruments st can be used in determining the location of men entombed in mines following disaster it is expected that it if the men have the presence of mind to make even a slight noise the rescuers listening with these devices will be able at once to locate the men and begin the rescue work men thus entombed have been known to live for a week or longer the rescuers being unable to find them the bureau will equip its rescue cars as soon as possible with these devices the coal experts were assigned to the testing of boilers to be used in the ships of the emergency fleet corporation speed and the saving of coal were demanded the result was that the experts so changed the design of the boilers that the coal heretofore necessary to send the ships along for six miles was sufficient to carry them seven miles this great saving will be available in peace times the war department next seized upon the opportunity of using the bureaus explosives station and bombproof bomb proof a few miles from pittsburgh and there many important yet secret tests into the action of new and deadly explosives were made under the supervision per vision of the bureaus and ardys experts information of the greatest importance to the war making powers was obtained the bureau offered its services in the study of poisonous gases and gas masks this was the beginning of the great organization of 1700 chemists it was soon found that there would be a tremendous demand by the military authorities for the so called war minerals with the havoc wrought by the submarines the world was short of shipping and the united states was informed that these minerals should come from american mines many of which were either inadequately developed or not developed at all because this country had been depending on foreign sources of supply the bureau was called upon to furnish these minerals and within a few months there had been developed a sufficient quantity to supply all war needs and a surplus of others it is now said by the bureau that the metal mining industry has received such an impetus by this war demand that it will be in peace times a much greater and more prosperous industry than ever before |