The evening times., 1899-07-10

started on lne DuSe pldnl WHICH lie NC"
York Shipbuilding Company proposes to
erect on the Delaware River, in the lower
end OF Camden, and adjacent to the north
ern boundary of Gloucester City. The
company, headed by Henry G. Morse, for
merly of the Harlan & Hollingsworth
Company, OF Wilmington. Del, evidently
means to push its construction work ahead
with all possible speed, for a small army
of mechanics and laborers, with steam
pile-drivers, engines, derricks, and all 9TH
er needed paraphernalia, is now on the
ground IN bustling activity. This appa-
rent haste is due TO the company's desire
10 have the plant in proper shape 70 per-
NIT of its putting in bids for the con-
struction of the worthcoming battleships
authorized by Congress.
The company's purchase Of the site
from the Manufacturers Land and I'M
provement Company was completed week
ago after several months OF negotiation.
All the activity has occurred since tben,
and what is destined to be probably the
largest shipbuilding plant IN The United
States, If not in the world. is now under
rapid construction. The first thing 10 be
done, according 10 one of the officials, is
the erection of high board fence around
tho whole tract, and visitors are 10 be rig
idly excluded at present. The official was
asked for pictures of the proposed build
ings which are 10 aggregate more Than
half a mile in length.
Not for 500 000'' he said. The firms
with which We expect to compete would
give that much 10 know what We are going
to put here" The site of the new plant
comprises over 120 acres, and is bounded
by Bulson Street and Newton Greek, e8-
tending from the river TO Broadway. The
frontage on the Delaware is :, 800 feet, and
there is a water depth of forty feet at low
tide along the whole front of the property.
This obviates the necessity for any dredg
ing, save that incident TO construction of
bulkheads, piers and other Improvements,
and was an important factor in the selec-
tion Of the site.
The new shipyard is designed TO build all
classes Of ships, including great liners OF
the greyhound" type, and battleshlps and
win be equipped 10 build vessels as large
as any now afOar. The plant viii be as
modern and complete as human ingenuity
can make il, the company purposinS TO
erect as large yard as exists in the world.
Within the next few weeks it is expected
that the force Of workmen on the operation
will be increased to fully l.G00.
The buildings 10 be erected will. be all Of
steel, over 1000 tons having already been
purchased for that purpose. The Potts
town Bridge Company's works, at Potts
town, Pa, were purchased sometime ago
by persons interested in the shipbuilding
company. and the buildings are now being
manufactured by that concern.
OF the steel contracted for 1900 tons have
already been rolled and delivered at the
Pottstown works. About lo0eo piles have
been purchased, a portion OF the lot having
been already delivered. The balance are on
the way, and Will arrive shortly. Large
quantities of lumber have been secured, a
part being in process of unloading, and the
rails for the yard tracks have been shipped.
The machinery Will be of the latest and
most approved pattern, comprising every
thing which makes up the equipment OF a
large shipyard The greater part Of the
machinery has been contracted for, and
will be ready for delivery by the time the
buildings are in place.
The plans for the yard are practically
complete and work on the wharves, bulk
heads. and river front in general will be
pushed coincident with the erection of the
buildings The company has secured the
services of Captain Randle, until recently
commodore of the fleet of the American
Line. He is the first vice president, and is
TO be general consulting superintendent of
the whole plant. Speaking of the work
and its plans, Captain Randle said yester-
day: Il expect that by another year we
shall be i'm full swing We have one of
The best sites in the world for shipbuild-
ing yards, over forty feet OF water at our
launching slips, and a clean bed OF gravel
and sand eyerywhere-not an atom of mud
and no swamp anywhere. We shall have
one OF the largest dry docks in the world,
500 feet in length, whether of stone or
wood is not yet settled
'Big2 Yes, it does seem so. but al
ready there are ships over 200 feet long,
and believe that within ten years We
shall see one a thousand feet in length,
with beam los feet and run by four screw
propellers placed abreast Of each other,
a thing easily achieved in vessel Of such
breadth and perfectly safe when properly
housed and boxed. The power for these
propeIlers will be obtained from engines
of 10000 horsepower, and the speed will
not exceed twenty knots, or mere frac-
tion over.
Il am convinced, and, indeed. so are most
authorities that ocean travellers are not
so keen after enormous speed as they were
at one time Comfort is more desired
The striving of shipbuilders today is to
give a fair amount of speed with The
greatest amount of comfort, and this can
be obtained by building very large YES
sells. The ventilation of the ST. Louis is
positively perfect, and she is a floating
hotel in other respects: the consequence
is that seasickness is hardly known. OF
course. there will always be some persons
who will suffer from this complaint You
cannot alter the calibre of the brain, and
persons of certain peculiarities suffer from
nausea in railroad train or a trolley car.
With great speed it is impossible TO avoid
the shaking of the ship that has so much
10 do with the cause of seasickness.
The introduction of water ballast has
had much TO do with increasing the stead
mess of ships at sea, but absolute steadi-
ness, even If il were possible, would be
anything but an improvement. Ii would
be a new danger ship that gave no way
to the waves would be constantly swept
over, and would be liable to be very bad
smashed. One of the advantages of the
water ballast system is that as soon as the
captain perceives that bad weather is
coming he can pump over the water to the
weather side, and while giving a bigger
resistance, he still allows some slight lear
10 the weather side, without which be
would be in danger of having his side stove
in. But the increased steadiness of YES
sells has so largely decreased their motion
that seasickness today is almost unknown
] do not think that SO many as 10 pei
cent of an entire passenger list suffer to
day at all.
The day for driving passenger vessel:
by electricity" confined Captain Randle
has not yet arrived. There are too man!
objections which have not yet been over
come. I have a letter in my desk her'
from an engineer in New York describing
an electrical apparatus, but. do not con
slider IL feasible for passenger ships; 4
might be for naval vessels. 1 have seer
the Turbinia, OF course, several times, bu
the system OF putting the propellers alonl
her cid no