Mance: Quarry Industry of Southern Indiana 57 



imity of the stone belt to the coal fields. The price of coal is so 

 low that little care is practiced in conserving it. If the price of 

 coal had been higher in the district, this sort of waste would have 

 been done away with much sooner. 



The value of a treatise on the question of power generation 

 lies in its ability to suggest methods of saving money for the 

 owners by improving the methods of operation and increasing the 

 efficiency of the equipment. The fundamental object of any 

 power plant is the conversion of energy from one form into 

 another at the least possible ultimate cost. This involves not 

 only the cost of converting the energy into the form desired, but 

 also the cost of the distribution and application of the energy. 

 The most efficient plant thermally in the conversion of energy 

 from one form to another is not necessarily the most economical 

 commercially, since the various other items involved in effecting 

 this transfer may more than offset the gain over a thermally less 

 efficient plant. Competition or a desire to increase the profits of 

 production makes every progressive operator watch for ways and 

 means of reducing the cost of his product. The primary object 

 of this study is to outline as thoroly as possible the present practice 

 thruout the district, and, wherever possible, to suggest methods 

 for betterment. The criticisms may seem severe in some cases, 

 but they are only made where justified, and then only 

 with a view of making the operators see the wastefulness of their 

 methods. The cost of power is a non-productive factor and fre- 

 quently runs so high that it endangers and sometimes actually 

 destroys the profits. Few managers and operators have the 

 time or the inclination to go deeply enough into the subject of 

 power generation to judge rightly the returns from power costs. 

 In 9 out of every 10 mills and quarries of this district the cost of 

 power is above what it could be made with a little careful over- 

 sight of this large factor in the expense account. Even with 

 present equipment a marked saving could be made by more 

 careful management and a closer oversight. 



Present Practices and Machinery. The power problem 

 'of the Southern Indiana quarry district can be best understood 

 by first familiarizing ourselves with the methods now in use for 

 the production of power. 



The buildings in use for the housing of the power-producing 

 machiner}^ in the district are in most cases temporary wooden 

 structures. Usually the power-house is built as a lean-to against 



