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60 of the best way to set about it. Even so, many of them made a lot of money out of their venture, though probably more of them lost all their capital. When one considers the prices which were paid for the ships in® the first days after the war, and the extraordinary methods which frequently were adopted to break them up, it is a wonder that any of them found the balance on the right side. But the price of old men-of-war has gone down, and experience has brought wisdom. Therefore, plenty of British precedent upon which the Amercan ship breaker starting busi- ness may base his operations, and from the accounts which reach England he has many factors in his favor. The Ships Are Stripped In England every type of man-of-war has been put on the sale list. Early ironclads after many years of useful service as training ships have at last been discarded in favor of shore establish- ments, They have gone to swell the huge list of fighting ships whose years of war service have worn them out to such an extent that it was decided they were useless for the navy, and therefore far better disposed of while the world was still in need of steel of every kind. The list of war vessels already broken up in England starts with dreadnought battleships and cruisers and goes through every type down to many scores of de- stroyers and submarines, a large propor- tion of which were only built during the war and. would have been considered a great acquisition by some navies. When the British admiralty sells ships for breaking up it does not deliver them just as they lie in the dockyards, however old their fittings may be. To begin with “nery , methods is there). cis: MARINE ReEVinw all the guns and gun-mountings are taken out and landed on the quay. Whether fhis is in case they may be wanted for future hostilities or whether it is to pre- vent any unauthorized person getting the opportunity of learning English gun- a little uncertain. If the former, an indefinite period of ex- posure.’ téy*the elements does not do the ordnance:.ainy good, as several engage- menté by’’armed merchant steamers dur- Phe THE OLD METHOD OF REMOVING ing the war proved beyond a shadow of doubt. If better methods of storing are not and cannot be made available it is gener- ally felt that this heavy weight of metal might just as well go to the scrappers with the rest of the ship, but up to now this view has not found favor in official circles. All the fittings of the control and firing stations are removed with the greatest care, as are also the navigating RIVETS TO WHICH LAND CLINGS TENACIOUSLY, AND THE MODERN METHOD WHICH SAVES CONSIDERABLE WORK February, 1922 instruments of all descriptions. Formerly it was also the custom to wreck the pro- pelling machinery beyond all hope of its ever being used again, but this is now seldom done and the purchasers have thus an opportunity of getting a good price for engines and boilers which might prove useful in freighters. But the vendors are handicapped by the disfavor with which navy type watertube boilers are regarded in the British mercantile marine. Naturally the authorities also re- move sundry minor machines and fittings which are still in general use in the service and which would therefore be of use as spare parts. About Two-Thirds Recoverable When the admiralty has finished strip- ping her, the ship generally displaces about two-thirds of what she is credited with on normal draft. But this figure, it must be remembered, includes a_ big weight of stores, coal, ammunition, bal- last and the like. In other words the tonnage of old material recoverable from the hulk is about two-thirds the rated displacement of the ship when in com- mission. In this light condition the ship UNION LABOR IN ENG- requires skillful handling and has to be towed with the greatest care, a _ big armored ship requiring the services of three or four tugs at least. Insurance underwriters have been faced with a long list of obsolete warships of all nations which have come to grief on their way to be broken up, and are not enthusiastic about these risks. But on the other hand there are several companies which by care and skill have brought scores of such tows safely to their destinations