The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-14
MORE MEAT THROWN AWAY.
CHIMES WE'RE GOT IN ORDER
BEFORE SHE SAILED.


the Break Down-Said He Had No
Time to Test Machinery Before
Leaving New York - stroll
Through the Engine Rooms, Where
Assistant Engineer Root Told %
the Mechanism of the Minnew0slSa.
Another lot of spoiled meat was taken
from the Minnewaska before she sailed,
but the ships ice machines were In per-
feet working order when the additional
supplies were put aboard, and there was
no fear of further trouble. The meat re-
moved was a part of that taken out Fri
day, which it was thought at the time
could be preserved.
The break down in the refrigerating
plant occurred at sea. The discharge pipe
that throws sea water overload from
big condenser, burst on the voyage down,
and instead of throwing the water out 1t
was emptied into the hold of the ship. This
prevented using the ice machines at all,
the result of which was they had to be
stopped, let the temperature In the meat
room go where it would. There was no
emergency machines, such as are invari-
| ably kept where large storage rooms are to
| be refrigerated.
Chief Engineer William Masden was seen
on the Minnewaska yesterday by Morn
ing News representative, and was asked
| concerning the breakdown. He explained
that he was called on to take the ship at
New York, and was ordered to leave port
without even having had the opportunity
of turning over his engines. While there
was little trouble experienced by either
himself or the forty firemen in taking hold
of the task before them, still he thinks
the mishap might have been averted, had
there been less rush and more caution III
loading the meat in New York.
Chief Masden is a skilled engineer, and
| shows a thorough knowledge of his bust
| ness in the manner he handled the Min
newaska, except the little break In the
ice machine. He thinks there would not
have been the slightest trouble, had he
| had the chance to test every part of the
| ships machinery before leaving port.
AS everybody was In a rush. the steve
| dores hustling provisions TO the cold stor-
age rooms the soldiers wandering about
| the ship confusedly, and the crew making
| preparat tons TO haul in the lines, Chief
| Masden was prettily busly engaged and
left further explanations to Junior Second
/
| through a labyrinth of iron stairs he went
until the bottom was reached. In passing
| from the stairs to the boilers, an occa
| sional burst of wind from the air conduc
tors was about the only relief from the
| atmosphere, heated by burning oils steam
| pipes in every direction, and the hot boil
ers amidships.
Here are two triple expansion engines,
said Assistant Root, pointing 10 the huge
monsters lying side by side. The cylinders
| are 80, 50 and so inches in diameter, the
stroke is AZ feet, and they are 5000 horse
| power capacity. There are four Scotch boil
| ers, under which are eighteen furnaces
| The coal consumption is 50 tons every
| twenty-four hours. i"
MIR. Root had little time to explain mat
| ters much, and the atmosphere made
! brevity consoling in this instance. Going
| through a number of small passages, he
| presently came to little engine that run
| the ice machine. Pipes ran in every di-
rection, some of which were hot as blazes
while on others clinged a coating of frost
| and snow The mysteries of the place
| were something remarkable, and probably
| few of the thousand fellows above had
any idea of how their grub was to be
kept cool until they reached Santiago.
mo ice is made aboard ship" said
Assistant Root 1.-THE meat rooms are
| refrigerated with carbonic acid gas. I'm
| der a pressure of 1900 pounds to the
square inch this gas, which comes to us
| in bottles, is injected into
a compressor. AL gases when compressed
| become highly heated and when expand
| ed they cool. This is the theory Of re-
| frigerating aboard ship. This compressed
gas passes through a coil pipe in d big
| basin of sea water and is cooled. 1t
| flows on in this pipe, where the pressure
| has been reduced from % to 70 degrees,
and on reaching an expansion valve, the
| high pressure of 1900 is let off, which re-
| duced tho gas to zero. 1t then passes
| through mother coil pipe, which is IN
| large basin of brine This brine IS cooled
| by the cold gas. The brine is pumped in
| to pipes in the meat rooms above. The
| cold gas is not released, but travels
around to the condenser again, Is Yom-
| pressed as before goes around to the eX-
| pansion valve, is cooled again, and keeps
| up its work in this manner. The little
| thermometers there tell the exact temper
| allure of the meat rooms, which now reg
| lister 80 degrees with the room doors open
| to load meat. No, sir, no danger Of not
| keeping those rooms cool now"
Pointing to two huge steel shafts run
| ming from the engines aft Assistant Root
| said they ran the two propellers, one be-
ing on each side Of the rudder The big
| engines made from sixty TO seventy
| strokes a minute, every stroke sending tire
powerful snip twenty-one feet.
| Chief Engineer Masden and has assist
| ants are New Workers, have a store of
| courtesies for everybody, and in the short
| time the troops were aboard had already
| made many friends among the officers
and men. The other officers are Senior
| First Assistant A. Rose, Junior First As
| sstant Robert Bisset, Senior Second As
| sstant John Murphy, Junior Second AS
sistant c. s. Root. Senior Third Assistant
| A w. Young and Junior Third Assistant
| Frank Richardson
IrIIcn,1- MI Ins OLE La Nn,s IrNn