paratus in the Ranelagh Apartment at DeBaliviere and McPherson avenues, where Mr. Schubert has his residence. The first transmission will be made on October 18th, with Mr. C. E. Smith as the speaker.

With the installation of the plant, the problem now confronting the committee is to obtain suitable speakers and topics for broadcasting. The members are assembling material and will be thankful for suggestions. The committee is composed of Messrs. Frank Schubert, Geo. W. Pieksen, E. B. Fay, L. R. Bowen, E. W. Schadek, W. E. McCourt, Wm. G. Christy and Terrell Croft.

The American Society of Civil Engineers will hold its fall meeting at Richmond, Va., October 17th to 20th. Technical subjects assigned for discussion are Highway Development, Interconnection of Appalachian Power Systems and Port Problems of Norfolk and Vicinity.

The American Society for Municipal Improvements will hold its annual convention in Atlanta, Ga., November 12th to 16th. Mr. W. W. Horner is president of the society.

St. Louis sections of the A. S. C. E. and A. S. M. E. were addressed at their last monthly meetings, by Mr. Hugh K. Wagner, a member of the Associated Societies, on "Reasons for a Merger of St. Louis County with St. Louis City."

Mr. Wagner is president of the Greater St. Louis Conference and has been actively interested for many years in furthering the cause of the extension of St. Louis' city limits.

We are in receipt of an author's copy of a work on "Fire Losses-Locomotive Sparks", by Mr. L. W. Wallace, M. E., Secretary of the Federated American Engineering Societies. The work is excellently prepared and the book issued in very attractive form. The subject matter is of great interest.

Aside from his appreciation of re

ceiving this book, the editor is moved to wonder and respect for the energy which enabled Mr. Wallace to prepare it while conducting the affairs of the F. A. E. S.

The sending out of the "Seasonal Survey" questionnaire recently, is a step in the nation-wide movement organized recently by Mr. Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce, for study of the important question of seasonal unemployment. Every member of the Associated Societies should see that his blank is filled out and sent in for record.

Mr. C. E. Smith delivered an address on "City Planning" at a meeting of the Iowa Section of the A. S. C. E. in Cedar Rapids, on September 14th.

Col. F. G. Jonah is chairman of the Executive Committee of the American Legion in St. Louis. The Colonel appreciates this distinction but he is doubly appreciative of the fact that, in his capacity of chairman, he will serve on the reception committee for the enter tainment of Lloyd George during his coming visit to St. Louis.

The "F. F. F. Quartette", which made its first public appearance at the dinner meeting on September 27th, is a simon-pure, dyed-in-the-wool engineering organization as is indicated by its name the Flexible, Fearless Four. name-the Sounds like an automobile or something. The unafraid are Christy, Schubert, Hanpeter and Fontana.

Kidding on one side, however, the formation of this musical unit is a good thing. We have a number of singers in the Associated Societies. Why shouldn't the "four" be expanded into an eight or a twin-six?

The Joint Council, on Sept. 27th, approved a resolution presented by the Public Affairs Committee of the Engineers' Club protesting against the action of the Board of Aldermen in passing over the Mayor's veto, an ordinance

authorizing the condemnation of land for a northeast approach to the Municipal Bridge. The resolution declares that:

"The Special Committee of the Board of Aldermen filed and adopted on November 17th, 1922, a statement of facts and figures in regard to the Bond Issue and their report was printed and circulated and was largely instrumental in carrying the Bond Issue in the election. February 9, 1923. In this it was distinctly stated that the expenditures and plans were to have the approval of the Citizen's Supervisory Committee. The report was signed by twelve aldermen.

Ordinance 32616 not only ignores the Supervisory Committee but distinctly goes contrary to their judgment."

Mr. Stanislaus Spacek, Engineer for the Czecho-Slovakian Government, visited St. Louis during the air races. Through the introduction of Mr. L. W. Wallace, Secretary of the F. A. E. S., an opportunity was afforded him to inspect various St. Louis engineering projects under the guidance of Messrs. Moore, Lockwood, Weinberger, and Rolfe. Mr. Spacek's interest was centered particularly in city planning, paving, filtration of the water supply, and street car construction.

