ment of these explosives. This work is being conducted through the explosives division. Licensing of users of platinum and allied metals to limit during the war the possession and use of these metals was conducted through the explosives division.

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS.

HELIUM INVESTIGATIONS.

The Bureau of Mines took the leading part in developing the recovery on a commercial scale of helium, a rare gas peculiarly suitable for use in balloons and airships, from natural gas. During the fiscal year 1918, with the aid of the Army and Navy Departments, a large amount of work was done in examining gas fields for helium and in erecting and operating three experimental plants for the recovery of helium from the gas of the Petrolia field which supplies Fort Worth, Tex. This work has been described in Bulletin 178-C." Construction of one of these plants known as the Bureau of Mines or Norton process plant and later designated Plant No. 3, was completed on or about October 1, 1918, on the basis of a maximum production of 30,000 cubic feet of helium a day. Dr. R. B. Moore, physical chemist, represented the Bureau of Mines at the plant.

Construction of all three helium plants was carried out by the Constructing Quartermaster Corps of the Army, cooperating with the Bureau of Mines; the finances of the helium undertaking have been handled by the finance division of the Bureau of Aircraft Production (now Air Service of the Army) and the accounting section of the Bureau of Mines.

Of the three plants, Plant No. 1 (Linde process) began producing helium April 8, 1918; and Plant No. 2 (Claude process), May 1, 1918. About 150,000 cubic feet of the gas, stored in steel cylinders, was on the dock at New Orleans awaiting shipment to France when the armistice ended hostilities.

In order to coordinate the different agencies concerned in the helium project, and to take steps for controlling effectively the exploration and conservation of helium, a committee consisting of one representative from each of the three governmental departments chiefly concerned was appointed by resolution of the Aircraft Board on August 23, 1918. G. O. Carter, chairman, represented the Navy; Dr. Harvey N. Davis, the Army; and George A. Orrok, the Department of the Interior.

In August, 1918, the War and Navy Departments, realizing the paramount importance of insuring a supply of helium for military purposes, determined to build a large production plant (Linde

• Manning, Van. H., Production of helium; petroleum investigations: Bull. 178-C, Bureau of Mines, 1919.

process) at Fort Worth, and arranged for a lease of the Petrolia gas pool and for a Government pipe line to convey gas from Petrolia to the plant.

On December 8, 1918, the Aircraft Board in a report to the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy made recommendations for the future, suggesting four plans, one of which it preferred. On December 17 the Director of the Bureau of Mines submitted to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of War, a plan that provided for further operation of all three experimental plants, also for a new Claude unit, and included a fund for conserving the helium supply of the Nation.

On December 27, 1918, the Secretary of the Navy wrote to the Director of the Bureau of Mines disapproving further experimental work by the Government in connection with Plants 1 and 2, consenting to a limited further experimental operation of Plant No. 3, and advising him of the adoption of the plan preferred by the Aircraft Board. On January 9, 1919, Maj. Gen. Jervey, of the General Staff of the Army, wrote advising that the War Department concurred in the action of the Secretary of the Navy and that the accomplishment of the plan would be intrusted to the Navy Depart

ment.

Accordingly, the Director of the Bureau of Mines ordered Plants 1 and 2 shut down on January 23. The Bureau of Yards and Docks of the Navy Department took physical possession of Plant No. 2 and of the Government property of Plant No. 1, as of April 1, 1919. All helium produced at these plants was placed in the custody of the Navy Department at its special request.

After overcoming many obstacles that could not be foreseen, Plant No. 3 on April 2, 1919, began to produce helium, but steady production could not be maintained because of the need of making repairs, and because of difficulty in obtaining a supply of natural gas of uniform quality. On the recommendation of the Director of the Bureau of Mines, April 16, 1919, an allotment of $100,000 for needed alterations and additional equipment for Plant No. 3 was requested, one-half by the Army and one-half by the Navy, and later was made available. During the remainder of the year the work of designing and procuring this equipment and continuing experimental plant operation was carried out.

PRODUCTION OF SODIUM CYANIDE.

At the beginning of the year work was in progress on a plant at Saltville, Va., for the manufacture of sodium cyanide by the Bucher process.

In the construction of this plant the Quartermaster General's Office and the Ordnance Department of the Army cooperated with the

Bureau of Mines, the Army providing the funds and the bureau the plans and the technical control. C. L. Parsons, chief chemist of the bureau, was in charge of the work. The plant, which cost $2,500,000, was ready for operation early in November and was running at the time of the armistice. On December 21, 1918, the control of the plant and its personnel passed from the Bureau of Mines to the War Department.

OXIDATION OF AMMONIA TO NITRIC ACID.

