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Jan 1, 1893

By H. S. Geismer

INTRODUCTION. THERE are three general methods available for obtaining commercial brown iron-ore : hand-screening; washing; and washing and concentrating. Hand-screening has produced a large tonnage of ore in the past, but is rapidly falling into disuse, except as a preliminary step, largely because modern furnace-practice requires all foreign material to be separated from ores before they are delivered to the furnace, and hand-screened ores can rarely be made to fulfill that requirement. Another argument against hand-screening is, that the waste-pile often contains as much ore as the screen recovers. The operation known as hand-screening consists of throwing the ore-bearing material against a stationary inclined screen of 0.5- to 0.75-in. mesh, similar in construction to the screens employed in sand-pits. The recently-prospected brown-ore deposits of Cuba seem to offer possibilities for hand-screening not possessed by the average American deposit, since these ores are not associated with worthless clays. Washing, and washing and concentrating, may be discussed together, since concentrating is never practical on brown iron-ore, except to treat ores that have already been washed. (Strictly speaking, washing might be classed as concentrating, but it is never so designated by brown-ore men.) The various steps of removing ore-bearing material and converting it into ore suitable for blast-furnace use, may be grouped under five heads: loading for transportation ; transporting ; feeding into the washer; washing; and concentrating. These five subjects will be considered in consecutive order. Each of these successive steps may be accomplished in a number of different ways, the choice depending entirely upon the character of the ore-bearing material to be treated.

Aug 1, 1911

By A. CHESTER BEATTY

MAGNESIUM oxide is by far the most refractory of the common oxides, since it has a melting point of 5072 deg. F. as compared with 3110 deg. F., the melting point of silica (crystobalite) ; 3722 deg. F., the melting point of alumina (corundum) ; and 4127 deg. F., the melting point of chromite (Cr2O33FeO). Its large-scale use in the lining of metallurgical furnaces dates back to the latter part of the nineteenth century, when extensive deposits of magnesium carbonate were discovered in southern Austria in the province of Styria. Before the development of Austrian magnesite, calcined dolomite, a mixture of lime and magnesia, was used in basic steel-making furnaces. The lime in the dolomite was quite objectionable, since it slaked on exposure to the atmosphere, and dolomite therefore could not be made' .into permanent furnace bottoms or into brick. The Austrian magnesite, with its very low lime content, was free from these objections and soon displaced much of the dolomite. With the extensive development of basic steel-melting, the rise of the copper industry, and other metallurgical and chemical processes which dealt with chemically basic substances, the use of magnesite grain and magnesite brick increased rapidly.

Jan 1, 1931

US 4,132,635 -In the froth flotation beneficiation of low- grade siliceous iron oxide ore, an aqueous pulp of undeslimed ore is conditioned first with a reagent formed by incorporating a water-soluble polyvalent metal salt into an aqueous solution of sodium silicate and then with oleic acid or other anionic collector and optionally pine 011 or other frother. The conditioned pulp is subjected to flotation to concentrate Iron oxide values in the froth D. C. Yang, assigned to Michigan Technological University Jan 2, 1979 7 pp (209-1 66) Filed 1-1 3-77 (759,094) Drawing below.) [ ] US 4,133,038-In the froth flotation beneficiation of copper sulfide ore or other ores, an aqueous suspension of a mineral sample of uniform grain size and composition is conditioned with a strongly adsorbable collector in an amount which is a fraction of the amount sufficient to create a monomolecular layer on the mineral grains, and the conditioning continued until the entire amount of collector is adsorbed The conditioned pulp is subjected to flotation, the floated particles separated at timed intervals, and the flotation rate coefficient determined. By varying the degree of adsorption in repeated treatments, the dependence of the flotation rate coefficient on the degree of adsorption may be determined A Nieml Jan 2, 1979 10 pp (364-502) Filed 12-7-77 (858,353) Priority Finland, 5-26-75 (75/1,525) Same: British 1,533,723, dated Nov 29, 1978 Same Canadian 1,065,066, dated Oct 23, 1979 US 4,133,746System and method for maintaining substantially steady state conditions in the froth flotation beneficiation of copper ore, molybdenum ore, or other metal ores The mass flow of flotation concentrate from the cell is monitored continuously, and the rate of admission of aeration air into the pulp in the cell is varied inversely with respect to variations in the mass flow control of rougher flotation cells is accomplished with a single valve G W Dopson, assigned to Magma Copper Co Jan 9, 1979 6 pp (209-1) Filed 11- 23-76 (744,306