Several outstanding points have come to the front as the study of coal stor

*Reprinted from the Bulletin of the Federated American Engineering Societies. Dean Walker visited nearly 50 industrial centers as Field Executive for the Federation's Storage of Coal Committee. In this capacity he standardized the field work and personally assisted many of the committees.

age in the United States has progressed. The plan of action has become definitely organized, and the means by which the fundamental purpose may be realized are plainly seen.

It is necessary to keep in mind the chief end and aim of the investigation. Briefly stated, it is to determine existing

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conditions and to provide a basis for action to encourage storage on a scale that would make more nearly uniform the production and transportation of bituminous coal. It must be understood that the committee directing this work is not a propagandist body. It is a fact-finding body, charged with the task of finding and setting forth facts as they stand at the present time, and interpreting those facts in the light of engineering experience.

It may be stated at the outset, that no one engaged in this work is viewing the storage of coal as a practice which should be adopted on any basis other than that of sound economic judgment. No one expects any concern to invest its money in storage equipment and in coal unless there is a financial advantage to be gained by so doing. It is to be borne in mind, however, that financial advantage is not to be measured alone in terms of prices paid per ton for coal. There are benefits to be realized, and sometimes very definite expenditures to be saved. through the movement of coal into storage at the point of consumption at seasons of the year when such movement is most convenient, namely, in the summer season. It is not always easy to express these advantages in terms of dollars and cents per ton of coal, but nevertheless they exist.

supply of fuel for insurance purposes replenishing the stock at any time when for some reason it may have been depleted, cannot be considered as storing coal.

It has become apparent that the entire United States cannot be treated as a single unit in an investigation of this kind. Industrial and transportation conditions vary so greatly in different parts of the country, that activities must be grouped in accordance with territorial. divisions. For illustration: The area contiguous to Lake Erie and extending south and east through the heavy coalproducing region, is affected by the heavy shipments of coal which pass during the open navigation season on the lakes to the upper lake ports. This induces a movement of coal during midsummer which is entirely out of propor tion to the actual consumption in the area mentioned. It produces an effect upon the price of screenings which have been separated from the larger body of coal moving to the lake, so that purchasers of steam coal within the district find it possible to buy for local consumption during this summer period. In the region farther west, there is a distinct tendency for the price on steam coal to sag during the fall and early winter, when the movement of sized coal is most active within that region. This induces heavy purchasing of screenings at that time.

New England, at the outer end of a long transportation system, has its own peculiar problem. This is influenced again by extreme weather variations, as well as by the fact that in recent years the supply of coal has been so uncertain at times that purchases have been made whenever it has been possible to get coal. With such differences existing in dif

ferent parts of the country, it is clear that no single set of conditions may be cited which would be applicable to all. Any movement which might be started for the purpose of promoting the storage of coal during those seasons of the year which are now characterized by slack production, must be adjusted to the differing conditions in these separated districts.

Effort is being made to cover thoroughly many representative industrial commuuities, in order to determine a way in which shipments to these points are being influenced by storage as now practiced. In such communities, all seasonal storage is being recorded. Many other communities will be omitted altogether.

It is believed that this thorough working of selected communities will furnish a more reliable index of current practice than could have been supplied by partially worked out data in all communities.

Public utilities will be given special treatment, and will probably furnish the most significant figures. The utility plants are being covered in a more complete manner than is possible for any other branch of industrial activity. In many states, and some of the larger territorial divisions, the public utility branch will be covered in practically complete detail.

The final report of the committee will deal with many other aspects of the storage problem, including the techni que of coal storage considered from the chemical standpoint and from the materials handling standpoint. The opinions and advice of engineering committees located in many parts of the country are being sought, and the report will contain many expressions from these groups.

In its final form, the report is bound to reflect the judgment of the engineering profession at large.

THOUGHT

of Direction of the American Society of Civil Engineers to inaugurate a more personal application of code violations, but the conservative view characteristic of that society continues to prevail and the impersonal application of ethics remains as before. One can well recognize the difficulties in a more strenuous treatment of this ethics problem, but it is hard to escape the impression that the delicate way in which most societies handle code violations put most of the members in the position of fearing to cast the first stone. Some day some society is going to have the force and courage to take up the situation more vigorously. From that time professional ethics in engineering will begin to be elevated.

-Engineering News-Record.

Science and Religion

The purpose of science is to develop, without prejudice or preconception of any kind, a knowledge of the facts, the

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