1902.] | MARINE REVIEW. 23 French people that the directors were unwilling to shoulder the responsi- bility of carrying out the arrangement, and all resigned. The trustees of the de Lesseps company, in particular, were reluctant to sanction the total transfer of the entire management and control from France to America. A new board of directors was chosen, which continued the negotiations with the American company, and the transfer was made. The legislative action by which the American congress decided upon the Panama canal route as the most feasible and practicable and passed the bill. under which President Roosevelt is authorized to acquife the American Panama Canal Co.'s rights is recent and familiar history. The advocates of the Panama route made effective use of facts concerning volcanoes along the Nicaragua route for the rejection of that route. The price that the United States government is to pay the Panama Canal Co. of America for its rights and privileges is $40,000,000. The cost of the completed canal is estimated at $184,233,358. As soon as final action is taken by the United States authorities, by which the United States government is to be committed to the building of the Panama canal, con- tractors can go down to Panama and commence work, for good housing accommodation is there for an army of from 15,000 to 20,000 laborers. There is a railroad along the whole length of the canal, terminating on each ocean front in a good harbor, with ample wharf and dockage facil- ities The Panama canal, it is said, presents only one really serious engineering difficulty, and that is the control of the waters of the Chagres river. The river has a maximum flow of 75,000 cubic ft. a second. By the erection of dams it is proposed to conserve the waters of the river in a summit lake. The plans for accomplishing that have been pro- nounced feasible by many eminent engineers. The length of route of the Panama canal is forty-six miles, and the estimated time of transit for an ordinary ship is fourteen hours. ANOTHER IMPORTANT WINDOLASS IMPROVEMENT. A very important windlass improvement--an elastic yielding attach- ment--is being introduced by the American Ship Windlass Co. of Provi- dence, R. I. This company, which has been in business since 1857, has always occupied a foremost position in their line of special ship machinery in this country and attained an international reputation a few years' ago - through the introduction of the well-known Shaw & Spiegle steam tow- ing machine. New devices and improvements which they have intro- duced have all been of a successful and lasting kind and they are satisfied that the windlass embodying this improvement, which will be known as the "Providence patent elastic capstan windlass," will be the windlass of the future. The inventor of the improvement is Capt. Charles W. Blake of Bridgeport, Conn. The American Ship Windlass Co. are to be the sole builders during the life of the patent. The great advantage of the new windlass is that it will prevent the parting of the chain, the breaking of the anchor and the breaking of the windlass, and will enable a vessel to hold on a great deal longer without breaking out anchor than is possi- ble with the other style of windlass. With this new windlass there is not the solid, sharp shock on the chain that there is with the old style of windlass. Consequently the tendency is for the same weight of anchor to hold on very much longer without dragging. The first windlass of the new type was made a short time ago for the schooner Perry Setzer, a large four-masted vessel building at Bridgeport, Conn., for Capt. M. W. Blake. A practical vessel man who is fully acquainted with this windlass improvement says of it: "The progress that has been made with windlasses and anchors, even within the past few years, is wonderful. It is amazing to see the stockless anchor of today released with little more difficulty than attends the push- ing of an electric button, and to see it taken aboard again, with the chain stowing itself in the locker, by simply turning a steam valve. But this improvement is intended to meet conditions that. are of as' much im- portance as rapid handling of the windlass. When a harbor can not be made on account of heavy weather, fog or other unfavorable conditions this new type of windlass comes into play. On a lee shore with little or no sea room anchoring is almost necessary. It has been proven that a vessel will live longer in rough seas anchored than '"'hove to," since she will then be head to the seas and not side to them, as is liable when "lying to" under sail. Heavy running seas have always made anchoring dangerous, because of the liability of parting the chain, losing the anchor, or breaking the windlass, which often results in stranding and probably - loss of the vessel. Seldom would a vessel strand if her anchors would hold and chain and windlass stand the sudden and heavy strains caused by the vessel lifting with the seas. With old types of windlass this heavy strain comes rigid; there is no give and something is apt to part or break. With this improvement danger is reduced to a minimum, owing to its having powerful elastic arrangements that give and take as the strain increases or diminishes, thereby relieving rigidity and enabling a vessel " eS to anchor in an open sea almost as easily as in a land-locked arbor." The windlass shaft is mounted on three bitts, and carries two wild- cats, two friction brakes and spring heads, two positive driving heads, two gypsy ends and one starboard bevel gear, and one bevel gear spring head. Each wildcat is provided with suitable pockets on the inner flange for the reception of springs. The friction brake and spring heads are also provided with such pockets placed opposite to those in the wildcats. There is a suitable amount of space left between the lugs in which these pockets are formed so as to allow the springs to compress when the strain comes on the chains. In the opposite end of these spring lugs is placed a suitable rubber spring, to take the rebound which occurs when the strain is relieved. Each friction brake and spring head has a positive locking device, worked by raised cams on the periphery of a locking ring and slotted block keys and operated by means of a lever. The block keys are in full sight of the man operating the windlass and the entire operation