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98 ers. One. photographic , reproduction shows the steamer Pregel in the com- pany's dry dock, undergoing repairs after having being in collision with the 'steamer Werdenfels. The wide fracture sustained by the Pregel on her port side abaft the forecastle is plainly seen; the break of the top-gallant forecastle. being carried away, also the main deck _ having been cut into, while it will be seen that the forecastle has been gen- erally wrecked. Another interesting re-_ pair job quite recently undertaken by © this company relates to the S. S. Peter 'Benoit, which was in collision with the steam dredger Gelderland. It -will be 'seen from our illustration that among other injuries, the vessel is holed very badly in the forepeak. OPPORTUNITY KNOCKED | AGAIN. 'A correspondent sends us the follow- ing glowing description of the newest opportunity offered the trusting and _ guileless capitalist, which has recently 'come into his hands. Far be it from us to disparage the pipes, the paste and the liquid. We have no doubt whatever as to their efficacy in enlisting capital, and that the public demonstration will be successful to admiration. as true today as ever, and among the "country's capitalists' the birth rate is somewhat higher. The packages will be switched just the same, and if Mr.' Bora Bekovitch- sky has a lap or two start there will 'another debit' entry to experience. TREMENDOUS DISCOVERY TO REVOLUTIONIZE PRESENT: MODE OF EXISTENCE. -KING PETER'S MAN INVENTS WONDERFUL FUEL OF FUTURE. Coalless fire, which will send a 20,000 ton ship across the Atlantic at a cost of about $12 a trip--that's the newest suc- cessor of wireless telegraphy, wireless telephony, fireless cookers and other in- ventions which contradict the well es- tablished terms of science. Wonders are claimed for this inven- tion. The inventor, Monsieur Bota V; Bekovitch, of the Servian capital, gave the following description of his inven- tion: 2 as "My invention consists of a fire which excludes coal, wood, gas, benzine and every other fire-producing means known to our present-day science. It makes no smoke, no soot, no ashes, and is Cheaper than any fuel that is available . today. Much stronger heat is generated by it. than by any present combustible. ~ It does away with the need of unsightly ers. The saying that "there is a sucker born every minute" is just 'Tae Marine REVIEW chimneys, and. the. very nature: of its substance precludes any possibility of danger; it cannot explode and has no odor. oS "Tts use in homes, in the factories, on locomotives and steamers will bring about conditions of ideal cleanliness and | the motive force provided by its use will 'be greater far than that of any com- bustible available at the present time. 'Of small volume, this fuel needs but small room for its storage and does away, for instance, with the engine fire- man, only one man being necessary to handle and start it. It can be adapted to present engine rooms and locomotive fire boxes. But eventually construction of steam engines will be remodeled, be- cause steamships nor locomotives. will not need smokestacks nor spark arrest- "What is it? It consists of a special arrangement. of pipes and tubes, which can be inserted in any fire-box. On the pipes is a coating of paste. These pipes are set in a kettle and surrounded with a liquid. Yes, there is a liquid-- 'that and the paste and the process is my secret. An air pump introduces air into the liquid and then the fire is ob- tained. "This liquid is no new. element. I have not discovered a new element, but a new composition. It is to be had in the smallest village--can be produced anywhere. Six hundred to 1,000 quarts will carry a steamship across the Atlan- tic, a train across the continent." M. Bekovitch, the inventor of this startling and wonder-working combusti- ble, is the attache of the foreign office in Belgrade, the capital of Servia. He was sent last September by his royal master to present to Horace G. Knowles, former minister to the court of Servia, the Cross and Star of the Order of St. Sava, the highest compliment that the throne of Servia can confer upon a foreigner for distinguished service. The presentation of this royal decora- tion was made by M. Bekovitch in the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, in Philadel- phia, in the latter part of September, and was interestingly commented on by -he press throughout the country. After carrying out the commands of his king, M. Bekovitch asked leave of absence from service and proceeded to New York, where he is at present conferring with the country's capitalists who are Preparing to. launch his invention by means of a public demonstration. The nature of this invention and the means by which it accomplishes its rey- olutionary performances are guarded as a strict secret by M. Bekovitch and the little coterie of those whom he has' in- terested in the project, but the fact has "March, 1910 been ascertained that a trial motor has been constructed and that an early dem. onstration of its usefulness is to be ex. pected before many months have rolled around. That the news of the great discovery will be received with the greatest skep- ticism is to be expected by those inter. ested, and no true estimate of its value to mankind can be offered until after the public demonstration. However, won't it seem strange to be suddenly transported in an. enlightened age when furnaces and coal and ashes and other relics of a barbarous age are but distant memories? TORPEDO BOAT SANTA CATH. _ARINA. The official full speed trial of the tor- pedo boat destroyer Santa Catharina, built for the Brazilian government by Messrs. Yarrow & Co., Ltd. of Glas- gow, took place on Wednesday, Feb. 2, on the Skelmorlie deep water measured mile at the mouth of the Clyde, and the contract speed of 27 knots, during a continuous run of three hours, carrying a load of 100 tons, was easily ex- ceeded. The trial was under the supervision of Capt. Bartholomeo Francisco de Souza e Silva and Capt. Godofredo da Silva, representing the Brazilian Naval Commission, and Capt. Lessa, who will command the vessel. The Santa Catharina is the eighth of the ten destroyers ordered by the Braz- ilian government from Messrs. Yarrow. The first six vessels are now in com- mission in Brazil. The seventh will be leaving Glasgow shortly, and the ninth and tenth vessels are ready for launch- ing, In these destroyers strength of con- struction and good seagoing qualities were deemed--as in the British Navy-- of even greater importance than high speed, as both the British and Brazilian destroyers have a guaranteed speed of 27 knots. The dimensions of the Brazilian de- Stroyers. are; Length, 240 ft.:- beam, 23 ft. 6 in. They are propelled by two sets of four-cylinder reciprocating en- gines of 8000 H. P. collectively, bal- anced on the Yarrow, Schlick & Tweedy system. Steam is supplied by two dou- ble-ended Yarrow boilers of the latest type. Capt. H. H. Parsons of Detroit, who has been in the employ of the Cleve- land Cliffs Iron Co. for a number of years, has resigned to go into bust ness in Cleveland. He will be asso- ciated with H. K. Oakes, of Detroit, in the vessel and brokerage business, Capt. Parsons sailed the steamer Wil- liam G. Mather last year.