Jan 1, 1980

By Lawrence K. Nordell

This paper reviews practices used In the selection and sizing of belt conveyors and stacker systems commonly used in crushing and grinding plant facilities. Historical and modern methods of sizing this equipment are presented. The new methods Include: 1) probability theory applications for establishing component reliability, 2) "Monte Carlo" simulation techniques used in evaluating alternative system designs and in establishing service factors and corresponding availability Indices of each system, 3) quantifying the system and component operating characteristics using computer assisted modeling tools simulating rigid body and elasto-mechanic behavior for starting and stopping large and/or complex belt conveyors.

Jan 1, 1982

By John J. Collins

The plight of the Japanese mining business is pitiful. Coal mines were given the highest priority for all materials they needed, yet between the end of the war and June 1948, the government was obliged to subsidize them to the extent of 22 billion yen, this being the difference between the consumer's price and the producer's price. Most of the metal mining companies have been operating at only one fifth to one third of war-time production rates, and financial losses have been terrific. The chief difficulties have been a plethora of office workers and a dearth of equipment, supplies, and miners. The principal material needs at metal mines are steel rails. cars, plates, nails, rubber hoses, and belting, to say nothing of modern core drills which are totally lacking. Until recently the great shortage was in coal; for lack of fuel the smelters and factories failed to produce the very metals and equipment now needed to operate the mines. Nation-wide shortages have created a monstrous inflation of prices throughout all the economy, currently amounting to 200 times the prewar figures. For example, the price of copper ranged from 500 to 900 yen per metric ton for many years until 1937, but in mid-1948 producers were

Jan 1, 1949

[A AALSETH Earl P (M 51) Consult Geol Engr 2019 Eldorado Dr, Billings, Mont ABADIE Henry G (M 43) Asst to. Supt of Oper Long Beach Oil Dev Co 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach 2, Calif. ABBET Waldo (A 56) Asst Diet Oper Supt Sun Oil Co P 0 Box 66, Stowelt, Tex ABBOTT Clifton T (A 60) Apartado 677, Maracaibo, Venezuela ABBOTT Fred E Jr (M 59) Abqaiq Diet Mgr Arabian American Oil Co Dhahran, Saudi Arabia ABBOTT J L (M 56) Partner Pritchard & Abbott 1010 Ft Worth Natl Bk Bldg, Fort Worth 2, Tex ABBOTT Richard H (J 51) Partner Abbott & Howard 422 W Hermosa, San Antonio 12, Tex ABBOTT William G (M 50) Div Mgr Rice Engrg &. Operating Inc Box 1142, Hobbs, N. M. ABDERHALDEN Ronald R (J 59) Prod Engr Continental Oil Co Box 100, Carml, 111]

