February 2, 1918





RECORD   AND   GUIDE





135





BUILDING   MANAGEMENT





RESULT OF   TESTS   TO   CONSERVE COAL, CON¬
DUCTED BY BUREAU OF MINES, WASHINGTON





[ N order that there shall be the great-
L est economy in the burning of bitum-
nous coals for heating the different
federal buildings throughout the coun-
ry. The Bureau of Mines, Department
)f the Interior, has conducted a series
)f tests with some of the widely used
)ituminous coals and has printed recom-
nendations based on these tests. For-
unately, the recommendations will also
ipply to those having charge of private
mildings and apartment houses. The
■ecommendations on how to burn bi-
;uminous coals economically in these
arge house-heating boilers are as fol-
ows :

1.    In burning bituminous coals in large
house-heating boilers the fuel bed should
not be seriously disturbed until the coal
has become well coked, that is, until the
gassy part of the coal has been largely
driven  off.

2.    Both caking and non-caking types of
coal may be used satisfactorily in boilers
of  this  type if  properly  handled.

3.     The presence of a moderate propor¬
tion of screeni'ngs mixed with the lump
coal causes the fresh charge of coal to heat
more gradually and tht' emission of smoke
is kept down more easily. Therefore such
a proportion of screenings is an advan¬
tage.

4.     Increasing the proportion of screen¬
ings in the coal necessitates the use of a
stronger draft in order to carry the same
load. Smaller firing charges must also be
used and more frequent attention given.
The tendency of caking coals to cake is in¬
creased, and this also means that the fire
must have more frequent attention.

5.     One large charge of coal fired by
the spreading method will result in a
longer emission of dense smoke than the
total emission of such smoke from two
charges of half of the size fired some time





apart  by   the   alternate   method.

6.     With some coals, moderate charges
fired by the alternate method necessitates
less frequent attention to the healer than
larger charges fired by the spreading
method. Caking coals having a consider¬
able proportion of fine coal or screenings
are usually among these. Conversely, a
fire will usually require more frequent at¬
tention when a lumpy caking coal free
from screenings or a non-caking coal is
fired in moderate charges by the alternate
method.

7.     The number of tests made was not
large enough to justify conclusions regard¬
ing the relative efficiency with which a
coal may be burned by the two methods of
firing, but the author believes that in actual
service over considerable periods better
results will be obtained by the alternate
method.

8.     Frequency of cleaning the fires will
be determined by the character of the coal
and the rate at which it is burned, but with
most coals the fires should be cleaned only
once or twice in 24 hours in ordinary
weather.

9.     If the alternate method of firing is
employed, the cleaning should be done just
before firing the fresh charge, and only
one-hall' of the grate cleaned at a time.
Then little or no smoke will result from
the cleaning, because the side of the fire
on which there is uncoked coal is not dis¬
turbed.

10.     All three of the coals fired by the
alternate method in the tests described
were burned at rates corresponding to the
heating conditions during the most of the
winter, with scarcely any manipulation of
the fuel bed except the cleaning of the fires
and an occasional leveling just before firing.

11.    The average fireman is apt to poke
and slice the fire much more than is actually

necessary. If a caking coal is used and
the cake fuel must be broken up before it
is well coked, slice the fire by running a
straight bar under the fuel bed and rais¬
ing it slightly so as to crack the caked
mass. Do not stir the bed upside down by
raising the bar through the fuel bed, nor
break the bed with a bar from the top.





12.     If the fuel bed is covered with a
charge of tresh fuel iu a layer more than
five inches thick, the new charge, unless
it is very free from slack, is apt to have
a smothering enect. Then the output of
the boiler will be correspondingly decreased
and, especially if the spreading method of
firing is employed, the mass of tresh coal
will usually have to be broken once or
twice belore the fire will pick up. Conse¬
quently, the maximum firing charge should
be not much thicker than five inches and
for caking coals containing considerable
slack it should not be more than four
inches thick. Of course, when a fire is to
be kept banked heavier charges may be
used.

13.     Do not fire large lumps of coal.
Break all lumps into pieces no larger than
fist size.

11. Large house-heating boilers do not
require an intense draft to meet any rea¬
sonable demands for heat if the fuel bed is
kept in proper condition, but the draft must
be properly controlled.

15. The damper regulator should work
freely with changes in steam pressure and
should close the swinging drait opening in
the ash-pit door before it starts to open the
check draft in the smoke pipe.

IG. The doors on the front of the boiler
should fit snugly in their seats; special
care should be taken to prevent any ma¬
terial wedging between the doora and the
front and thus admitting air when or
where it ought to be prevented from enter¬
ing.

17. Do not allow clinkers to accumulate
in the fire or too great a quantity of ashes
on the grates. Be careful, however, in
shaking the grates not to shake through
unburned fuel.

IS. In ordinary or severe weather keep an
active fuel bed averaging ten to twelve
inches deep. In milder weather the depth of
active fuel may be decreased by keeping a
layer of ashes on the grate under the live
coals.

IU.   Keep ashes removed from the a=h-pit.

