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14 complished in this case by an entirely new design for bilge block bearers and docking keel block bearers. The bearers are made in the shape of cast . iron boxes embedded in the dock floor with top flush with the concrete. The wide flanges on the top form the bearers for the keel blocks and bilge blocks and a slot is provided through the top of the box to take the anchor bolts for keel blocks and the holding- down device for the bilge blocks. The cast iron. box is. large enough also to take the chains for the hauling of _ 'bilge blocks across the floor of the dock while a ship is being placed. Another most important function of the cast iron boxes is to drain the floor. The water passes through slots and flows along the _ sloping bottom of the boxes and is discharged into four large longitudinal sub-floor drains. These, in turn, carry the wa- ter into the drainage chambers near the middle of the dock. The inner dock and outer dock each have an independent system of longitudinal drains and a drainage chamber. Three 54-in. pipes with* gate valves pass from each drainage chamber into a common wet chamber outside of the dry dock structure. The four 54-in. suction pipes from the pump well, which is close by, open into the wet chamber, thus removing wa- ter which flows in from either one or both of the dry docks. The slots, cast iron boxes and drains have been so designed that the velocity of wa- ter while being pumped will be suf- ficient to remove any silt which may have collected. The system of cast iron boxes with slots and longitudinal floor drains will also be used for filling the dock. Four filling culverts, two on each side of the dry dock having inlets in the quay wall at the entrance of the dock, are connected with the longitud- inal drains in the inner and outer docks in such a manner that either dock may be filled independently of the other. The water will be dis- charged into the dock body through the slots having thus an upward velocity on entering and being very nearly uniformly distributed over the entire floor. to having the water entet at the ends or sides with a velocity sufficient to cause harmful movements of the ship. see Sixteen flights 'of stairs extend from the coping to the floor. -This num- ber is liberal in order that the work- men may efter and leave the dry dock with expedition. An idea of the depth of the dock is gained from This is much superior THE MARINE REVIEW the fact that it will take 65 steps to go from the floor to the coping. The stairways have been so designed that the altars are not interrupted, but pass around the stairs with slightly "reduced width. The design is similar to that previously used in dry dock | No. 2 at Philadelphia. There will be 539 keel blocks. ex- tending from the entrance. to the head of the dry dock. These are for the purpose of carrying the weight of the ship when the dock is pumped. 'Two | lines of docking. keel blocks will ex- tend on either side of these to take the weight of turrets, etc. of battle- ships. The pump well will be located near the middle of the dock and about 30 ft. away. shape and contain four 54-in. pumps. In addition to the four suction pipes which lead to the wet chamber of the dock to be built at the present time, short ends of pipe will be built in the masonry so that a second dry dock may be pumped by means of the same pumps. The discharge from the pumps will be carried in a discharge culvert leading to the bay. The gen- eral dimensions of the dry dock will be as follows: Overall leneth (2000.0 .. 1195. tt Width between coping.... 130 ft. evidin "overall 2-2). 140 ft. Depth at sill,at mean high MALCE Oe a lk 35" ft Depth over keel blocks at mean high water ....32. ft. 6 -in: A track for a 40-ton crane will be built around the dry dock structure with the inner rail close to the edge of the coping. The total length of rail in this track will be within a few feet of one mile. The construction of the dock will necessitate the disposal of 350,000 cubic yards of material. This will be utilized in filling some of the low areas On the station property. The depth of the excavation will be 58.5 ft. This is more than the height of 'an ordinary four story building. The total amount of concrete to be used in the dock is approximately 120,000 cubic yards. Plans for this dry dock were pre- pared with unusual speed by the drafting room of the bureau of yards and docks. After certain preliminary studies and calculations had been made the entire set of contract plans was prepared in less than 20 days, Bids were opened on Feb. 13 by the Bureau of Yards. and .Docks 'for the construction of the Pearl Harbor dry dock. As the bids, however, exceeded the appropriation, it may be necessary - Cotton > Bros. = & . Co., It will be of octagonal - to advertise again. San- Francisco, Cal.; 'Item 1.... 2,67 a Ao om Oe ' 241 Bacar EE. 00 2 Bidoes and, 'Cal 3; Item, 1:72.05 Meee ne ae He ee Sto 9,000.09 ew -York,. N. $37 temo. ee ae San Francisco Bridge Co., 865 Mo- -- $8,000.00 neato' Bldg., San Francisco, ales Ltem alo oa ie ee 2,946, McDermott Contracting Co.; 1116 TEsM00.00 Sas Bldg.,. Philadelphia, Pal: Item io Sasso 3,400,00 E. J. Lord Construction Co., 'Camp- 7000.00 bell Block, Honolulu, H. I.; Item SB ee 2,596,739.00 ehtem: bo Sa tcio sss ete eS 2,371,700. C.-M. , Leach, care. Navy . Yard, we PEED -, Boston,: Mass.;. Item 1° ...5.003 6, 1,286. anan AID TO SHIPPING. | ; The two British steamers, Newton Hall and Foxton Hall, which left here yesterday after having taken on bunker coal, the former for New York and the latter for South American ports, are the first -vessels of the recently or. ganized American Steel Products Co., which will operate a line of steamers from New York to South America, stopping both ways for bunker coal at this port. The new line will have two sailings per month from New York to Rio Janeiro, Buenos Ayres, Valparaiso and Lima, Peru, carrying consignments of steel rails, plates and similiar material manufactured by the United States steel Co. Both the Foxton Hall and the Newton Hall were supplied with bunker coal by the Smokeless Fuel Co. Editor Martine Review :--Your. atten- tion is called to the above clipping relative to the organization of a steam ship line between New York, Newport News and South American ports, which is interesting from the fact that this line will cons'st of foreign steam ships under charter. ; The American pub/iz interested in shipping and kindred industries will readily recall the failure of a recent congress to pass the mail steam ship subsidy bill, which, would doubtless, have resulted in the estab'ishment of several such lines of American ships to South American ports. There could have been very little difference of opinion in regard to the many advantages of such legislation, particularly, as it was generally con- ceded that the revenue from this mail service would have been such as to have made the payment of these sub- sidies of little, if any, expense to the national government. Although the majority of we Ameri- can citizens have great confidence in the judgment and integrity of our rep- resentatives and senators in congress; unconsiously the question suggests it self to some of our minds--Could it be possible that the great power Of 4 foreign lobby, or. the weakness, or ab- sence of a-:lobby favorable . to this legislation, have had any influence 1 blocking such- legislation in Washing- ton? Yours very truly, A. SUBSCRIBER. Newport -News, - Va. Following were 'the : - pids: ie sy . Edward Malley,.1384 McAllister. St., Nice Cre pe ger Bt