Jan 1, 1961

By John P. Cosgro

THE increasing use of internal furnace-boilers for mining power-plants (doubtless due to the facility with which they may be installed by reason of their portability; the fact that they require no masonry setting, cast-iron fronts, buck-stays, etc., and practically no foundation; and the successful maintenance of their claim to equal and even superior economy, as compared with boilers of other types) warrants this description of a method of remedying an injury which may occur, to such a furnace, even though it satisfies the requirements of the formula adopted by the U. S. Board of Supervising Inspectors of Steam Vessels.2 I refer to the sagging and deformation which may result from overloading the boilers for a considerable period-say, several days. This is sometimes unavoidable under the exacting conditions of continuous day-and-night service, and (in spite of all rules and precautions, the occasional careless or unskillful work of attendants. Such a trouble is by no means unknown on shipboard, where this type of boiler is so largely employed. In the case here described, two Morrison suspension-furnaces, of half-inch steel, 14 ft. long and 45 in. in mean diameter, with ? dry-back ? boilers, were necessarily operated somewhat beyond their rated -normal capacity for several months, while a third similar unit was -in process of installation, and during this period, though the boilers were kept perfectly clean, heat seems 'to have been generated slightly faster than it was absorbed by, the water in the boilers. The corrugations of this.

Mar 1, 1905

By AIME AIME

A SIDE from the technical sessions held as noted elsewhere, the chairman of the various sub-committees of the Mining Methods Committee, together with a few other specialists, were invited to a conference with President Bradley, which was held on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 20. The general plan of a comprehensive series of comparable papers descriptive of mining practice in various parts of the country, launched by this committee some seven years ago having been adopted by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, the feeling was general that the Committee could safely 1eave.that part of its work in these capable hands and turn its attention to other matters. The plans of the Bureau were presented as below by Charles William Wright of the Bureau.

Jan 1, 1929

By J. R. Dunn

Planning quarry operations and control of the quality of rock materials at Hudson Cement Co. at East Kingston, N. Y., are special problems because of multiple uses for the stone and the great structural complexity of the rocks. Problems have been largely solved by detailed geologic work. These geologic studies have paid dividends in long and short range planning, in assessment of reserves, in vastly reduced cost of chemical analyses, and in reduced drilling costs. Limestones of the Hudson Valley outcrop along the Hudson River from Albany to Kingston. Old established cement companies are located just south of Catskill and just east and southeast of Hudson, N. Y. The new Atlantic Cement plant is being constructed at Ravena. Hudson Cement located at East Kingston, is a newcomer and is closest to the New York metropolitan area (Plate I).

Jan 11, 1961

By AIME AIME

MEXICO embraces one of the great metal and petroleum producing provinces of the world. In this respect its history dates back to the overthrow of the Aztec empire by a Spanish force under Hernando Cortes between 1519 and 1.521. Even before then, its richness in silver and other minerals was not unknown. But it was a treasure house for the Spanish conquerors until the country became independent in 1821. It has been computed that in the 400 years following 1521, Mexico yielded 1.55,000 metric tons of silver, worth $3,000,000,000, two-thirds of the entire world production. In 1935 the country accounted for 36 per cent of the world's silver output, 14 per cent of its antimony (in 1934), 13 per cent of its lead, 3 per cent of its zinc and copper, and 21/2 per cent of its petroleum. Contrary to the impression of some, its gold output is now comparatively small, though important in the past. Its oil, as well, formerly hulked much larger than now, in 1921 being one-fourth of the world output.

Jan 1, 1936

By Donald McLaughlin

INCREASING variety of interests among mining geologists is becoming more and more marked, as the frontier of their science and of its applications continues to expand. Each of the traditional lines of inquiry provides its crop of new and better defined problems, and answers to them are being found in far more precise terms than in the past as older uncertainties .are swept away with the sharper techniques and the even sharper ideas of modern geology. A glance over the assemblage of projects and publications in 1939 reveals conspicuous activity in many different parts of the front, such as the attack on the controversial question of the acid or alkaline character of ore-forming solutions, the place of mineral districts in the larger structural framework of continents, and the place of ore shoots in the local patterns of districts. Instructive comparisons are being made which cut across lines of older correlations or which reinforce them by pointing out heretofore ne-

