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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.