The evening times., 1899-11-05

The question of being able to coal ves-
naval officers. and a new contrivance for
the purpose is to be tested this week.
Rear Admiral Bradford, chief Of the Ma
val Bureau Of Equipment, who has charge
OF coaIing stations and the purchase Of all
fuel consumed on warships, with that en-
terprise which has characterized all his
work for the improvement of the service,
notably resulting in the equipment Of Tor
tugas and Pago Pago, Hawaii, and Cavite
with automatic machinery Of the highe st
type for quickly filling the bunkers Of
vessels. will have charge of the expert
ment He has induced the Navy Depart
ment to lend him the battleship Massa-
chusetts next week for an exhaustive test
of a new system of coaling at sea, which
promises to be of the highest Importance.
The bunker capacity of almost every
American warship, especially in those YES
sells designed before the Spanish war. wnen
the Importance of the matter had not re-
ceived its proper weight, has been found
far too small for the length Of cruises de-
manded by the necessities Of the case.
The lack of coal drove Dewey's fleet
from Airs Bay TO Manila and kept il there
1t caused SIMPSONS feet to retreat from
San Juan, Porto Rico. and came near COM
pellipg Schley's flying squadron 10 aoan-
don the blockade of Santiago. The expert
ment was tried during the war OF taking
coal from a collier fastened alongside, but
this was impracticable except IN smooth
water, and was fraught with too much
danger TO be attempted on the high seas.
At one time it was proposed TO send
Watson's feet with a number of colliers
TO menace the coast of Spain, but fortu-
nateIy, perhaps, Spain agreed to peace at
that moment.
Rear Admiral Bradford during the last
month has fitted the collier Marcellus at
New York with all the necessary apparatus
to prove the merits and demerits. in ac-
tual practice at sea, of a system which is
constantly seen ashore in public works of
any magnitude, particularly in canal ex-
cavations and railway building, and which
gives every promise of success.
II involves the employment Of an over
head cable tramway for carrying coal be-
tween two ships. A tripod or shears is
10 be mounted on the after deck OF the
Massachusetts TO carry heavy wire cable.
which is. in turn. attached 10 the foremast
of the collier.
BY means of this cable, and perhaps one
or more similar cables if the sea is high,
the battleship will tow the collier, the OBJ
ject being to keep the cables taut and to
utilize the elevated one for carrying 4OO,-
pound bags of coal from the collier to the
ship, the bags being hauled by smaller ca
bles operated by hoisting engine on the
collier The tramway cable will be about
100 fathoms long and its ends will be ele-
waited about 20 feet above sea level.
II is asserted by the designer Of the con-
trlvance that an average of forty tons of
coal an hour can be thus transferred. but
Il is understood that the navy is ready 10
adopt the apparatus and install it on many
of the heavier ships If the rate of fifteen
tons an hour is secured in bad weather and
without reducing the speed of the ships too
much. For il is regarded as of extreme
Importance that method be secured by
which fast cruiser or battleship. if or
dered to distant point in an emergency,
will have her bunkers repienished without
the tedious delay of stay in port.
Naval officers think that the apparatus
will operate without a doubt when the
battleship and collier are going along at
a fve-knot rate. but the system will be Of
great value If the two vessels can con-
tinue on their course at the rate of ten
knots. and the Massachusetts and the Mar
cellus will make trial at that rate.
Here the question arises 'as to the extra
amount of coal which battleship will con-
sumo in towing the collier at reasonable
speed. Up to the highest speed of which
the collier is capable it is thought the bat
tleship should use little extra coal in keep
ing the cable taut, but il an attempt is
made TO maintain excessive speed ii is
feared the battleship would burn coal
faster than the apparatus would carry it.