Jan 1, 1940

By H. K. Work, H. B. Emerick

IN the past year the steel industry underwent an abrupt conversion from a war tempo to a highly competitive peacetime schedule. It is still too early to gain a comprehensive picture as to which of the measures in production metallurgy, that made the war effort so successful, will remain in the postwar production of steel, but many of them undoubtedly will fill an important place after the war. Considerable speculation has developed regarding the disposition of the war-born production facilities of the steel industry. These include new open-hearth and electric furnaces, as well as vast numbers of auxiliary, supplementary, and balancing units that increased and speeded up production beyond the normal capacities of existing melting furnaces and finishing mills. Although these facilities were installed primarily to help meet war requirements, consideration was also given, in planning, to their possible peacetime use. The new equipment is generally modern and efficient, and it seems reasonable to suppose that strategically located units will gradually be absorbed by various steel companies to supplement their own facilities, or to replace in kind, obsolete and inefficient equipment now ready to be scrapped. Some, however,

Jan 1, 1946

By Hiland G. Batcheller

HISTORY shows that the nation which makes the most steel is the most likely to win wars. Today the course of war shows that the nations which get there first with the most steel of the right kind will be the ones to win. Not only the most steel, mind you, but the right kind. Adequate production, which was enough for victory before the days of totally mechanized warfare of 1943, must now be accompanied by still better quality as well as more effective distribution. Further, both production and distribution must be flexible enough to permit rapid shifts from one weapon to another for use in varying elements in varying geographical areas. Thus the problem of making enough steel of the right kind at the right time in the face of changing requirements dictated by experience has been and will remain highly complex. This does riot permit us to ease our restrictions on nonessential use. War is a complex business, like the job of making steel for war. Each time we solve one problem, another pops its head up. Yet we are making some progress.

Jan 1, 1943

By J. E. Johnson

OF the many items of information necessary to the successful management of the blast-furnace, few are more important than knowledge of the location and movement of the stock-line: whether the furnace is full and has. been kept so; whether the stock is settling regularly or slipping; and, if slipping, how often it has slipped, at what times, and how far at each time. To obtain these data, a man is sometimes stationed at the top of a. pair of mechanically-filled furnaces, simply to watch and gauge them by hand in the old-fashioned way. - A more recent practice is the suspension of test-rods from ropes leading over pulleys to the ground-level, where the ropes are wound on small drums with graduated peripheries and provided with crank-handles, whereby the skip-man or some other person can quickly and conveniently gauge the position of the stock-line in the furnace. I believe the credit for this great improvement belongs to Messrs. McClure & Phillips of Sharon, Pa., who were, as far as I know, the first to apply it, and who have a patent for it. The valuable indications gained by application of the Uehling pyrometer to the down-comer are Dot to be ignored; but the information thus furnished is somewhat indi¬rect, and there is no scale for the translation of "top-tempera¬tures " into " feet down." Moreover, this apparatus as a whole is delicate, and the cost of its installation and maintenance is high. If the record furnished by the Uehling pyrometer is not in the most desirable form, the test-rods, on the other hand, give no record at all, except through the memory, or notes of a man who, to say the least, is not gauging continuously, and who may omit to report an improperly low stock-line, if it be due to a fault of his own.

