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20, | MARINE REVIEW. MARINE REVIEW Devoted to the Merchant Marine, the Navy, Ship Building, and Kindred Interests. Published every Thursday at No. 418-19 Perry-Payne building, Cleveland, Ohio, by THe MARINE REVIEW PUBLISHING Co. SusscriPTion--$3.00 per year in advance; foreign, including postage, $4.50, or 19 shillings. Single copies 10 cents each. Convenient binders sent, post paid, $1.00. Advertising rates on application. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. ------------------------------------------------------ Both army and navy are claiming Theodore Roosevelt as their candi- date for the vice presidency of the United States. Indeed both branches of the service are honored 'by him. He was an executive in the navy de- partment 'before he was colonel of a regiment. In 'both of these offices he distinguished himself. He foresaw the Spanish-American war. In- deed he clamored loudly for it. He was in favor of war at the start and did all he could to prepare the navy for it. He onganized the celebrated mosquito fleet, and it was largely through his personal efforts that the navy was in such a high state of efficiency when the war broke out. The war on, however, he found the routine work attached to the office of assistant secretary of the navy particularly irksome and he accordingly resigned to assist his personal friend, Leonard Wood, physician to the president, in organizing the regiment of rough riders. This regiment, with Wood as colonel and Roosevelt as lieutenant-colonel, lent an air picturesque to the campaign. Roosevelt was daring in action and 'be- came the idol of his soldiers. When he returned to New York he toured the state for governor with a company of his rough riders and was elected by a comfortable though not a large majority. In many ways Roosevelt represents the highest type of citizenship in the United States. He believes that every man owes a duty to the state. 'He holds that if a man has not means his first duty is to his family; but that if he has means his first duty is to the state. His conception is thus in keeping with the ideas of those distinguished men of leisure who compose the public bodies and common councils of England and who give a fair portion of their time to the public service without hope of financial reward. The tone of official life in the United States would {be vastly improved if more men of Roosevelt's views could be in- duced to accept office. He has unquestionably strengthened the Re- publican ticket. Following is a copy of the section of the Republican platform adopt- ed at Philadelphia devoted to the wpbuilding of American shipping: "Our present dependence upon foreign shipping for nine-tenths of our foreign carrying is a great loss to the industry of this country. It is also a serious danger to our trade, for its sudden withdrawal in the event of European war would seriously cripple our expanding foreign commerce. The national defense and naval efficiency of this country, moreover, supply a compelling reason for legislation 'which will enable us to recover our former place among the trade-carrying fleets of the world." This paragraph bears evidence of emasculation. It hasn't the ring to it that it should have. It is altogether a too-glittering generality. The platform should have specifically endorsed the Frye bill which prac- tically embodies the sense of [both houses of congress upon the subject of shipping and upon which much research and thought have been ex- pended. So far it has been a case of now you see it and now you don't. The naval board of construction originally planned the new hbattleships of the Georgia class to have the guns housed in single turrets. The vote stood four to one in favor of the single system. Later, however, Secretary Long decided to reopen the question and to submit it to a special board of thirteen, eight of them being officers of the line. The result is that this board has reported in favor of the double turret system for the Georgia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and of the single system for the two new battleships authorized lby the present congress, which, by the way, are to be named Virginia and Rhode Island. Secretary Long has approved the recommendation of the special board. The result seems to be to defi- nitely commit the navy to the superimposed system. The position may yet be proved to be a strategical error. Syren and Shipping is one of the English journals that has always been in close touch with operations at the works of Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Ireland. It is quite probable therefore that the following note in the last issue that has reached this country is reliable: "There has been so much talk about a coming steamer lbigger than the Oceanic; so much doubt expressed; so many denials; that we consider we are doing no less than a public service in stating on the highest authority that the keel of a larger steamer than the biggest on record has already 'been laid at the Queen's Island yard, Belfast, and will, we understand, be launched this year. We have before expressed an opinion that the Rt. [June 28. Hon. W. J. Pirrie, P. C., would not stop with the big White Star liner, and the exclusive information we are able to now give testifies to the £ " correctness of our contention. The result of the experiment of rebuilding the Hartford will be to permanently retire all the wooden ships of the navy. It has been found impossible to retain anything like full speed owing to the poor founda- tion afforded by the wooden hull of the old cruiser. It is