20. Keep flue surfaces clean by brush¬
ing at least once a week.





VALIDITY AND EFFECT OF AWARDS

OF ARBITRATION COMMITTEE





Interesting Controversy Over Commissions





A CONTROVERSY having arisen
among a number of brokers over
commissions upon the exchange and
sale of real estate, the matter was
submitted to the reference and arbitra¬
tion committee of the Chicago Real
Estate Board, of which Board two of
the brokers, B. and C, were members.
One who was not a member, D., after
refusing to submit the controversy to
the committee, was finally induced_ by
the chairman of the committee to join
in a written agreement agreeing to abide
by the committee's decision in the con¬
troversy. The Board's by-laws provide
that whenever members are unable to
agree concerning the division of com¬
missions resulting from any sale which
they may have jointly negotiated, either
member interested in the transaction
may submit the matter in writing to the
reference and arbitration committee of
the Board, which committee shall de¬
termine the rights of the parties to the
controversy, and that any decision ren¬
dered by a majority of the committee
shall be final and binding on the parties.
The committee investigated the claims
of the various parties and made two
awards in writing, joined in by all the
members of the committee. Another
broker. A., not a party to the arbitration
proceedings, instituted an attachment
suit against one of the parties, B., and
another against the other two, C and D_.,
claiming a share of the commissions. C.
and D. filed a bill against A. and B., pray¬
ing that the latter be required to adjust
and settle their differences, arising out
of contract, between themselves, and
offering to pay the sums due the de¬
fendants to whom the same should ap¬
pear to the court to belong. The cause
was referred to the master to take
evidence and report, he being directed
first to determine whether or not the
awards by the reference and arbitration
committee    were    valid    before    taking





testimony upon the merits of the con¬
troversy between  B.,  C.  and  D.

The master found that the awards
were valid and binding upon the parties
thereto, and should be enforced by the
court in the present proceeding, and
made further findings as to the division
of the commissions after considering the
evidence. A decree was entered, from
which A., B. and C. appealed, C. and D.
attacking the validity of the committee's
awards.

The Illinois Supreme Court, Clark v.
Courter, 117 N. E. 720. has made the
following rulings relative to the validity
of the committee's awards:

As it is the agreement between the
parties submitting to arbitration that
fixes the conditions, limitations and
restrictions to be observed by the arbi¬
trators, error cannot be predicated on
the failure of the arbitrators to furnish
a transcript of the shorthand notes to
each party, where the agreement merely
required the notes to be taken and
transcribed. A party to an award who
attacks it on the ground that the arbi¬
trators did not furnish a transcript of
evidence, and that each member of the
Board did not read the testimony before
making the award, as required by the
agreement, must show that such con¬
dition was not complied with, since
every presumption is in favor of the
validity of  an award.

It was contended that the awards
were void because A. was not a party
to the arbitration proceedings. The
court said that inasmuch as A.'s only
claim to the fund in controversy arose
out of a contract with B., to which C.
and D. were not parties, their interests
in the subject matter of the arbitration
liroceedings could not have been affected
by either the presence or absence of A.
as a party thereto. Had A. been a party
it could neither have increased nor
diminished the amount awarded to C.
and D., hence they were not prejudiced





RECORD   AND   GUIDE   IS   IN   ITS   FIFTIETH   YEAR    OF    CONT





and could not attack the awards on the
ground that A. was not a party to the
arbitration proceedings.

It was also contended that the awards
were void because it appeared on its
face that the arbitrators retained juris¬
diction of the parties and subject matter
for future action. It appeared from the
by-laws of the Chicago Real Estate
Board that the penalty for refusal to
abide by an award made by the reference
and arbitration committee of the board
is suspension or expulsion from the
board, and the court held that the pro¬
vision retaining jurisdiction over the
controversy until the decision should be
arrived at was inserted in the awards
for the sole purpose of enforcing the
contract. The awards themselves were
final and determined the controversy
between the parties upon the merits.

----------------♦-------------—

Transfer Cases.
The Public Service Commission has
been definitely informed that the Third
Avenue Railroad Company and other
street surface railroad companies will
be ready to go ahead with their cases
when the hearings into the companies'
applications for permission to charge
two cents for transfers are resumed on
February 6. These hearings have been
adjourned from time to time at the re¬
quest of the companies, but the most
recent adjournment was made at the re¬
quest of the city through the Corpora¬
tion  Counsel.

.----------*----------

"Financing  an   Enterprise."

An interesting work, entitled "Financ¬
ing an Enterprise," which is in reality a
manual of information and suggestion
for promoters, investors, and business
men gencrallv, has been published by
the Ronald Press. This is the fourth
edition of the book, which is by Fran¬
cis Cooper. The work is divided into
six parts and an appendix; the first deal¬
ing with the enterprise, the second in¬
vestigation of an enterprise; third, pro¬
tection of an enterprise; fourth, capital¬
ization of an enterprise; fifth, presenta¬
tion of an enterprise, and the sixth,
special features of promotion.

INUOUS    PUllL-ICATION.