The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

seni AOAC EA THE MARINE RECORD. ESTABLISHED 1878. Published Every Thursday by THE MARINE RECORD. PUBLISHING CO., Incorporated. C. E. RUSKIN, - - - - Manager. CAPT. JOHN SWAINSON,- - : : Editor. CLEVELAND, CHICAGO, Western Reserve Building. Royal Insurance Building. SUBSCRIPTION. One Copy, one year, postage paid, - - $2.00 One Copy, one year, to foreign countries, - . $3.00 Invariably in advance. ADVERTISING. Rates given on application. All communications should be addressed to the Cleveland office, THE MARINE RECORD PUBLISHING, CO., Western Reserve Building, Cleveland, 0. ... : Entered at Cleveland Postoffice as second-class mailmatter. No attention is paid to anonymous communications, but the wishes of contributors as to the use of their names will be an Nr cenicaaed regarded. CLEVELAN D, O., OCTOBER 17, 1901. Sc TRE SS I a Ra SV ee SCREW PROPELLERS. |. Discussing interestingly a paper on screw propellers read before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at Burrow, the London Engineer says that it is a, noteworthy fact that, even at the present moment, although the. screw propeller has been the-most important simple mechanical device ever invented, its theory of action is very far from being settled. Generally speaking there are two views, each of which is fought for as though it were the only one which. is correct. According to one the propeller really. acts as a screw and screws itself forward in the water, and exerts force on the water a duration so short for each successive mass of water encountered by a blade that the inertia of the . water may be regarded in a manner as offering a nearly infinite resistance, while according to: the. other view we have nothing but an accidental resemblance to the action of the screw. The blades push the water astern at a considera- ble angle to ship, and it is entirely misleading to talk of slip, because there is no reason whatever why the propeller should, would, could, might or ought to advance precisely the distance represented by the pitch at each revolution. The controversy has much more than an academical interest. Every ship has, so to speak, a propeller proper to her which will give better results than any other propeller that ever was made; but so little is thoroughly known about the mode of action of a propeller that it is almost impossible to say whether any ship is or is not fitted with the best possible propeller. We learn that with 77 square feet of propaller surface. the Boma hid a slip of 3 5 to 5.3 per cent. yet with a propeller with the reduced surface of 70 feet the slip dropped to 2.0 per cent.. This leads to the notion that slip is in some measure independent of blade area, But a deduction of this kind is not really justified. From time to time a new investigation of certain. phenomena.of. ship pro- pulsion | takes place. Thus, for example, we have Mr. Sydney. Barnaby inquiring into cavitation; Prof. Hele Shaw and Mr. Marson’ Niles, (formerly an officer of the U.S. Navy) on the flow of water; Mr. Mansell inquiring’ into the true formula for ship resistance and the power required for propulsion at various speeds; but for all practical purposes the designing of s-rew propellers is still thoroughly em- pirical, and it must remain so until their. method of opera- tion and what they really do with the water is yRetter } EIET fy stood than it is at present. fh vey Syie © tens - Ina long letter to the London Times, ‘Lord Brassey aes a very optimistic view of the present condition of the British navy. Turning to ships, to which so much of the recent criticism has been directed, Lord Brassey makes a. ‘series of comparisons with a view to giving ‘‘a convincing answer to. experts who take pessimistic views and a reasonable assure ance to the public.” ye _compare with the Welsh product. AERIAL TELEGRAPHY. The ,recent international yacht races, off. Sandy Hook, have settled one thing not connected. with yatching and that is-that there.is.lots to do before, wireless telegraphy. can. be put into general. use. Interference is the difficulty. to, be overcome, that is, to avoid the conflict between, various. sets of instruments working inthe same field. The United States.Navy, Department has been very much interested in the: development of a'practical system of wireless telegraphy, the use of which in war might be of greatest value. The - Baltimore Sun very pertinently states that the yacht races have shown that the time has not yet come for installing any system on our war vessels. Three systems were used during the races, and an officer was detailed to report upon them. The inquiry shows conclusively that none of the systems is free from interference. , When the three instruments were working together it was impossible to read the messages sent. The operators finally agreed to divide the time in which the race was sailed, and no trouble was expierienced, unless as frequently happened, one man would overrun his time, and another,would begin to send messages. Naval officers point out that ‘‘interference” would bea seri- ous matter to a squadron in time of war. It would be possi- ble, it is true, to prevent an enemy from communicating with his ships, but the enemy would have the same facility “for cutting off communication between American men-of- war. Until this serious objection is overcome, it is not regarded as likely that Rear-Admiral Bradford, who is in charge of the bureau of equipment, will feel disposed to recommend thatthe signal system now in force be abandoned and wirelesss telegraphy be installed on all vessels, —_—_—$—$—$—$——— 1 Oe COMMERCE IN COAL IN 1901. Coal from the United States is now finding its way into nearly all the coal consuming countries, and the exports are steadily increasing. The trade has doubled in value and trebled in tonnage since 1897. This has had the effect of giving the United States third place on the list of coal-ex- porting countries, while it is first in production. For many years there was an impression abroad, which was carcfully fostered by competing countries, that United States coal was of inferior quality and that no grade could Experience with the United States product is gradually but surely dispelling this illusion. ada, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Russia, Swe- den, China, Japan, the West Indies, Mexico and the Central American States, while Brazil is experimenting with it. According to the customs returns, as