manifest that the old ship cannot safely stand the wear and tear of her machinery, and it has consequently been deemed inadvisable to make any such changes on the other wooden boats. The United States is gradually assembling a powerful squadron in Chinese waters. The squadron under command of Admiral Kempff con- sists of the Oregon, Newark, Nashville, Yorktown and Monocacy, Princeton and Marietta and the transport Zafiro. Other vessels will be sent to him as rapidly as possible. Unusual activity is shown in the ship building industry on the Pacific coast. Ships are being built to meet the growing demands of commerce. It is the legitimate result of the new policy of expansion. The Hawaiian trade shows considerable development and with the pacification of the Philippines there is bound to be a great impetus in trade. FIREPROOF WOOD BY THE FERRELL PROCESS. A large party of representative business men, including officials of the Pennsylvania and Reading railroads systems and steamship com- panies, architects, representatives of chemical plants, contractors and builders from Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Wilmington and _else- where, gathered at the yard of the New York Ship Building Co., in South Camden, N. J., last week, to witness a practical test of the merits of wood fire proofed by the Ferrell process. The tests were made under the direc- tion of the officials of the ship building company, and proved highly successful. Two small buildings, 8 feet square and 13 feet high, had been erected in the southern end of the yard for the purposes of the tests. One of these buildings was constructed of Carolina pine, without being fire proofed, while the other was built of white pine, poplar, cherry, ash and chestnut, with cypress shingled roof, the wood in the latter building hav- ing been subjected to the fire proofing process. The buildings were sup- ported on posts 2 feet above the ground, the lower portion being built of ash, with plenty of ventilation. Under each house and against it were piled shavings, oily waste and a large quantity of wood thoroughly satu- rated with oil. At a given signal matches were applied to the inflammable material, and in a few minutes the flames were leaping high above both buildings, the intense heat driving the crowd back quite a distance. In 6 minutes from the time the match was applied the building not fire proofed was a roaring mass of flames, and in 16 minutes the structure was totally de- stroyed. On the fireproof structure, notwithstanding the oil-soaked wood both under and around the building continued to burn for a half hour, the only evidence of the fire was a charred and blackened exterior in some places, while the interior remained practically the same as before the match was applied. Following this successful test a large quantity of oil-soaked shavings and wood were piled around a fire proofed box, made of ash, in the interior of the building, and this was also fired and burned furiously for 23 minutes, when the box was pulled out, somewhat charred and black- ened, and was then opened and the contents consisting of 200 pamphlets, entirely uninjured, were distributed to the guests. Two other buildings, 5 feet square and 8 feet high, had been built, one of fireproof wood and the other of ordinary wood, with electric light wires coiled around and through the structures from floors to roof. The current was turned on, 500 volts, and flames soon issued from the build- ing not fireproofed, but the only effects noticeable on the fireproof building was the blackening of the boards at the points of contact with the wires. Tests were also made with the Bunson blast burner, and a flame of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit projected against the treated wood, but it only charred at the spot where the flame was applied. Mr. Ferrell, the patentee, claims that the chemical solution used in the fireproofing is non-volatile, thus insuring the permanency of the treat- ment. itis also non-hygroscopic and non-corrosive. It is forced in under heavy hydraulic pressure, mechanically controlled, without in any way injuring the fibrous tissues or changing its color or natural qualities. The treatment in every way tends to preserve and improve the wood, making it take paint, oil and varnish better, besides being just as easy to work with tools as the untreated wood. The process is owned by the United States Fireproof Wood Co., which is controlled by Philadelphians. Through the great success of igas 'buoys in the lighting of lake chan- nels, and asa result of the adoption of thor by the Be in large fnbets for this purpose, Wm. St. John of the Safety Car Heating & seating Co. manufacturers of the buoys, has an acquaintance among ship euners and ship masters that extends to all parts of the lake re- gion. he 'business of the Safety Car Heating & Lighting Co. with the ue ways of the country is immense. The use of gas in lighting ship See is only a drop in the bucket. But the gas 'buoy is St. John's pee ed he a in touch with the ship owners. He has just sent to capt eo, - IicKay of Cleveland a quantity of very nice leather card S (an advertising specialty) to tbe distributed among the vessel men. Four more of the wooden schooners tha oe a Canadian canals in the fall of 1898 Twinn fee Athnne Tee porea oe poe was on have returned to the lakes. The vessels - i a . t and F. A. Georger of the Gilchrist fleet and the Marion . Page an harles Foster, purchased recently by James Corrigan of Cleveland. The schooner Iron Ci : oe ity, purchased so \ - wanda parties, has also returned ie ' eicede some time ago by Tona