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1903.] even carrying on-a. system of comparative tests to find out whether or not the change is desirable. - It is illustrations of this character that should cause experts to take an inventory of naval strength by conducting comparative experiments, and thus testing the endurance, efficiency, and fighting value of the expensive float- ing machines that are commonly termed battleships. "If it be true that the battleship of one generation is the junk- heap of the next, then an economical race like the German is purstiing a wise policy in conducting experimental research and investigation in the direction of finding out how the weak links in the naval chain can be strengthened. In the race for naval su- premacy it is bullion, as well as brains, that counts. As the financial budget of Germany may not be so satisfactory as that of England or America, it is imperative upon the part of the admiralty in Berlin to take good care, even from a financial standpoint alone, that no mistakes shall be made in naval con- struction. 'Experience has shown that the German engineering labora- tories are more than a good paying investment, for there is not an expert in that empire familiar with the work being done at these laboratories who does not believe that their destruction would be a greater national calamity to the navy and the nation than the loss of one of the battleships of the home squadron. The warship could be replaced in four years. It would take six years to rebuild and put in effective operation the complete in- stallation for conducting experimental research that has been developed and perfected at the Charlottenburg and Dresden tech- nical colleges. : There is probably not an eminent naval or mechanical en- gineer in America or England who has given consideration to this question who is not also of tne opinion that the establishment of a national experimental: laboratory for naval purposes will vastly contribute to military strength. Probably the majority of these experts also believe that such an institution would eventual- ly. contribute more to actual naval strength than the building of a battleship. One does not need to possess vivid imagination to realize that much is contributed to the fighting strength of a navy by carrying on research along engineering lines, and thus preventing the design, construction, and installation of appliances that are ill suited for the purposes intended. SPECIAL ENGINEERING FEATURE PROJECTED, In the preparation of the tentative plans for both the equip- ment and the operation of the laboratory, it has been deemed wise to thoroughly inquire as to what has already been done both at home and abroad. Through correspondence and official visits, the eruipment of the leading American institutions has been in- quired into. From. diploma graduates, as well as from other sources, the bureau has received valuable information as to the character of the research that is being conducted at the European technical colleges. The bureau is particularly indebted to President Henry S. Pritchett. of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for a copy of the report of Prof. Edward F. Miller, of that institution. This technical expert of tne faculty had been commissioned by the president and corporation of the institute to visit the most important technical schools of England, Germany, Switzerland, and France, in order to report upon their methods of technical instruction and upon the laboratory equipment. Of late there has been a great scarcity of naval engineering experts available for detaii to special duty, and as it was not compatible with public interests to assign an officer to visit the engineering institutions of Europe, the report of Prof. Miller is exceedingly opportune. In some respects it covers the field of in- formation desired by the bureau as to the development of the purely engineering laboratory on the continent. a In ¢ollaborating the information received from various sources, the bureau is of the opinion that the laboratory at An- napolis should in many essential respects be patterned after the Charlottenburg school along steam and material-testing lines; after that of Dresden as respects gas-furnace installations and hydraulic appliances; and after the Swiss school at Zurich in the equipment of apparatus for testing that class of turbines which work under low heads. As for the character of the laboratory building and its furnishing, the technical college at Liverpool Should serve as a model, since the building of this institution 1s an ideal one in many respects, especially as regards light and ventilation. _ As there is a growing tendency upon the part of all the tech- nical laboratories, both at home. and abroad, to. encourage re- search work and to teach engineering methods and practices, there should be little time wasted, in encouraging either faculty or stu- dents received for instruction, in the effort to acquire manual skill in the operation of tools and appliances, since such work should be the sphere of the manual training school rather than that of a research laboratory. : ae The museum of the laboratory should contain applications of all the different mechanical movements; every form of quick- return motion; models of various systems of valve gear and link- ages: special sets of Reuleaux models, elements of the principal forms of marine boilers, and various designs of steam turbines. In all probability the success of the steam turbine in the future will be a development of a combination of features of several designs rather than the improvement of any one type, and, there- fore, special prominence should be given to this subject. : As the success of the laboratory as a whole must be the pri- mary aim, it should be the director of the experimental station, MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. ae working under the supervision of the bureau chiefs, and not the individual heads of special departments, who should determine the character of the work to be done at the laboratory. Probably the special weakness of the German laboratory organization rests in the fact that each particular branch of research work is under a separate head, where every professor in charge is absolutely supreme in his own department. As-a consequence, that branch of the laboratory is most developed which has the ablest staff. Such an organization of faculty leads to jealousies among the members, and thus prevents the advancement of the general re- search work and scientific investigation. ee INFLUENCE OF THE GERMAN TECHNICAL LABORATORIES. While the experiments conducted at the Charlottenburg, Dresden, and Zurich laboratories relate chiefly to improvements in machine design and to the study of the practical application of the principles of kinematics, the work of these institutions has indirectly had a very important bearing upon matters relating to marine engineering. The primary purpose of these laboratories is to give students an opportunity to analyze and report upon the operations of various kinds of machines, pumps, compressors, motors, and engines. Experiments and tests are likewise con- ducted for cheapening the manufacture and improving the char- acter of commercial appliances, particularly in the direction of manufacturing articles that will find a sale in foreion markets. ~ The more one studies the work done at the German techni- cal laboratories, the more impressed he becomes with the thor- oughness and patience that characterize such research. The at- tention to details, and the conscientious effort to secure. absolute information and not to sustain theories, have proved a direct benefit to the extension of the German mercantile marine, by rea- son of the fact that many German naval architects and marine engineers have received training and instruction in these labora- tories. Men who receive such training become imbued with the necessity and importance of carrying on comparative experiments in an intelligent, conscientious, and scientific manner. Every national engineering laboratory should set the pace for technical experimental work, and, therefore, one does not need' to possess gifts of prophecy to predict that the engineering labora- tory at Annapolis will rapidly develop into an institution that will improve the character of our naval construction, if not ad- vance the extension of our merchant marine. In 1895 a bill was introduced in the congress providing for the building and equipment of a naval engineering experimental laboratory at thé New London naval station. 'Phere were many reasons for locating the experimental station in that vicinity, and this site is today the superior one in many respects. When there was a separate corps of naval engineers, however, there were special advantages in having an engineering laboratory located, like that of the war college, at a place entirely distinct from the naval academy. With the amalgamation of the duties of the line and engineer officers, Annapolis became the logical place for the establishment of the enterprise, although it is the most ill- suited of all locations if the academic authorities do not welcome iis coming, < For the past eight years, therefore, the bureau of steam engi- neering of the navv department has had in contemplation the es- tablishment of such an experimental plant. The scarcity of of- ficers during the Spanish-American war, and for several years following that event, made it impracticable to urge the measure; but during the intervening time the bureau of steam engineering has made persistent efforts to collect all possible information relating to the subject. CO-OPERATION OF BUREAU OF NAVIGATION SECURED. About three years ago the question was carefully considered by Admiral A. S. Crowninshield, and the bureau of navigation was induced to cheerfully co-operate in a renewed effort to have the station authorized by the congress. Both Secretaries Long and Moody approved the: proposition in its entirety. The measure only failed to become incorporated in a previous appropriation bill by reason of the fact that the amendment of the senate, au- thorizing its establishment, was stricken out by the naval con- ferees, clearly upon a misunderstanding as to the purpose and necessity for such a laboratory in a modern navy. peasy bee It takes time, energy, and money to develop such an institu- tion, and therefore the resulting benefits can only be observed after such a laboratory has been in operation for a considerable period. The advance of Germany in naval engineering research will be much more apparent during the next few years than it is now, and it was in recognition of this fact that the fifty- seventh congress was induced to authorize the building of. such a laboratory for the American navy. It will be years, however, before the full value of the laboratory may be made manifest to the service at large. de It_can be absolutely stated that the navy is behind the times in original work and research. Several months ago one of the marine superintendents of one of the great Jakes transportation companies told me that if he were called upon to retrench in expenditures the last item to be cut down would be that for experimental purposes, since both the cost of construction and the expense of operation of the steamers under his control had been reduced as a result of the data secured from experimental work. There is not a leading university, large manufacturing concern, or great transportation company that does not. consider it imperative to make tests and experiments. Every navy will also find that it will increase efficiency and promote economy to