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Necessity for Protecting Our Sea Coasts and Commerce Emphasized at Annual Meeting of Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers ITH the flames of war rag- W ing unchecked throughout half the civilized world, at- tention, inevitably, was focused on naval problems and questions of mili- tary preparedness at the twenty-third general meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engin- eers, held in the Engineering Socie- ties’ building, New York, Nov. 18 and 19. Although many of the papers dealt solely with technical problems connected with the construction of merchant vessels, the general trend of the discussions reflected the nation- wide awakening with reference to preparedness against war. Of special interest in this connection was a paper on the maintenance of the fleet, by Capt. A. P. Niblack, U. 5S. N.,’ which is published in full elsewhere in this issue. In picturesque phraseology Capt. Niblack points out the necessity for providing additional naval bases and coaling stations in order to make our fleet as effective in battle as it is im- posing in peaceful reviews. He also emphasizes the need for an adequate merchant marine to develop the com- merce of the United States and aid in its defense in times of national dan- ger. \ Address of Retiring President In his presidential address, Col. Robert M. Thompson, retiring presi- dent of the society, sketched briefly the results of the return of prosperity to American ship yards; he pointed out that the United States is entering upon a period of construction that bids fair to extend well into 1917 and to add a tremendous tonnage to the American merchant marine. In- ventors, he said, have been unusually active in marine circles’ during the past year, but unfortunately most of their energies have been devoted to purposes of destruction. In this con- nection he referred to the perfection of the submarine, which, he declared, the events of the war have proved, “must be in the hands of men who are entirely great.” Zeppelins, he stated, have turned out to be military failures; swift battle cruisers, on the other hand, have. amply demonstrated their effectiveness, and heavily armed and armored battleships: have also proved their worth. The great lesson for this country to draw from the war, he stated, is that our fleet, to be effective, must be fully or nearly equal in. size and fighting power to that of any enemy we are likely to encounter. The recommendations of the nom- inating committee were unanimously adopted and Stevenson Taylor, vice president, Quintard Iron Works, 742 East Twelfth street, New York, was elected president to succeed Col. Thompson. Mr. Taylor is a life mem- ber of the Society of. Naval Archi- tects and Marine Engineers. The names of the newly-elected vice presi- dents, council members, etc., are given in a table accompanying this report. The secretary announced that elec- tions recently held resulted in adding one life associate member, 23 mem- bers, eight associate members and six junior members to the roster of the society. The names of these gentle- men are given elsewhere in this issue. The secretary - treasurer's report showed that the society is in a flour- ishing condition, with a total mem- bership of 789 on Nov. 1, 1915, and aggregate net resources of $28,813.22. “Aerodynamical Experiments Upon a Yacht’s Mainsail,” was the title of the first paper read at the meeting. It covers the details of experiments made by the author, H. A. Everett, assistant professor of marine engineer- ing, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, Boston, for the purpose of ob- taining reliable information concern- ing the action of sails in the wind. As a result of these experiments it was shown that “for courses from 45 to 160 degrees, with the apparent wind, shown by the fly at the mast head, the angle between the boom and center line of ship for best sail- ing should be approximately one-half the angle between the fly at the mast head and the center line of the ship.” The Active Gyro-Stabilizer An exceedingly interesting paper was presented by Elmer A. Sperry, president, Sperry Gyro Co., 126 Nas- sau street, New York, entitled “Re- cent Progress With the Active Type of Gyro-Stabilizer for Ships’. This paper is published in. full elsewhere in this issue. Mr. Sperry spoke ex- temporaneously and illustrated his re- marks with a working model of .a gyroscope. He pointed out that the gyro steadies the ship by automatic- ally neutralizing each wave increment, 2 winches; the steering is done by elec- without reference to the period of the ship or of the waves. Orders have been issued by the navy department, the speaker stated, to stabilize one 10,000-ton ship) and two submarines with gyroscopes. Submarines are par- ticularly addicted to rolling, making them extremely uncomfortable unless mechanically stabilized. The active gyro may be used to cause a ship to roll as well as to prevent it from rolling and this property is utilized in the construction of large ice break- ers. The discussion of this paper brought out the fact that bilge keels, which cut down speed, may be dispensed with if a ship is mechanically stabilized. The great advantages of a stable gun platform for battleships and of gen- eral stability for passenger liners also was clearly defined in the discussion. Describes New Barges Inland navigation and barge con- struction was discussed by J. H. Bernhard, naval architect, 244 West 104th street, New York, in a paper containing many ‘original suggestions regarding the revival of commerce on our inland waterways. The paper describes barges which it is said are to be constructed for the Inland Nay- igation Co. These vessels, it is stated, will be divided into two classes, speedy and slow. The speedy barges will be 310 feet long, 56 feet wide and 9 feet deep, with a draught of 7 feet, pro- pelled by four 600-horsepower en- gines, estimated to give a speed of 20 miles in slack water—22 miles downstream and 17% miles upstream. The others, of which the first now nears completion, will be 240 feet long, 42 feet wide, capable of carrying 1,500 tons on a draught of 7 feet, and able to carry 500 tons on a draught of 3% feet. This barge is all steel and the hold is divided into five compartments by means of four watertight bulk- heads. It is propelled by means of four internal-combustion, fuel-oil, four- cycle, three-cylinder 80 brake horse- power engines built by Fairbanks, Morse & Co., Chicago, each operating one propeller. The barge is further equipped with duplicate electric power plant, and has no fire on board, the heating and cooking being done by electricity. It is also equipped with a large number of electric lights and three powerful searchlights, giving a total of 18,000 candlepower, the larg- est one being of 9,000 candlepower, all pilot house control. The bow and stern are each pro- vided with four-horsepower electric