The San Francisco call., 1897-11-28

NAVIGATION
IS SOLVED
Trial of Raddatz's Boat
Demonstrates Its
Utility.
STAYS UNDER WATER
THREE HOURS.
Steel Prov Capable Of Pierc-
ing the Sides of Any VeS-
sci EflOat.
HOT AIR AND ELECTRICITY
THE MOTIVE POWER.
Backers of the Inventor Satisfied
With the Performances
CT the Craft.
Steel Prov Capable Of Pierc-
ing the Sides of Any Ves-
sci kfloat.
HOT AIR AND ELECTRICITY
THE MOTIVE POWER.
Backers of the Inventor Satisfied
With the Performances
CT the Craft.
Special Dispatch to THE CALL

NEW YORK, Nov. 27.-The correspond
ent of tie Herald at Chicago sends the
following: Trials o! Raddatz's submarine
boat in Fox River and Lake Winnebago
have practically demonstrated it's utility.
[ accom- panied the inventor on the last
trip and made an examination OF the boat.
Ben jamin T. Leuzarder and James D.
Miller of Milwaukee, the principal mem
bers of the syndicate owning and controll-
ing the craft were OH board also.
Mr.. Raddatz has been experimenting
with the vessel for eight years. Every
thing about the boat indicates that it is
essentially a man-of- war; for its steel PROV
is capable, it is asserted of piercing the
sides of any cruiser afloat.
From the outside the boat looks like
huge cigar. 1t is 65 feet long, feet wide
and ~ feet in depth. Its weight is thirty
one tons. 1t is built of steel plates, and
the inventor estimates that it can with
stand the pressure of water to depth of
500 feet. ere are two sets Of machinery
for propelling purposes, a hot-air eng ne
of nearly so horsepower for use on the
surface and an electric motor for sub
marine voyages There are several bat
can BE- quickly put in to take its place.
A storage battery of thirty cells is also
near the engine.
The motion of the boat in water Is so
even that it is almost lmpercep eptible. This
is due to the fact that resistance is re-
duced almost to nothing by the shape Of
the boat and the smooth action of the ma
chinery. The only time the motion was
observed was in the descent, and then it
was merely a gentle decline. The craft
can be turned easily under water round
and round, and can be raised ana lowered
without shock, rolling or jolting.
Mr.. Raddaiz can raise and lower it three
feet a second, or approximately one
fourth OF mlie an hour. On The surface,
with mercy her iurrets projecting il has
made trips with Mr.. Raddatz, Mr.. Leu
zarder and Mr.. Miller aboard a, the rate
OF fourteen miles an hour, and submerged
al ten miles, although on the last trip we
made only five.
The air, which is mixed on board, is in
storage chambers underneath the board
flooring. Mr.. RaidatZ told me he kept 1t
pure by a chemical generation Of oxygen
absorbing car rbonic acid gas in caustc
potash. caustic soda and lime. l have
been in many Nell-conducted theaters
when the air was worse than it was in this
boat at the end of our trip. The tempera-
ture of the boat is kept uniformly at about
fifty degrees. No heating apparatus has
been introduced yet. although in future
electricity will furnish all the necessary
warmth.
Mr.. Raddatz is an exceedingly diffident
and retiring young man and it was from
Others that | learned of his courageous
eight years work and his temperate life.
He was torn and educated in Oshkosh,
Wis, and mis- only ADVANTAGES were those
derived from public schoo.s and a supple
mentary course in the normal school.
Ms. Leuzarder said to me at the end of
the trip: I'VE believe we have in this boat
one of the most wonderful inventions of
the nineteenth century. 1t solves prob
lem that has puZz ed science for years.
am perfectly satisfied as to the result of
my nvs sstigaiion and personal experience.
I'VE do not assert that every detail IS
yet perfected, but the grea main idea S
success. We have boat which has re-
manned under water three hours at
time with three or four PERSONS on board,
and all the air needed was provided In
fact there was not a flaw anywhere.
1--WE will take the boat 10 Milwaukee
ncxt spring ana make some trials in Lake
Mich :an. We purpose 10 Fl a search
lieht on the boar. with VIII ch we can see
100 ieet, and ii the water is clear we will
be able To axe some interesting observa-
tiOns."