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Other questions of ance have to be considered with the introduction of such costly appliances. If they are to be thoroughly utilized, probably many of the methods of working should be revised, and it is not-always an easy matter to persuade workmen to take up a_ new thing which tends to reduce the expenditure on labor. The system most common- ly. used in. building. merchant vessels, of putting up the frames and then great import- , "TRAE. Marine REVIEW reports of ship building shows that the most successful firms have generally built quite a number of. very similar vessels. If, therefore, a System were adopted that allows a great many parts to be made to standard tem- plates beforehand, then, surely, it is worth introducing. Once the men are accustomed to laying off, it is not difficult. to have the double bottoms, decks, margin plates, stringers, bulx- heads, hatches, casings, deck-houses, templating. all the plates, is apt to and the greater part of the shell : : Cost Yearly Labor Saving Gain Type. including Expense on old Masts or Loss. Foundations, taken at or Derricks. e 16 per cent. . : £ ee & £ 1," Cantilever. type, as described = ......3..55. 11,500 1,840 1,720 -- 120 2. Cantilever with addition of two side cranes.. 14,800 2,368 2,580 "be 2 ¥2 3. Lattice pillars with skeleton roof, carry- ; ing three. traveling cranes over each berth... 28,500 4,560 2,580 -- 1,980 4. Lattice pillars with glazed roof, saving lost time in bad weather.............+.+.- 32,000 5,120 2,838 239.982 5. Lattice pillars with connecting girders, carrying one. large traveling crane and two side cranes for each berth..... eG ee 26.250 4,200 2 660 PG 6. Tower cranes, as described, two cranes per berth, equal to four cranes, and thtee permanent WAYS.....-...eese eee eeees 11,900 1,904 2,660 +. 756 Nore.--For the sake of unity, those values have all been reduced to represent an outfit for two berths 400 ft. long, suitable for vessels up to about 55 ft. broad. ; ' cause stoppages, forcing the machines and cranes to stand still at intervals. Putting on more squads does not al- ways improve matters, as it will sel- dom happen that they will work har- moniously together. One will often have to wait till the other has finished with the crane, and continued quarrel- ing and discontent will be the result. It is much better to so divide the work that the squad employed in erecting will not be interrupted by marking off, templating, or any other process at all. For that reason the system of laying off as: many parts of the vessel as possible (commonly called the long template system) is more suitable. Many. continental, and, I believe, also American yards, practice it with good results. Where jonly ome vessel is ordered to one model, it may work out a little more expensive in some cases; but it' has very many advan- tages, and, where duplicate vessels are to be built, the second turns out much cheaper. Considerable time is saved through the absence of ribands, the ship being trimmed into shape by the various plates themselves, with am accuracy almost impossible in the ordinary method. The present ten- dency is to seek" economy by stand- ardizing, not only the various articles of outfit of the vessel, but the vessels themselves. A glance at the yearly ready for mounting before the frames are erected. By doing that, the ma- chines in the plate sheds can be kept 'steadily employed almost from» the beginning of the delivery of mater- ials, and there will seldom be a lack of finished articles for the cranes to erect. As the cranes, of course, only work from above the vessel, it is very desirable to lay first the bottom plat- ing and then build up the frames on it, so as to have as few parts as pos- sible to mount which the crane can-_ not tackle easily. A. great. deal can be done by carefully dividing the work, so as to ensure a Steady. flow of material through the works. <A fairly good system is to separate the. machine work from the platers' work, and divide the plater squads into two minor parts. One part of the plater squad should be confined to marking off; delivering the material ready. for the machine squad, and the other part do nothing else but erect. The men employed at the punching, shearing, and other machines do not require to be trained platers, and should. have nothing else to do except to work the machines. The foreman, who has special charge of the machine men, must have squads of laborers to bring up the marked-off materials and take the finished articles down to the ship, 27 depositing them within easy reach of the platers erecting. Each. manager will have to decide for himself how best to divide the work, according to the local circum- stances. It is, however, of vital im- portance for every ship. builder to see that his yard. is.not. only fitted out with the most. efficient machinery, for the class of work he undertakes, but to see that it is thoroughly utilized. A machine may be able to do its wor« very cheaply; but, if -it stands half the working, time, it becomes too costly in the end, CANALIZING THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. . Lyman E. Cooley, writing to the Upper ' Mississippi River Improvement Associa- tion, concerning the development of that waterway says: ; "In my talk at the Trans-Mississippi " congress at St. Paul and the Quincy. con- vention I was full-of the matter, as I had gone into the Mississippi river problem so deeply. in. connection with my studies for the water power development at Keo- kuk. I then concluded there was no rea- son why the Mississippi from.St. Paul to the mouth ofthe Illinois should not be canalized for a depth of 9 to 12 ft. In fact. I believe it: is more susceptible of improvement than the Ohio river, and the policy has been definitely adopted there of 9 ft., with a probability that it will be increased later to twelve. It seemed to me that the problem, especially for that part of the Mississippi above Keokuk was much simpler than that for the Ohio, and you have a resource in the reservoirs for stimulating the low water flow, which cannot be availed of to any great extent for the Ohio. I believe you should keep on with your channel im- provement for a depth of 6 ft, but I would. at the same time have exhaustive studies undertaken for these larger depths. In the meantime, what you will do on the six-foot improvement will be a contribu- tion to your ultimate policy. "Tt: is unfortunate, however, that. per- manent structures to a depth of 5, ft. should be undertaken, like the locks be- tween your city and St. Paul and like those existing at Keokuk. I amin hopes, however, that some ultimate depth for the locks be insisted upon at the Keokuk water-power improvement, when the same shall be undertaken, and also for the pro- posed canal at' Rock Island. It is im+ portant that the ultimate policy be kept in mind in regard to permanent. works, if: you are to avoid having your possibilities. blighted.. Beyond such advice as is local. ° to the upper Mississippi, | am advocating a general waterway policy for the country" at large. In any comprehensive plan the upper: Mississippi would. find a place,"