published by the Bureau of Statistics of the Treasury Department at Wash- ington, the exports of coal during the fiscal year which end- ed June 30, 1901, were as follows: Anthracite, 1,912,080 tons, valued at $3,425,803: bituminous, 5,764,069 tons, valued at $13,891,693; the totals being 7,676,139 tons and $22,317,496. In the previous fiscal year (1900) the exports were: Anthra- cite, 1,777 319 tons, worth $7,564,088; bituminous, 5,411,329 worth $11 938,725; the totals being 7,188,648 tons, worth $19,502,813. This shows an increase for the fiscal year 1901 of 487 501 in the number of tons, and a agen of $2, 814,683 in the valuation of the exports. ———————————— STEAMBOAT INSPECTION SERVICE. In spite of the’ secret.service bureau which Supervising Inspector-General James A. Dumont wishes to make and has made, in so far as he is concerned, of the Steamboat Inspection Service -Eranch of the Treasury Department, items occasionally sieve through the press regarding some of the forms of duty which his subordinates go through with, As aninstance, itis learned that the Milwaukee staff, composed of Messrs. Chipman, Fitzgerald, Collins, Swift and Whitney visited during the present year nearly every port from Kenosha down the lake to Washington Island and ‘many ports located on several of the Wisconsin rivers. During this period 215 steam vessels were inspected and theré are still sixteen boats that are to receive inspection papers before the close of the present season. In all the local officials will have inspected 231 boats when the, 1901 navigation season comes. to.a close. Last year 265. vessels were inspected. Among ‘the portsin the district are Ke- nosha, Racine, Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Kewaunee, Washington Island, Manasha, Oconto, Péensaukee,. Sturgeon Bay, Appleton and Marinette. The Milwaukee c ffice thus controls the entire steam shipping and all liceiised officets on the west shore of Lake Michigan. United States coal is now finding markets in Can-e OCTOBER 17, 1901 NAVAL ESTIMATES. The estimates for the navy for the year ending June 30, ; 1903, have already been made public. The total amount is: $98 910,984, against $77,924,535 appropriated for the current. year. The chief increases are $2,600,000 for construction, ~ $2,000,000 for armor, and $129,355 in the appropriahions for, yards and docks. sear Secretary Long, in speaking of} the estimates,, said hate they were made with a due regard for the needs of the navy,.) and intimated that they had the approval of the administra- tion. He spoke of the increased cost of the navy and said - that the building of a battleship costing $5,000,000 was not. 4 the end of its expense, as its maintenance was very costly. These estimates, he said, did not cover any recommendations for increase of the navy over that already authorized, but.it. is more than likely the Secretary will recommend three new, . battleships and two armored cruisers and a number of small. gunboats. : Among the new items of importance in the estimates's are. the following: New battery for the Newark, $175,000; new . batteries for the Albany and New Orleans, $200,000; reserve. guns for ships of the navy, $500,000; floating dry dock at, Portsmouth, N. H., $500,000, making the total for that yard. $1,644,575. st A total of $1,127,700 for new works at the Boston nayy.. yard, which includes a plant for housing and storing torpedo vessels and new buildings, The estimates for new improve... ments at the New York navy yard aggregate $3,110,000, | which includes $2,000,000 for the purchase of land, and - $200,000 for barracks for enlisted men. The new estimated . items for the Norfolk yard aggregate $1,208,500, which . includes $350,000 for the purchase of land. “The estimates for the naval station at San Juan, Porto Rico, are $2,613,000, and include $1,000,000 for a masonary. , dry dock, $500,000 for the purchase of land, $250,000 for . dredging, and $200,000 for the extension of coaling facilities. | An estimate of $650,000 is made for a plant for housing and_., storing torpedo vessels at Pensacola. An estimate of . $108,0co is made for the naval station at Tutuila, Samoa. An estimate of $381,000 is submitted for the Cavite naval.. station, which includes $200,000 for a refrigerating plant. Estimates are made for a complete naval station at loa: : po, P. I., amounting to $1,443,000. t Other estimates are: Naval magazine near Boston, fa & 000; naval magazine near Portsmouth, N. H., $4v0,009;: naval magazine, Puget Sound, $100,000; defenses for insular. naval stations and coal depots, $5c0,000, Oo ovw—m—r A SAILOR’S SNUG HARBOR. 33 Although he has made no systematic effort to promote the sailors’ snug harbor’of the Great Lakes, which was ‘encour- aged by resolution at the last annual meeting of the Lake Carriers’ Association, Mr. George L. McCurdy, of Chicago,*, is receiving letters of encouragement from different parts of . the country. we E. C. Dunbar, of Grand Haven, Mich., says in a letter: 6 . Mr. McCurdy: ‘I take pleasure in enclosing check for snug harbor entertainment. You and I, and all of us dry-land. sailors, must depend, when old age comes, for snug harbor upon that portion of the lake sailor’s earnings which we have - been able to garner. Let us not begrudge a penny from the common earnings to him who matched his courage against: our thrift, and made. our soresteet productive by his steadfast”. endurance.”’ t Writing from Milwaukee, Capt. William Jamieson, says: “T was of course interested in your letter regarding this wor- thy undertaking fora deserving poor. After braving many dan- gers and having little left in life they find themselves stranded on dry land with no harbor of refuge in sight and <i’, no harbor in sight to look for in a land of plenty and. over- flowing. Something should be done for them, and ‘onia large scale. You will please find my miteof $5 enclosed :for this most worthy object. 1 wish you the best of luck and God speed you in your undertaking.’ OHIO FISHERY CRUISER. The State Fish and Game Commission, Columbus, awarded to the McKinnon Iron Works Co., of Ashtabula, the con- tract for the construction of the fish patrol boat to be used on Lake Erie. The company’s bid was $11,575, and the last Legislature appropriated $12,000 to cover the cost of con- structing the boat. The commission also adapted a resolution calling for the opening of the State fish hatchery at Sandusky. Horace Park, of Columbus, was elected superintendent. ‘ cs