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108 Chicago's Demand on Lake Water The sanitary district of Chicago is seeking to divert 10,000 cu. ft. of wa- ter per second, or one-seventh of the total discharge from Lake Superior, through the drainage canal by meang of the Chicago and Calumet rivers. Application for this diversion is now before the secretary of war, and.on Keb. 28 a general meeting was held in the secretary's office to listen to arguments for and against the propo- 'sition. Those present on behalf of the application were John C. Williams. attorney for the sanitary district of Chicago; George N. Wisner, chief en- gineer for the sanitary district; James A. Smith, president, Thomas M. Sul- livan and James J. Healy, trustees for the sanitary district; Judge Steph- er 4. Hoster, EF. ©. Lindley, former attomey for the sanitary district; Lawrence McGann, commissioner of public works; Dr. A. B. Young, health commissioner city of Chicago, Lyman A. Cooley, civil engineer, rep- resenting the city of Chicago. Those present in opposition to the applica- tion were William Livingstone, presi- dent of the Lake -Carriers'; Associa- tion; Harvey D. Goulder, counsel for mie Lake' Gatriers's Association; (Fk V. Ford, representing the package freight lines; A. C. Sullivan,.of Chica- go; George H. Eichelberger, of Cleve- land, representing the Chamber of Commerce; John Kennedy, W. J. Stew- art and David Seath, representing the department cf marine and fisheries of the Dominion government. A number of United 'States senators and con- gressmen were also present. The present body of water diverted through the drainage canal by means of these two rivers amounts to 4,167 cu, ft. per sécond, but the city of Chicago now fepresents that owing to the great increase in its population the diversion is not sufficient for sanitary purposes. It submitted fig- ures to show the volume necessary in order to adequately carry away all sewage. Their argument was based wholly upon the necessity for preserv- ing the health of the citizens of Chi- cago. The ccntention o the lake interests .1s that the rights of navigation are paramount .and that Chicago should seek some other means of. sanitation. Their present methods are regarded as antiquated and ere no_ longer practiced in many parts of the world. For instance, filtration is now an ac- cepted practice in many cities, but does not appear to have been given consideration at all in Chicago. More- over, as was pointed out by William Livingstone, sanitation does not ap- pear to be the sole thing in mind. and. ois 8 THE MARINE REVIEW For instance, he called attention to the fact that the current in the Chi- cago river is so great that for seven days the steamer Lake Shore was held up in getting to her dock. To repeated: applications to lessen the flow of water temporarily in order to get the steamer out of her predica- ment, the invariable answer was re- turned that the flow could not be lessened without interfering with the light and power contracts. Testimony was submitted by Har- vey D: Goulder and others showing that the level of the iakes has sensi- bly fallen since 1900, when the prac- tice of diverting the water first. be- gan. The present cycle of low water is 5 or more inches lower than any previous cycle. Mr. Goulder submit- ted tables showing what this meant to the navigable interests of the lakes. A modern steamer carries' approxi- mately 100 tons of cargo on an inch of draught and, therefore, any lessen- ine of available draught at the cross- ings is a fixed loss in earning power. Moreover, practically every © munici- pality on the lakes has spent great sums of money in developing its har- por, and therefore the wishes of Chicagea are not alone to be consid- ered: Canadian interests are also much concerned over this application and will appear before the secretary of war on March 27 to protest against it. The vessel interests of the lakes are really much concerned over the application.and a brief setting forth their reasons for denying it will be filed with the secretary in the near future. : Extinguishing Fire on Ship Board The problem of extinguishing a' fire on ship board as well as preventing one, serious matter, because usual inaccessibility of most fires which occur in the cargo. Fire has smoldered for days and weeks in a ship's hold while the crew have been unable to put it out; especially so in cargoes of hemp, jute, bituminous coal, and like sub- stances. Steam may damage cargo and under certain conditions may help com- bustion. The ideal form of extinguisher in an enclosed space like the hold of a ship is a gas which displaces the air by its own specific gravity, and: is itself a non-supporter of combustion. This gas is found in sulphur dioxide, made when needed from ordinary commercial sul- phur by the Grimm sulphur dioxide ma- chine. This apparatus for the creation of sulphur dioxide gas consists of a fur- nace blower and engine and may be of the: March, 1912 installed on ship board or on shore, as needed. Its operation is simple. Air is pumped into the furnace, which is primed with sulphur, and is discharged into a hose or pipe and carried. to destination. During the operation the gas is cooled to about the temperature of the atmosphere and leaves the fur- nace cool, dry and under pressure. It is completely under control so that it may be made of a quality or density to suit a fire extinguishing or fumigat- ing case. This is done in five minutes or less. The pumping apparatus is not brought in contact with the gas, as air only is pumped by this method. After the first charge of sulphur, the furnace is fed from the top through a patented device which obviates opening the fur- nace door and thereby prevents the es- cape of gas fumes. The furnace is placed in a_ water- jacket, which is built on the marine - boiler principle, through: which water is circulated while in operation and which absorbs all heat of the burning sulphur as well as prevents the bpaaiiity of fire by overheating. In this apparatus terioration of blowers contact with the gas pumped. there is no de- On faccount: of for air only for fumigating well established The use of sulphur and disinfecting is too to need elaboration. The. apparatus has been approved by the Department of Commerce and Labor (Steamboat Inspection Service), and ad- opted by American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. after thorough tests. The company has a barge in New York harbor, equipped with apparatus for fumigating and fire extinguishing uses and can fumigate a ship of say 5,000: tons in a few hours, or put out a fire. The process is known as the Grimm process and further particulars may be obtained from the Fumigating & Fire Extinguishing Co. of America, 29 Broadway, New. York. Graphite on Ship Board A little booklet, Graphite on Ship Board, has just been published by the Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., and contains some very interesting matter relative to the proper care and maintenance of ma- rine machinery. Interesting articles by Lieut. H. C. Dinger, United States Navy, on the lubrication of marine en- gines should be read by every marine engineer, as also a short description in regard to the theory of graphite lubri- cation, its application to general machin- ery, etc. This hoctelet will be' sent to any one interested by writing the Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., Jersey City, N,. J.