of locking or unlocking the windlass is accomplished by one motion of the lever through an angle not exceeding 60°. The wildcat is controlled by a friction band brake on the friction brake and spring head and operated by a cam and lever arrangement. Each wildcat can also be locked fast to the friction brake and spring head by means of block keys. The capstan is driven from the windlass shaft by means of bevel gears. The pinion gear is loose on the upright shaft and is driven by means of a suitable clutch, so that the capstan can be worked without turning the windlass. The bevel gear for driving the capstan is provided with suit- able pockets for the reception of springs, and the bevel gear spring head is also provided with such pockets, placed opposite to those in the bevel gear. There is a suitable amount of space left between the lugs in which these pockets are formed so as to allow these springs to compress when the strain on the chain is such that it has compressed the springs in the wildcat. In the opposite end of these spring lugs is also placed a suit- able rubber spring to take the rebound which occurs where' the strain is relieved. The bevel gear can also be locked fast to the head by means of block keys. The bevel gear spring head also carries the ratchet which holds the windlass from turning backward, and therefore the total strain on the chain is divided between the springs in the wildcat and the springs in the bevel gear. INCREASING COST OF ARMIES AND NAVIES. a From the St. James' Gazette (London). The increasing cost of our army and navy is beginning to impress the taxpayer to the point of uneasiness. But a glance at the progress of warlike expenditure in foreign countries shows that we are merely keep- ing the lead which has always been deemed necessary with regard to naval strength; while the burden of the army, if heavy in pounds sterling, is incomparably lighter than that of continental. nations, because of the absence of universal military service.. Still, a comparison of the present jexpenditure with that of twenty years ago furnishes food for reflection, if not for anxiety. Taking the "ordinary," as annually recurrent, expenditure of the six Brest powers, we find that Austria-Hungary spends the smallest sum on the navy: ' In 1882 it amounted to only...,... 2 7242..... 4... £ 765,000 In 1902 the estimates were..,:....... 333.23]. 1,283,000. Germany comes next in point of magnitude of expenditure, but the amount of the "ordinary" outlay on her navy is comparatively small. Germany, of course, is making great efforts to strengthen her power at sea, and her "extraordinary" expenditure is very great. But by a financial fiction this is set down to capital account, so to speak. At any rate, the taxpayer is flattered into the belief that it is exceptional, although expe- rience proves that it is as certainly recurrent as the ordinary expenditure. Germany's ordinary expenditure on her navy was: 1882 os ie a ee £1,400,000 18902 ee Sa oe es ees 3,995,000 Her progress will be even more rapid in the future, and by the time that the new ships are built, the annual expenditure will have reached a very high figure. Italy shows a similar advance. Taking the lira at the current rate of exchange, Italy spent: In: 1882 oss ove ee £1,910,000 In 1902 7) eee cs ee 4,640,000 Russia's naval expenditure has increased enormously in the past twenty years, although the fact has not excited so much attention in this country as the advance of our near German neighbor. Russia spent on ther navy: In 188206 i ie £2,751,000 In-1902 2.0.6.5. eet 9,832,000 i In France the increase has not been so large, but the actual sum ex- pended is greatly in excess of that of any other continental power. France's naval outlay was: acl Tn 1082 i.e cb cao oe £ 8,546,000. In -1902 oo e ieee 12,480,000 _ Our own expenditure stands out in an alarming manner in contrast 'with these smaller naval fry. We spent: In 1862). ae ee -£10,561,000 Tn 1902 2 0o,. e e Ce 30,875,000 In: 1909-08 soc 31,255,000 If the first lord of the admiralty had to defend, in parliament, the enormous expansion from 10% to 3034 millions during the short period of twenty years, he could point triumphantly to the fact that our ratio of increase has been exceeded by one rival power and nearly equalled by another. This soothing circumstance is shown in the following table: PERCENTAGES OF INCREASE IN NAVAL EXPENDITURES FROM 1882 To 1902, Per cent Per cent. Prance «5 ec: ieee 46 | Germany: occu. ge. is tec eee 183 Austria-Hungary . 0.62625 68 | Great Britain 4...) 4000 Oe ee lialy oo ccc he 143 | Ruséia: ou ee fae pee But another color is given to the fact if it be set out in pounds sterling. We commenced the period with so much larger an expenditure than any other power, that our increase of 192 per cent. exceeds that of all the other powers taken together. While the total expenditure of the five continental nations advanced by a sum of £16,847,000, our navy cost us £20,314,000 more in 1902 than in 1882. ACTUAL INCREASE IN NAVAL COST 1842 TO 1902. France (.2 0.0) 3,934,000 Austtia-Hungaty 22.0.7 £ 513,000 Germany | <2. 275, 2,980,000 | Russia ..0..65.0.. 3. 7,081,000 Italy Siw ee ae 2,730,000 | Great Britain (1902-03). 20,314,000 NAVAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY. Representative Foss, chairman of the naval committee of the house of representatives, has introduced a bill to establish a naval engineering laboratory to be known as the Melville engineering laboratory after Rear Admiral George Wallace Melville, chief engineer of the navy. Mr. Foss says that the laboratory is urgently needed, and that it is most appropriate to name it after the one who has been so prominently identified with the engineering branch of the navy. Another consideration has been that the -- naval personnel act operated to merge the id@ntity of Admiral Melville's -- corps in the line of the navy. The friends of the measure call attention also to Admiral Melville's services in the arctic region, where he was one of the foremost of the Jeannette expedition. The bill provides that the laboratory shall be on government land designated by the secretary of the navy, to cost with equipment not exceeding $400,000, of which $200,000 is appropriated. Congress passed before adjournment a bill providing for a new cus- toms boat for Philadelphia at a cost of $50,000.