GENERAL SUMMAEY. 155 



into the realm of a luxury. The homes of the country, therefore, 

 must look to a dependence upon bituminous coal. There is no 

 alternative. 



But the dense smoke of bituminous coal is intolerable in view of the 

 efforts going into civic improvements, v/hich v/ould come to nothing in 

 event of widespread use of this dirty fuel. The trouble can not be 

 corrected by the individual consumer; either the coal must be treated 

 by a community operation or smoky cities must be put up with. It 

 so happens, however, that coal smoke contains materials of great 

 and growing commercial value. Hence, if coal can be treated on a 

 large scale, the by-product values represented in the smoke will 

 support the operation and give a smokeless fuel at a cost less than the 

 present price of anthracite. It is technically possible to treat 

 bituminous coal in large quantities so as to yield smokeless fuel, 

 ammonia, benzol, and tar. The smokeless fuel can be recovered 

 entirely in the form of gas, or else in the form of a solid artificial 

 anthracite together with a smaller production of gas. The by- 

 products have value for du-ect uses and form the starting point for 

 the manufacture of valuable chemical products, as dyes, drugs, and 

 fertilizers. On the basis of 1915 prices, a ton of coal which sold at 

 the mines at slightly more than $1 contained values adding up to 

 over $14. With this discrepancy between value realized and value 

 attainable, it is believed that the technological possibility is likewise 

 an economic possibility. Indeed, the present use of raw bituminous 

 coal m homes is an anachronism. 



The lack of progi-ess in domestic fuel is influenced by habit and by 

 the relatively abundant supply of anthracite heretofore available, 

 but more fundamentally advance has been blocked by the virtual 

 failure of public utilities in American municipal life. Had the public 

 utilities function been soundly developed in the United States, the 

 fuel needs of each community would now be served by public service 

 corporations, at a saving to the community over the aggregate cost 

 of its fuel under present conditions and at a great gain to the com- 

 munity in cleanliness and health. 



As the default is laid at the doors of public utilities, it is desirable 

 to examine more specifically wherein this type of activity has fallen 

 down; for it is obvious that if domestic fuel has not adequately 

 developed because of a flaw in public utilities administration, it can 

 not be expected to develop adequately until this defect has been set 

 aright. A public utility may be defined as a necessity in general 

 use which does not lend itself to competition. This conception has 

 been accepted for certain community essentials like water-supply, 

 gas-supply, traction service, and the like. It is commonly recognized 

 that the activities falling under such heads can not be entrusted to 

 the unrestricted competition of business enterprise. 