Mar 1, 1905

By R. G. Hawthorne

This report is concerned with fluid displacement in porous media, in those cases where viscous and gravitational forces control the displacement. Such a system would usually be found in a sand body of large physical dimensions such as an oil reservoir, although it is possible to create such a system in the laboratory. It is shown that the position of the fluid interface can be predicted by numerical calculations using a basic idea presented by Dietz. Fluid flow is considered in a vertical plane in a homogeneous, porous medium of sufficient thickness that the capillary transition zone is small in comparison with the total reservoir. A theory developed by Dietz' is used to make numerical calculations of the position of the fluid interface. The results for several conditions are compared with scaled model experiments. The results show that, for gas drive in a reservoir of steep dip, a relatively low flow rate can displace large volumes of oil before gas breakthrough. On the other hand, water injection at favorable mobility ratio and low dip may show best performance at high rates. Water tends to underride the oil and, given sufficient rime, will break through without much oil displacement. For certain conditions, which include relatively low flow rate, the interface is a straight line and its behavior is simple to calculate. At higher flow rates, the interface is unstable, and a numerical solution was programed for an automatic computer. In general, good agreement is shown between the fluid model and the computed results so long as gravitational forces have control. For a water drive at very unfavorable mobility ratio, many small water fingers appear. These viscous fingers are not controlled by the relatively small gravitational forces. When viscous fingering becomes the controlling factor, the mathematical model is oversimplified, and results do not check the fluid flow model. INTRODUCTION Present methods of reservoir analysis depend upon certain simplifying assumptions to obtain mathematical descriptions of practical use. Material-balance methods (Muskat2 or Tarner2) assume uniform fluid saturations in the entire reservoir, or in a few subdivisions of the reservoir. An unsteady-state flow calculation by West, er at considered pressure and saturation changes in flow to a well during solution gas drive, and neglected gravity effects. Results showed only a 4 per cent difference for ultimate oil recovery by the Muskat method, even though the case chosen for study was one in which unsteady-state effects should be high. The Buckley-Leverett5 method commonly assumes a one-dimensional flow system. It is applicable at high flow rates where viscous forces predominate over gravity forces. Simultaneous, parallel flow of the two fluids is assumed, and the concept of a fluid interface is not introduced. Permeabilities to each fluid for a given saturation must be known. The method is not applicable for a two-dimensional system where cross flow becomes possible. Less well known is the displacement equation derived by Dietz. This method is designed for two-dimensional flow systems and assumes a definable fluid interface within the porous medium. Dietz showed that, for a range of low flow rates, the interface would be stable. straight and at an angle of inclination which could be simply calculated. At a certain critical flow rate, the calculated interface tilt would equal the formation dip. For higher flow rates, a finger of displacing fluid would invade the displaced fluid. Dietz indicated that his method applied only to macroscopic reservoir behavior, while the Buckley-Leverett method applied to the small transition zone at the fluid interface. The examples worked out in this report are based on the fluid-displacement theory of Dietz. It is shown that the Dietz theory may be used to derive equations analogous to the Buckley-Leverett equations. In contrast to the Buckley-Leverett method, flow is considered in a plane rather than being limited to a line. Rather than a frontal advance, the movement of a fluid interface is followed. For flow rates substantially exceeding the critical rate and for high viscosity ratio, many fingers of invading fluid occur-—rather than the single finger assumed by Dietz. On the other hand, so long as some gravitational influence remains, the flow is not entirely parallel to the bedding planes as assumed by Buckley and Leverett; therefore, both methods fail to give an adequate descrip-