During the year the War Department erected at Sheffield, Ala., in connection with the synthetic ammonia plant, a plant for the manufacture of nitric acid by the oxidation of ammonia. The apparatus in this plant, which is more efficient than any hitherto devised, was the result of extensive experimentation under the direction of Dr. Charles L. Parsons, of the Bureau of Mines, with the cooperation of the Ordnance Department and the Semet Solvay Co., at Syracuse, N. Y.

Dr. Parsons, chief chemist of the bureau, accompanied by Mr. Eysten Berg, an engineer familiar with nitrogen-fixation practice in Norway, late in 1917 made a trip to Europe as the representative of the War Department, to study the nitrate plants in France, Italy, England, Norway, and Sweden. The information obtained was incorporated in a report by Dr. Parsons, which was subsequently used as a basis of the report of the committee on nitrate supply, rendered May 11, 1917, to the Secretary of War.

As the result of experimentation at Syracuse, N. Y., conducted under the direction of Dr. Parsons, of the bureau, and Dr. L. C. Jones, chief chemist of the Semet Solvay Co., assisted by J. D. Davis, chemist of the bureau, Capt. G. A. Perley, and other chemists of the Ordnance Department, and chemists of the company, a type of apparatus was evolved that gave highly satisfactory results in semicommercial tests at Syracuse. This apparatus was adopted for Chemical Plant No. 1, at Sheffield, Ala.

WAR MINERALS RELIEF COMMISSION.

An amendment to the minerals-control act of October 5, 1918, `authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to examine claims and pay off financial losses of the producers of certain minerals, where it could be shown that the production had taken place as a result of Government action, was attached to the Dent military bill (Public, No. 322), which was signed by the President on March 3, 1919. The measure authorized investigation of net losses incurred by producers of manganese, chrome, pyrite, and tungsten, and the maximum amount to be expended under the measure was limited to $8,500,000.

A commission of three members, known as the War Minerals Relief Commission, is now reviewing the claims and making the awards. The members of the commission are J. F. Shafroth, M. D. Foster," and P. N. Moore. The Secretary of the Interior authorized the Director of the Bureau of Mines to conduct the field engineering and accounting investigations, also the office routine and administrative work of the commission.

As soon as it was organized, the commission prepared and sent out questionnaires to all claimants for relief under the terms of the act, had examinations made by the engineers, and at the end of the fiscal year it was holding hearings in the West.

ECONOMIC LIAISON COMMITTEE.

Late in March, 1919, an interdepartmental committee known as the Economic Liaison Committee was organized under the chairmanship of Wesley Frost, assistant acting foreign-trade adviser of the State Department, to expedite the handling of matters of interdepartmental consultation, and to harmonize and integrate work of the various governmental agencies in Washington in economic matters connected with foreign trade.

This committee meets once a week and reports through subcommittees on such questions as the supply and distribution of raw materials, finance, and transportation.

The representatives of the mineral industry on the committee are H. C. Morris, Bureau of Mines, and E. S. Bastin, United States Geological Survey. These representatives serve as permanent contact officers of the two bureaus by direct authority of the Secretary of the Interior, and are ex officio members of all subcommittees considering subjects in which the two bureaus are concerned. They are privileged to call in to the deliberations of the subcommittees those specialists of the bureau most familiar with the subject under consideration and various members of the bureau and the survey have participated in the preparation of reports.

Reports on a wide variety of subjects have been prepared and are in course of preparation for submission to the various departments represented for their use, and for such publicity as the confidential nature of the reports will permit.

Of particular interest to the mineral industry are the reports on coal, potash, and petroleum. The coal report deals largely with the new position in export trade which confronts the United States by reason of the grave shortage in those countries ordinarily supplying foreign requirements. The report on potash was prepared under the chairmanship of H. C. Morris, of the Bureau of Mines, and on

Dr. Foster died Oct. 20, 1919. He was stricken with illness while touring the west with the commission.

the subcommittee that prepared the petroleum report were J. O. Lewis, chief petroleum technologist, W. E. Perdew, petroleum chemist, and A. G. White, mine economist of the bureau. All phases of the petroleum situation, including resources, production, and foreign trade, with particular reference to the increased activities of foreign governments in acquiring petroleum concessions were incorporated in the report.

POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTROL OF MINERALS.

In May, 1918, the Bureau of Mines, the United States Geological Survey, and other Government bureaus were invited to contribute to a series of reports on the political and commercial control of the mineral resources of the world initiated by J. E. Spurr, then a member of the committee on mineral imports of the United States Shipping Board. J. E. Orchard, assistant mine economist of the Bureau of Mines, was placed in charge of the editing and publication of the reports. These reports, issued in mimeographed form, were confidential and they were supplied to Government officials only. They were used by the economic advisers of the American delegation at the peace conference. In all 32 reports were issued. The list follows: