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1901.] propose to carry out the object of the specification, he looks at it with the. distrusting notion.in his mind that you have used what skill you pos- sess to design this part of the work as cheaply as possible, and that it is his business to stand between you and the object of your desire; and he will not reason with you as to the why and wherefore of your design without putting you on the defensive in regard to your own character in- stead of that of your design. And when he has found out where he can add something to your design, to increase its cost without spoiling it, he is very likely to do so, as he thereby tickles his own vanity by impressing you with his power and cuts you out of doing the thing with the simplicity and economy that you were planning for. This shows the need of an educated judgment on the part of such an inspector. And of course it might be the other way. The contractor, in making his design, may allow his self-interest to rob him of all sound judgment, and his desire for a simple and cheap device may lead him into making something that would not properly meet the requirements of his contract. What is needed is an honest endeavor on both sides to cultivate the growth of a sound judgment that can decide technical ques- tions altogether apart from the personal interests of the parties. In no question is sound judgment, based on long experience, more necessary than in the many disputes that arise regarding workmanship and material. Here, where an educated judgment is most required, we find that self- interest and hard and fast rules interfere most with its application, When I look back over the many battles I have had with inspectors who de- manded their pound of flesh when it could not possibly be got without blood—sometimes all the judgment lacking on the one side, and some- times the other—I wonder why we should continue beating the air over questions that with the exercise of a small amount of sound judgment would never be raised. A good many years ago, while in the.casting yard one morning, I noticed a propeller casting, a solid cast wheel which had, as many of them are apt to have, some gas checks across the back. [| did not consider that the small defect should be any reason for condemn- ing the casting. That was my judgment. Perhaps I was assisted in forming this judgment by a strong desire to save the cost of another cast- ing. When the superiniending engineer of the company for which this wheel was made saw the casting, he promptly condemned it, and no amount of reasoning on my part could alter his judgment. There being no desire on his part to help his judgment to concur with mine, he would take no chances with a wheel having any visible defect. And he believed that my opinion was formed entirely on self-interest, while his was founded on the high plane of engineering prudence. In this particular case I thought it worth while to test the foundation upon which each of us based our judgment. So I said to him: “Your company pays for this wheel 9 cents a pound, and it costs my company 6 cents. If I make an- other, we will lose 3 cents a pound instead of making 3 cents a pound. Now, I think that I am right in claiming that the slight defect in this casting is no ground for condemnation, but in order to save actual loss your company can have the present wheel for 6 cents a pound.” “Well,” said he, “now you're talking reasonably. I will see our people about it and let you know.” Within an hour this wheel was accepted and went into service, and, so far as I know, had a long and useful life. Now, I myself might have acted just as this engineer did, but the transaction illustrates how much we are all influenced by our own desires in these questions instead of by sound judgment, and how difficult it is to know when the decision is prompted by desire when we think we are exercising our judgment. Our whole modern method of testing and in- specting materials is founded on the belief that the faculty of judgment in an inspector is a dangerous thing, and that all excuse for its cultivation must be eliminated from his mental stock in trade. The other day I saw condemned and broken up a large bronze casting that had cost about $3,000, because the coupons or test pieces showed less tensile strength than the specifications required. The casting itself was perfectly sound and very tough; in fact, admirably suited for the purpose for which it was made, and not the slightest doubt of its character was expressed by any one who saw it. Yet, because the test piece was required to show 55,000 Ibs. tensile strength per sectional inch and broke at 44,000 lbs., a great deal of labor and costly material was deliberately destroyed, the inspector claiming that he had no discretion, which means no judgment, to exercise; and, when the case was appealed to a higher authority, that authority, who could not see this good piece of work, entirely suited for its place in the structure and with ample margin of strength, simply sent to de- striction with the careless remark, written officially from the other side of the country, that the requirements of the specifications must be ful- filled. You must not understand me to mean that physical tests are not very important in deciding the quality of material, but when applied without judgment they may result in great waste of both labor and material, for they do not present the whole case, even as to the character of the material of which the test pieces themselves are made. We often have plates of steel where the test pieces, cut directly from the plate, will give fine results, say 60,000 Ibs. tensile strength and elongation of 30 per cent. in 8 in., and will double over on themselves without sign of fracture, and yet the plate itself would break like glass in bending over a large radius. I have cut test pieces right out of plates that would not bend at all, and the test pieces would double over on themselves without sign of fracture. Not long ago I had a plate of government material to bend on the press for a keel plate, but the plate broke hopelessly in bending. There was no other plate to replace it of material that had been tested and accepted for government use, and the inspector would not allow any other plate to be taken for the purpose. I, however, took a plate of steel for merchant work and bent it to the required form with no sign of fracture. We cut a test piece out of broken plate, right by the fracture, and it showed 61,000 Ibs. tensile strength and 28 per cent. elongation, and bent over on itself with- out fracture. Fhen we took a test piece out of the plate that had been successfully bent to the desired form and showed 62,000 Ibs. tensile strength and 22 per cent. elongation, and it broke before it had completely bent over on itself. Therefore the perfectly bent plate was not allowed to be used because the test piece did not meet requirements. Here the test intended to guard against the use of unsuited material resulted in prevent- ing the use of eminently suitable material; not because of anything wrong in the test, but through the lack of judgment in applying the result of the test to the desired end. I could multiply cases—they are of almost every- day occurrence—where the lack of judgment in regard to the value of MARINE REVIEW. 