By Shiro Ban-ya, John Chipman

The effects of many alloying eletnents on the acticity coefficient of sulfur in liquid iron have-been studied by the equilibriutn in the reaction Sfin Fe) + Hz = HzS at 1550°C'. Results are expressed in terms of a concentration variable for a nonmetallic or for a substitutional metallic solute. Activity coefficient of sulfur, defined as increased by B, Al, C, Si, Ge, Sn, P, As, Sb, Mo, W, Co, and PI. It is decreased by Cu,Au, Ti. Zr, V, h'b, Ta, Cr, ,23n, and Ni. Irulues oj. the interaction coejficient 0i = 6 In are labulated. The same interactions are expressed also in terms of atom fraction and of weight percent. The thermodynamic properties of sulfur in liquid iron have been fairly well established. Our recent paper1 reported new determinations of activity coefficient up an atom fraction of 0.12 and equations based on a careful review of all published data. The effects of alloying elements on the activity of sulfur have been studied by several investigators,2"11 especially by Morris and Williams for silicon,' by Morris and Buehl for carbon,~ and by Sherman and Chipman for manganese. phosphorus, and al~minum.~ However, the effects of some important alloying elements remain to be determined. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of many alloying elements on the activity of sulfur in Fe-S-j ternary systems. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD This study was based on experimental determination of equilibrium in the reaction at 1550°C: The same apparatus and procedure as described in our previous paper have been retained, and the same corrections were applied for dissociation of H2S. The alumina crucibles used in the experiments consisted of four separate compartments. In a given experimental run. kach of three alumina crucibles held four different samples of about 3 g each which reached equilibrium in the same gas atmosphere and temperature. The charges were made up of electrolytic iron, pure iron sulfide, and desired alloying elements, which were pure metal or master alloys made in the laboratory. The weighed samples were held for 4 to 12 hr in the prepared atmosphere at 1550°C. They were then low- ered to be cooled as quickly as possible. The quenched metal beads were crushed to avoid the errors of segregation in the ingot. The sulfur content was determined gravimetrically and alloy content by appropriate chemical analysis. CALCULATIONS The apparent equilibrium constants of Eq. [I] are expressed as follows from the corrected gas ratios and sulfur concentrations: The term K" is the observed equilibrium constant in any given ternary solution, K' is the value for the Fe-S binary solution. and the limiting value of K' in the infinitely dilute solution is designated by K, which is the true equilibrium constant in Eq. [I]. In the thermodynamic treatment of nonmetallic elements in a metallic solution, it has been suggested1' that the lattice ratio has certain advantages over other variables to express the concentration of solute. In interstitial solid solutions the lattice ratio zj is proportional to the ratio of filled interstitial sites to those which remain unfilled. The equations derived for the activity of the solute using zj as the concentration variable are found also to be applicable to liquid solutions containing nonmetallic solutes when the nonmetal is treated as if it were interstitial. For this purpose we adopt the following definitions: The quantity vj which is negative for interstitial solutes is taken as -1 for nonmetallic and +1 for metallic solutes. For purposes of calculation however ; j may be assigned a value which results in a linear relation such as shown in Figs. 1 to 15. The activity coefficient of sulfur, Qs, and equilibrium constant. K(z). are defined as follows: According to a Taylor series expansion. the logarithm of the activity coefficient of sulfur in Fe-S-j ternary system is: However, the value of 6 In */6zi remains constant through a broad range of dilute solutions and the terms of higher order are negligibly small. As a consequence, Eq. [6] is simplified as follows:

