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February, 1912 45 C. M. torpedo. Two reserve tor- pedoes can be carried on deck. The electric installation consists of stor- age battery, main and auxiliary mo- tors, switch boards, lighting plant, heating plant and electric ranges for galley. The main motors develop 30 horsepower at 285 revolutions per minute. Two air compressors and a storage system consisting of a large number of steel flasks arranged in batteries from which air can be drawn for ex- pelling water from the various tanks are provided. This system also in- sures an ample supply of pure air throughout while the vessels are un- der water. There is a double set of periscopes to enable the command- ing officers to get a clear view in the THE MARINE REVIEW water when the vessels are _ sub- merged. The submarines are pro- vided with submarine signal appar- atus by which the presence of other vessels in the vicinity may. be de- tected. The new fighting craft are each designed to carry eighteen men and every possible convenience is provided to make the submarines self supporting during long cruises. The contracts for these vessels are held by the Electric Boat Co., which owns the patents, but the construc- tion work was done entirely at the local plant. Frank. W. Eiibbs, 3 a cific coast representative of the Elec- tric Beat -Co., was unable to be present owing to illness but the com- pany was represented by Samuel L. Bennett,. Mr. Hibbs' assistant. They 49 will have their trials shortly and under the contracts they will be re- quired to make a speed of 14 knots on the surface and 11 knots sub- merged. These tests will include a 24-hour continuance performance and a 200-ft. dive. Each of these ves- sels represents a cost of about $500,- 000. Four other submarines are on the ways at the local yards, two being for the Untied States navy and two for the Chilean government. Holden A. Evans, formerly constructor in the United States navy, will be the vice president of the new ship yard. He has recently been. on detached duty supervising the installa- tion of efficiency systems in naval plants... naval Great Lakes Protective Association PIHE Great Lakes ll Protective Associa- tion, which was or- Ganwed= to: Carry a part of the .insur- ance of lake vessels with the thought in mind of reducing insurance premiums by minimizing the number of accidents, held its third annual meeting at Hotel Pontchartrain, in Detroit, Jan. 17. , Dur- ing the three years of its exictence this association has accomplished much, but it is apparent also that more remains to be accomplished. The problem of putting lake vessel insurance upon a thoroughly sensible basis is not an easy one to solve. As a general business proposition there is much about it that is unsound and until this is totally eradicated the business will always be unstable. To begin with there is a moral hazard which should not obtain. The ar- bitrary value of $53.50 per gross ton for steel tonnage, irrespective of its age, is altogether too high and in effect puts a premium upon careless navigation. Under this valuation a vessel that actually costs $285,000 can- not be insured for less than $340,000. She is in reality, more valuable to her owners as a total loss than as a go- ing ship. The desire of the Great Lakes Protective Association is to eliminate this moral hazard altogether and to have the vessel carry no more insurance than she is actually worth. In this connection it is their disposi- tion to cut from the underwriters and to have the 5 per cent which they ye Sty shley carry based upon the actual value of the vessel. There was considerable discussion along this line which was participat- ed in,by,-Capt.. D..,Sullivan, Heald; C.24D.*Dyer*and* TH. Cotlny. Capt. Sullivan was particularly spirit- ed in his discussion of the risk which the association was assuming on wooden ships. To illustrate, the F. H. Prince was insured for $40,000, a clause, however, limiting the liability to $30000'in' case' Of fre." The? Prince; it was reported, had actually -been purchased for $5,000, though her own- ers claimed through repairs and _ in- stallation of unloading machinery she had cost in the neighborhood of $31,- 000. The Prince was destroyed by fire and the association paid its share of the loss of $30,000. In 'fact, the total losses on wooden tonnage cost the association 30 per cent, and Capt. Sullivan inquired with great pertin- ence as to whether the association should not have something to say con- cerning risks of this character. Valuation and Rate of Premium. Upon motion of Mr. Coulby the advisory committee was empowered to determine the valuation and rate of premium of wooden tonnage for insurance purposes, Harvey D. Gould- er having held that the association 'had the right to exclude part of a member's fleet if it so elected. W. M. Mills thought that the steel ships should be classified, believing that those with side tanks were safer and entitled to a lower rate. Capt. Sullivan pointed out, however, that the subtraction of tonnage for double- Ga he skin ships practically worked out.to that end, but the advisory committee was instructed to take the general subject up with the underwriters and endeavor, if possible, to obtain a modification of the valuation of $53.50 per gross ton. Percentage of Insurance. "What we want to do," said Mr. Coulby, "is first of all to correct the valuation. We know that $53.50 is too high and that it involves a moral risk which we ought not to carry. We know also that the cost of a ship at today's prices is too low. Probably | by the end of the year we will not be able to get ships at present cost. We would state our reasons clearly as to why we think the present sys- tem to be wrong and advance argu- ments as to what we regard to be a fair valuation for a ship." Chairman J. S. Ashley, who pre- sided at the meeting, stated that some of the members were in favor of in- creasing the amount of insurance to be carried by the association to 20 per.cent. He 'said that He faq ne convictions on the subject, but de- sired a full expression as to the ad- visability of an increase from all the members. Mr. Goulder considered that 5 per cent was not quite enough: and thought it advisable to increase the amount to 10 per cent, with no thought, however, of ultimately doing a general insurance business. He held that vessel owners and underwriters should go hand in hand in the en- deavor to so reduce the insurance