New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-08-08
VIEWS OF PRACTICAL BOILER-MAKERs

The Steam Boiler Makers Benevolent Asso-
citation held special meeting at Military han III tue
Bowery last evening to inquire into the cause o INC l"O
disaster and to express opinions regarding the real
source of the mischief. The meeting ORGANIZED Dy inc
election OF John Mcbride Chairman. He character
lied the present system of boermaking and inspection
in this city as unwise and unsafe. No man should be
boernspector who il not practical boilermaker Inc
durability and strength OF the material ordered In boil
ers are too often sacrificed to cheapness lie himself
had often seen IL so bad that he Thought IL was
wrong to put such sheet in but he could say nothing
The boiler on the Westheld not til to run, 1t was so
old Then the system of testing by hydrostac presr
is Injurious every year that II is done II strains e
iron to its utmost limit, tears the seams apart ana eh
If commences to leak they put in soft patch perhaps
an eighth Of inch thick which stops the leah ana docs
not inthe least strengthen the boiler ,,..,...
Mr.. sullivan, an old boilermakor ron MASSACHUSETTS
and Maine had often been told Ivy engIsers When nc
went TO repair boiler I'm ship, that he need only patch
It enough to last them that one trip especially II they
had prosperous trip in prospect after which another
patch would have TO be put IL was reas0nabie 10
be bad He had looked boiler OF the Wesheld and
believed that 1t exploded not from want Of water but
when first manufactured for the sheet bent over where
It burst out and did not crack would have done
had the iron been defective. ,.,.
boer-maker and reparer present nterposod thar IL
is sometimes much the fault OF Incapable ehRheerH az
boiler inspectors general thing, were not conycrst
with all the parts OF boiler, so rs TO know where 70
look for the weak points In regard to me Westneid'
he believed the strongest part of the boiler blew up
When boiler has been in o2ht or nine years II inc
inside lining that first gives way usually, Dul ouu
in this case IL the back head Of the boiler which gave
way and tore the inside lining. He considered the acc-
dent, therefore. the fault of the operators. -
Michael DOnOhuo also thought bOierinspector should
be bOiler-maker and not merely an engineer or ma
Chinst The talk about patches was all nonsense iho
boiler Is made up O patches. Iou surely WOud not I
mp a ships deck to put in new boiler every ume II
needed strengthening II must DC repaired win patches
Any good bOier-makCr examine boiler ana Wth hls
hammer detect its weak points with less difficulty ana
loss detrment tothe boiler than yhydrostatc pressure
Peter j. Donohue of Brooklyn, disagreed fatty with
the Of all the experts In the Wesed boiler exam
nation. They all say IL blew out at the side. believe,
said he that the boiler way in the braces az tue
back end tap bolts, because II blew out IN horizontal
line the front Of the boat The consequence OF these
braces giving way that there was not enough
strength the front in the tap bolts 10 sustain that Nat
surface the back end OF the boiler. In one place in
that boiler there space OF 80 square inches without
brace never much space in my llfe, sald Ne
between braces boiler, Hs saw on tpat boat !
don't blame the engineer Mr. Matthews is called first
class engineer but he is not rSt-c"ss boiler Inspector.
Neither other boiler inspector ever IlSt
the manhOc where the boiler has cOrr0ded ud
is weak for it the interior OF the boiler tha IL hst
affected In this inquest they viii find out mat II was
tine fault of the boeTmaker There pins run through
the braces hold them which ought always 10 he st
driven in and hold the brace firmly, and now have
seen min In the boiler Of the Westfeld that never was
split No boiler Inspector If he did his duty, would al
low this. The boiler again too old to bear pressure
OF 40 pounds.
Tie meeting adjourned, after adopting n resolution
that boilerm alone could properly test boiler