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Tae Marine REVIEW - Fic, 9--ExTERNAL AND INTERNAL View, "Loup-SpEAKING' TELEPHONE. WaAtTeER-TicHT TYPE. posed position of the tube on the bridge. For this latter cause swivel mouth- pieces have been tried with no appre- ciable effect; for the former, insulated cushions where the tube attaches to hull have been employed with only greater detriment. Flexible = rubber mouthpieces of 3 to 4 ft. in' length are installed at certain termini for con- venience and_ portability. The steamboat inspection service makes the telephone a requirement on certain types of vessels. "On all steamers where the distance is more than 150 ft. between perpendiculars of pilot-house and forward part of engine room, there shall be communication by means of a telephone between the pilot-house and engine room, such telephone to be in- stalled in lieu of a speaking tube." -This condition will inevitably arise in vessels where the engines are located far astern or on vessels of unusual length. With the exception of this telephone circuit, all other telephone communication is optional and employed only for convenience. The development of the telephone for merchant vessels has not only been curtailed, but almost shattered by the falling off in construc- tion of such vessels in this country. The memory must be strained to re- call the last trans-Atlantic steamer of American construction, and coastwise steamers for passengers and freight are few and rare. A glance at American shipping for the last two years will readily convince. The shipyards of the country for this period have been sus- tained mainly by the government. An exact description, therefore, of the tele- phone installed on passenger and freight vessels must be at least vague. it will be seen that this important land instrument has been adopted in the United States navy and a steady de- velopment has succeeded. This develop- ment work, like many others, has an immediate and intimate effect on the merchant marine. Illustrating this the writer installed some two years ago on a coastwise passenger steamer eight intercommunicating telephones. These instruments were relied upon to the ex- tent of omitting the mechanical dock- ing and steering telegraphs. They also established convenient communication for the captain and chief engineer. At that time the navy was experimenting with what is known as the "loud-speak- ing" telephone (some authorities con- sider this a well-sounding phrase), which has now been superseded. This type of telephone was adopted for the case in hand. The system, as far as the telephones were concerned, was a common battery, three-wire circuit, other wires naturally being installed for the intercommunicating feature. The telephones for the exposed places and where the noises were excessive were entirely enclosed in water-tight brass boxes. To exclude external sound as far as possible double arm receivers made flexible for convenience extended from each side of the enclosing case. The non-water-tight telephones usually installed in the staterooms had all their Later parts directly attached and were self- contained. The delicate parts were also encased, but mounted in a _ hard-wood frame. A revolving lever brought the transmitter into circuit. These tele- phones would in nearly every case re- produce the human voice to such in- tensity that it would be audible some 6 or / ft. away from the instrument. In other large installations of tele- phones on shipboard recurrence to land practice usually prevails. Switch boards for ordinary land service are installed, and either batteries, or batteries and generators, included therewith. The problems involved will be better under- stood in viewing the development from a naval standpoint. As a system of convenience, just as -in land practice, the ordinary call-bell with push-buttons is without a rival. As an adjunct to the voice-tube system it maintains the dignity of its import- ance, although on many merchant ves- sels its place is filled by a whistle in the voice-tube mouthpiece. Annuncia- tors resembling those found in offices and hotels are manufactured with a drop of such design that the rolling and vibrations of the vessel will in no way affect their proper and accurate operation. For above all things a sys- tem of convenience must, as such, work consistently. Despite all the wonders of electricity and all the development by all the mighty minds, if you press a button and there is no result there- from, you not only become an atheist, but a positive pluperfect anarchist.