The San Francisco call., 1897-01-03

- HERE will be tested this month at
Ag Providence, R. l., an electric ship of
eyEHS such marvellous speed thatit will set
the tongues of all the world wagging. This
is the first announ cement publicly made
of the fact.
Here new record is to be born, new
speed limit; or, rather, speed without
limit, to be practically demonstrated.
The electrical wonder has no name as yet,
but she has fourteen propellers. George
A. Jencks manager of the Painton EIec-
trical Steamship Company of 155 Orange
street, Providence, R. l., tells the writer
that from private trials there Is no doubt
whatever of forty-knot speed being
attained.
The ideas that have been put into prac-
tical execution in this marine wonder
have been kept so carefully concealed
that few persons have had the remotest
notion that any such revolution in marine
engineering was even templated. Ever
since electricity has shown itself to be the
capital power of propulsion for vessels of
light proportions there have been endless
theories as to the possibilities of the power
in the future.
Now, however, we are to have practice
and not theory in the form of a ship that
will speed across the ocean and away past
Fastnet light and the Lizard in less than
three days. Think of an ocean voyage
that is much shorter and far more COM
Portable, though the journey be from New
York to southampton, than can be said
of a trip across our own United States.
The company which is to make the test
near Providence this month is in
corporated under the laws of Pennsyl-
vania. Its president is Richard N. Pain
ton, and the other officers are: Vice
President, John W.. Bailey; secretary,
Henry A. Solomon; and treasurer, Hiram
Weimer.
By the use of the Painton system of
electric motors it will be possible to OBJ
tain double the speed reached by steam,
and at about halt the cost, and with
plant that will occupy not more than one
half the space now required for the pom
derous marine engines and accompany
ing machinery. Ocean ''grey yhounds"
equipped with the Painton motors will
easily cover forty knots an hour-railroad
speed. Warships will reach the speed of
thirty-fye knots an hour, whereas the
highest limit yet accomplished on trial
mile with steam is 22.80 knots with the
fastest cruiser built.
One great source of complaint with the
Navy Department has been the INSULT
cheney of room in war vessels for the ac-
commodation of men, armament coal and
provisions. The machinery necessary to
propel these great ocean fortresses occu-
pies such large amount of space that
there is practically no room for anything
else. The terrific heat from the furnaces
and steampipes the m maddening Kissing
of the steam and the incessant vibration
and shocks resulting from the erching
of the heavy shafts and the straining OF
the mechanism make life almost unen-
durable and converts the vessels into
veritable heIls. They are torture prisons,
from which there is no escape.
The Painton system OF motors will have
greatly enlarged power over steam, and
as before stated the electrical plant will
occupy half the space of the steam plants.
Instead of the enormous 80-ton shafts ex-
tending from the middle of the ship to the
stern the electrical plant will have from
fourteen to sixteen screw propellers rang
ing along the sides OF the vessels as well
as two of ingenious construction at the
stern. These propellers are operated from
a switch board. They can be operated sim
gly or together at the will OF the man at
the keys. Each propeller is a machine by
itself, and the disabling of one or more has
no effect whatever upon the Others. When
the entire complement OF propellers is in
action there is no more noise than would