Jan 1, 1970

By N. A. Gjostein

The formal descnption of the decay of an isolated scratch can be written in terms of an appropriate Fourier integral. With the application of certain approximations, this description leads to the second-moment analysis developed by King and Mullins. It is shown that the second-moment analysis does not adequately describe the behavior of a decaying, isolated scratch, and that it is difficult to obtain internally consistent values of the surface self-diffusion coefficient, D,,from this analysis. This inconsistency arises from contributions of higher-order moments to the decay process. Two new analytical methods, based on the Fourier integval representation of a scratch profile, have been developed for determining values of D, from the decay kinetics of isolated scratches. In the profile-matching method, a given initial profile is resolved into its Fourier components, the components are allowed to decay exponentially over an annealing time interval, At, and finally they are synthesized to form a decayed profile. The predicted profile is adjusted to fit the experimental profile by varying only the parameter, D,At; the contribution from volume diffusion is directly taken into account and the integrals involved in the Fourier analysis are evaluated by numerical integration on an electronic computer. In the kinetic method, the widths, W, of a series of predicted profiles are determined for various volume-diffusion contributions, and the results are plotted in the form W vs DSAt. For a fixed ratio of surface to volume diffusivities, R, these plots are linear; the slope of the lines increases as R decreases. A simi-lar analysis can be performed on the depths of the predicted profiles. In this case, plots of (l/df3 vs D,At are found to be nonlinear. The proper value of Ds is found by superimposing the data for the experimental widths and depths on Plots of this kind and adjusting Ds until a fit is obtained with the line having the appropriate value oj R. An analysis of the slopes of these plots for R —= (surface diffusion only) reveals that they do not give the correct value, 2276, for width tf second-moment standard profile. This finding allows one to modify the second-moment analysis in such a way as to obtain internally consistent values of Ds. ThERE are several processes, involving a flow of matter along a surface, due to gradients in curvature of the surface, that may be used to determine the surface self-diffusion coefficient, Ds. These processes are commonly known as 1) thermal grooving, 2) single and 3) multiple scratch decay, 4) blunting of field-emitter tips, and 5) sintering. In this series of papers, the first three of these processes are examined in detail in an attempt to subject the phenomenological theories governing these processes to a critical test and, furthermore, to make a critical comparison of the values of D, obtained from these techniques. Although the thermal grooving technique has been established'' as a reliable method for determining D, , this has not been the case for the process of scratch flattening. Mullins and coworkers374 have proposed phenomenological laws governing the growth of the width and the decay of the amplitude of an isolated scratch, but only in one study5 has the width-growth law been supported by experimental evidence. In paper I of this series detailed experimental evidence is presented that points up the deficiencies of the second-moment analysis; the origins of these deficiencies are also discussed. Following this development, some new analytical procedures, based on representing the scratch profile by Fourier integrals, are presented as a means of obtaining reliable values of D, from the kinetics of the scratch-flattening process. Further applications of the Fourier integral approach are reported in papers 11' and 111,~ where the method has been useful in interpreting the anisotropy of flattening rates of isolated scratches (paper 11) and in describing the multiple scratch decay process (paper 111). THEORY OF SCRATCH DECAY Following ~ullins" approach we consider an arbitrarily shaped scratch profile, Fig. 6, at some time, t. The profile is designated by a function z(x,t) which can be expressed in terms of a Fourier integral as follows:

Jan 1, 1967

By R. T. Gallagher

FOLLOWING recent precedent, the Mineral Industry Education Division opened its first session on Sunday afternoon at the Columbia University Men's Faculty Club with an unexpectedly large attendance. The first session was presided over by the Division Chairman, A. F. Greaves-Walker. The first paper, a preliminary report on college enrollments in mineral technology curricula, by W. B. Plank, though incomplete, pointed to a general over-all reduction of 38 per cent in enrollment in mineral industry curricula. Following that, A. C. Callen's paper elicited many comments. It presented the results of a survey (no direct questions asked) addressed to officials in the mining industry. J. L. Bray spoke on war production drive methods and results and his slides gave visible evidence (and much laughter) of the success of the drive. C. L. Wilson's able presentation covered not so much present status but the future status of accelerated mineral technology programs after the war. The last paper of the first session by Edward Steidle, was handed out in mimeographed form.

Jan 1, 1943

By Thomas T. Read

THE benefits derived from stabilization of industry that might possibly be attained through some scheme of centralized economic planning have been much discussed of recent months, and opinions on the subject range from those who believe that some agency like the War Industries Board would be practicable to create and wholly beneficial in effects, to those who are equally convinced that none of the suggestions so far advanced are at all practicable, or likely to be productive of more of good than of evil. The discussion has been on the general topic, but-many of those who have written or spoken on it have introduced economic problems of the pinera1 industry; for example, Newton D. Baker, who referred to the coal industry in his address on economic planning at the Williamstown Institute of Politics on July 31, and then went on to say, "Industrial progress is made by the development of new things, but new things upset the equilibrium of any plan. Who could have planned the industrial effects of the development of the railroads, or the economic changes which you have seen attend the development of the internal combustion engine. Obviously, unless we are prepared to put world economics in a strait-jacket and, like the encyclopedists, write its full history on the theory that further progress is impossible, no such plan could be made for nations which are forging ahead as is entirely rational for nations which are still catching up."

Jan 1, 1931