The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-19
CONSTRUCTION IS FAULTY
SHOWS SERIOUS
 WEAKNESS IN U. s, WARSHIPS.

" ESS lN .. ., " sd Two Weeks Ago n Board Appointed by
 Navy Department to Look Into the Dam ger from Spontaneous Combustion on Vessels of the Navy, Reported, Recom-
 mending a Radical Reconstruction of the Coal Bunkers.
 Washington, Feb. 18.-Lieutenant Commander Wainwright, the executive officer of the Maine, as his last import ant work prior to his detail to the Maine, prepared memorandum for the secretary of the navy setting forth the precautions taken by other govern ments to protect their men, -of-war against just such calamities as has be- fallen the Maine. This memorandum suggested the appointment of board of officers to investigate the subject and make recommendations for the use of the bureau of construction in de- signing future cruisers and battleships. MT. Wainwright's memorandum shows that England protects the magazines
 
 | asbestos air spaces between the walls | which are packed with silicate of cot | ton and other n-combustible and non-c n-constructing substances and by the use of ventilating fans and ammo mia. l Frances methods are double floors and walls of asbestos. This is neces | sary to discharge cold air and to have 1 the chambers between their walls and | floor so arranged that it can pass over | and around them. In the German ships there are ventilating conduits to pump cold air into the magazines and expel 1 the warm aid from them. They have also special cooling machines for the purpose of protecting the coal bunk CTS against spontaneous combustion. The Italian constructors provide par | ticularly for the escape of gas that Is to generate in any air tight chambers in which explosives are kept. They also have refrigerating machines, and recommend that the air in magazines cannot be changed too frequently. Both the Italian and the French constructors describe the danger from the juxtaposi- | tion of coal bunkers and advise that chambers packed with silicate of cot ton asbestos and other non- combusti- ble matter has been placed between the coal bunkers and the magazines. l Serious fires occurred some time ago, as is we'll known, on the New York and the Cincinnati from spontaneous com bustion of coal and two weeks ago a board appointed to investigate this new danger to our warships made a report recommending a radical reconstruction of the coal bunkers of the ships in our navy. The board contends that all bi- luminous and soft coal is subject to this danger and recommend that it should be remedied The board report ed that "there are some bunkers in which the fire will involve great dan ger namely, those adjacent to mag azines. In all ships there should be a double bulkhead with at least four inches between the walls of the bunk CTS and the magazine and with pro- vision for a good circulation of air to carry off any heat that may come from the bunker.
 The report said that the chief con- structor of the navy informed the board that he had anticipated this inn portant point and had made provision in the new battleships on the plan rec commended and had taken steps for the alteration of the bunkers in the flag ship New York wherever they were ad- jacent to magazines. Among other recommendations the board suggested that precautions should be taken to prevent waste or oil from getting into the bunkers and that old coal should be used before that recently recom- mended. The board also recommended that particular care should be taken by steamships while in Havana.