21 tests results. in needless loss and in great delay in carrying out work. Lack of judgment is often manifested in a demand for unreasonably strict com- pliance with a specification that makes no allowance for ordinary imper- fections in all products, even of the most skillful workmen. Not many days ago I had such a case to deal with in building a small marine boiler for the treasury department under a very strict specification. I found that it would make better work to weld the plate forming the sides of the combustion chamber, as the seam was in the way of the stays as shown in the drawing. The inspector thought so too, so the plate was welded; but the slight waste in heating resulted in the plate being 1-32 in. thin at the weld. I did not foresee this, but the inspector discovered that the plate was slightly thinner at the weld, and, the specification requiring a certain thickness of plate, the work was suspended until a decision should come from Washington. The decision came in due course and in the usual form, instructing the inspector to require the work according to the specifications. Now, if this had been made as specified, with a riveted joint, its strength would have been, say 67 per cent. of the plate, while the welded joint gave 92 per cent. Yet, notwithstanding all this, the work was condemned and thrown away. This loss did not result from any desire on the part of the inspector or his superior to cause loss to the con- tractor, but simply from a failure on their part to apply sound judgment to the question before them. A plan or specification is an instrument to be used for the production of a certain piece of engineering work. The thing produced is the only reason for the instrument being brought into existence, and when once the instrument has. served its purpose its value disappears. Yet engineers engaged to apply this instrument are, as a rule (especially the young men), more intent on applying the instrument than in considering what the instrument. may be doing, forgetting that the instrument can of itself produce nothing, and that if not applied with judgment it will produce only ‘such things as-the man that made the instrument could himself produce. But, when applied with the correcting power of sound judgment, acquired in the production of similar things with other instruments, it becomes pliable in the hand of a master, and the result is the combined power of the instrument with the trained judg- ment of him that applies it. All technical men engaged in producing tan- gible things out of ideas expressed in our defective language, interpreted by some one perhaps better acquainted with words than with things, anu whose judgment has not been matured by any intimate knowledge of the actual work that the specification he is to enforce is intended to produce, feel how hard it is to get their position understood, and how often they must do things against their better judgment for fear it may be thought that their own interest, and not their experience, is the foundation on which their judgment rests. °* : RUMORED CONSOLIDATION OF SHIP YARDS. The New York Tribune is authority for the statentent that plans are again on foot to consolidate the leading ship yards of the country with the exception of the ‘Cramps, and that $60,000,000 will be invested in the enterprise. Among’ the ship building firms mentioned are the Union Iron Works of San Francisco; the Wm, R. Trigg Co. of Richmond, Va., the Newport News company, the New York Ship Building Co. of Camden, N. J., the’ Harlan & Hollingsworth Co. of Wilmington, Del., and the Bath Iron Works. It is.reported also that a meeting has been held at Rich- mond of the persons interested. The Tribune quotes one of the parties * interested as follows: “Tt is thought that the intention of the organizers is to divide the ship building work among the various concerns interested so that instead of, as at present, one yard being engaged in building war vessels of two or three different types, and also merchantmen, each plant will confine itself to one class of work. It is expected that negotiations will be concluded that will result in a friendly understanding between the new consolidation and the Cramp company.” Mr. Charles H. Cramp when approached upon the subject said: “I know nothing about the combination. These men talk as though war- ships were run out of a mold, like so many steel bolts. What right has one firm to tell a customer that he must go to another firm to get any part of his work done. The new combination may not work against us, but it certainly will not make any arrangements with us. The Cramps will go on doing business at the old stand.” ‘ii TWIN-SCREW STEAM YACHT ALVINA, At the works of the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co., Wilmington, Del., there was launched on Saturday last a twin-screw steam yacht that will have a prominent place in the Atlantic coast fleet of pleasure craft. The vessel is the Alvina, building for Mr. ‘Charles Fletcher of Providence, R.I., from designs of A. S. Chesebrough. Dimensions are: Length along rail line (top of waist), 212 ft.; length on load water line, 176 ft.; breadth, moulded, 25 ft. 11% in.; depth from top of keel to top of deck beams at center, 16 ft. 9 in. The yacht has a clipper stem and square stern, with one continuous deck house. On the forward end of the main deck there is a forecastle deck, with crew’s galley,. lamp room, laundry, crew’s mess, firemen’s quarters, crew’s lavatories, and a stéam windlass. Abreast part of the deck house there is a bridge ex- tending to the side of vessel. Above the main house is a chart house and captain’s stateroom. Accommodations for crew and officers are forward on the cabin deck and for the owner forward and aft of the cabin deck. In the forward end of the house is the dining room, followed aft by pantry, owners’ galley, a drying room and closet. In the after part of the house is a library and stateroom. The vessel is to rate 100 A at Lloyds and is to be of 14 knots speed. The engines, twin screw, have cylinders of 12, 21 and 35 in. diameter by. 22 in. stroke and will be supplied with steam by two Scotch boilers of 13 ft. diameter and 10 ft. 6 in. length, allowed 185 Ibs. per square inch steam pressure. There are three furnaces in each boiler. Natural draft only will be used. A donkey boiler is 3 ft. 10 in. diameter and 7 ft. length. Other features of equipment are: Electric light plant for 150 lights, steam and hand steering gear; complete water tanks; evaporator and dis- tiller; ice plant; Hyde windlass and capstan; two masts of Oregon pine; steel deck house; joinery of hardwood. The Alvina was christened by Miss Harriet Mary Fletcher of Provi- dence, R. I., a granddaughter of Mr. Charles Fletcher, for whom the. yacht is being built.