The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-08-03

1t must have been fully one-Quarter-probably over
Q. What Is the diameter Of tine SHELF A. I don't
| remember; we have 1t on our books. Books pro-
Mr. MATTHEWS after referring to the books)-The
boiler is ten feet in diameter.
| the time you last tested itf A. had no means Of
ascertalning that sir; it must be fair thickness.
e understood 1t was the shell that was re-
@ What would you suppose the thickness of the
the quarter OF an inch still.
O. From your experience do You know or rer,em-
it was assisted BY the engineer or ever hear Of one
sticking fastY A. No. SIR ! did not; never knew
@. What was its areaY A. 1t had an area of thirty
| eight inches.
Z. And in your opinion ample to relieve the bouers
q. Did you know the engineer Of this boatP A.
Yes sir; ne Is Goorea ma man ana has osen In the
q DID you ever have any conversation with him
aaa he n No. ala
| tion OF the law exempts him while running in the
| q. Under what law is he exempt A. Not under
| the law, but the construction Of the law made by
Secretary of the Treasury 1t is not SO in running
9. From what you saw Of this engineer did you
consider HIM competentP A. Well. he seemed to be
thing about his qualifications unless examined him.
@ Would you have felt yourself safe on that boat
| with himY A. should sir, and should not have
had tie slightest hesitation to have gone ABOARD Of
o at ht nY OF s1H s oa Valve
BY line leading into the engine roomf A. Yes,
q. You say 1t was possible to have some stop on
tnisa A. Yes, that is quite possible.
Q. II he had removed IT beyond the point at which
1t would go at twenty-five pounds, would the gov
eminent safety valve have relieved the boiler IN case
OF the steam being brought to that pointS A. No
q. II from any cause the steam should have been
raised above the allowed pressure on the govern.
| open, Notwithstanding Its being open the steam
might have got beyond thats A. Yes, sir, If they
I. Mr.: Matthews. from your knowledge OF this
boiler after you mad inspected and tested 1t to thirty
in imminent danger If you had raised the steam to
that pressure-thirty-four poundsY A. No. sir,
Q. what part OF steam boiler is most liable to
decay2 A. The water bottom, furnace boxes and
steam chimneys are the portions that generally give
out first.
9. DO they give out generally in this order9 A.
the effects Of bige water and other causes, when it
stands low in the boat.
the time uu Of the last INSPECTION she had egs A. Her
water bottom was cut of last fall and new legs put ill.,
character OF the boiler otherwise than testing ita
A. did not, sir.
g. Was this boiler stayed" in the usual manner
after boilers OF this class A. Yes.
G. DID you know anything as to about the dis.
would probably be the usual distance, as in ali boil
ers OF this class.
| No; if they had they would have cut the shell.
| @. What part gave out 6rst2 A. cannot say.
o. Have you seen IL since the eXplOsiOnY A. Yes:
| have seen 1t among the debris; it broke away
round the shells sheet it tore entirely of, and
that Is now. now lying forward IN the vessel it having
part OF the hull that It has accommodated itself TO
the form of the vessel that is the part where
Q. Then you do not know where the fracture COM
mencedY A. NO, sir do not; have not the slightest
O. Is boiler OF that shape less liable to break at
or near the bottom OF the shell, or would the top be
more affected when the pressure was on itS A. 1t
would be most likely at the bottom.
@ Could the bottom OF the boiler fnslde) Rave
been easier seen from the inside than the top' A.
No; we tried to examine it once, and could not for
the bolts.
tain its condisionS A. 1t would be impossible on &C
count OF the nues.
boiler. A. Yes; 1t appeared fair and nrm and there
were no signs of fracture.
O. You had other means Of testing the boiler
but by hydrostatic pump A. We have other
| means for testing every part of 1t.
A. think there We're few patches over S the the seams
We're ney put on win rvets r or Dr., were they
| O. From your experience, Mr.. Matthews is that
available way securing seams wnen they seem to
| be weak A. 1t Is, sir; have known steamboat
when they were quite new, Tor 1t Is well known they
are always required in q year or eighteen months
afterwards-that is, the lower part of the boilers;
/ have covered new furnace boxes myself with
patches when they were perfectly good and sound
In order to prevent their being eaten away by salt
water: thus was done merely as q precautionary
measure.
O. Do you know wha, would be the difference in
the temperature, or can you imagine what would be
the temperature OF the boiler when under the usual
exact number OF degrees; cold water falls generally
O. is the feed water taken from the tanks directys
A. Yes.
Q. Is it cold9 A. 1t Is the usual temperature
when it Is put ia the tank
q. DO they blow the exhaust into the tanks
during the summer season. A. Perhaps.
c. Do you know II the difference OF temperature
a
have tendency TO weaken 1t by uneauai expan-
sionY A. IL might have some such effect IN the
@. Where would 1t be likely to show itself II there
was an UNEQUAL expansions A. should think
O. why down az the bottom, slr9 A. That por-
ton OF the boiler IS bound together more nrmiy,
while the upper part Of the smell Is comparatively
pansion, to tear away the under part.
Q. DO you suppose that such cause had anything
TO do with the explosions A. do not think 1t had,
q. How long have you been an engineer, Mr..
Matthews1 A. Thirty.dve years.
@. Did you serve a regular apprenticeship A.
did; with James P. Allare ".
has been' A. l served seven years in the naval
service and have been running IN the merchant
service; had charge or steamship between New
York and Europe Tor nine. years and had seven
years. service IN charge OF one OF the Pacific Mail
q. Have you been on the river steamers9 A. Yes;
! have, sir, and on the lakes.
Q. During this time have you ever had any acct
dents OF any kindS A. Never, SIR in my own expe
renee.
O. How long have you been an inspectors A. Five
years.
JACOB VANDERBILT on rnR STAND.
Jacob II. Vanderbilt then took the stand and was
duly sworn by tile Commissioner.
Mr.. BooLE-Mr. Vanderbilt who do you represent
here tO-dayS
Mr.. yANDERBIIT-I am president OF the company.
Q. What is the name of the company2 A. The
Staten Island Railroad Company; this lncluaes the
ferry.
Mr. HILL-Mr. Vanderbilt will you give us what
information you may have, or make statement Of
all you know IN reference 10 this accident9
Mr.. VANDERBILT-At what point would you have |
me beg!nf
Mr. HILL should like to have as full an &C. |
count OF the company, DC, as possible with what.
ever you know OF this affair.
Mr.. VANDERBILT-We have three boats which we |
run In order-runulng two at time--the North. |
feld Westfied and Middletown. Two run con- |
stantly at time. but Is always left in for re.
pairs, aad Is what we call spare boat one Is |
always In and gets little rest or is being repaired.
There Is no difference IN the boats or In their ap.