Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-09

HEAVIER has been working in, but that isn't
there. all the same. Coal pasSers have
been badgered into saying. Il didn't eat
the coal. under these circumstances. t.
When coal consumption calculations are
spoiled in this way, the recrimination that
follows all along the line is something
fierce. The skipper says the chief engin-
Ger hasn't properly developed bump OF
economy. The chief says the men have
sneaked the coal into the furnaces The
| men say the coal is no good and burns like
punk or dry hemp. And the coal goes
right on using Itself up as If bewitched.
Expecting Too Much.
THE trouble is" an old-time chief engi-
reer once remarked to the writer when this
coal problem was under discussion. that
the bureau of steam engineering expects
too much of a ton of coal. The bureau ex-
hibts tendency to overHoik ton of coal.
The bureau has its beautifully figured
standards of consumption. and were ex-
pected to align ourselves with these stand
ards We've got to propel the ships accord
ing to their figures-at least. We're sup
posed to do this. but we never do. I've
been overhurninS coal. according to the
bureaus idea OF it, for matter of thirty
years now. If had paid any attention to
their cubic bunker space figures and to
| their unending call-downs I'd have been
| dead man by now. l just burn coal and
when the coal runs out, figures or no fig
ures. l catapult myself into the shippers
CABIN ana have a more or less stormy
| sion with him over my yell for more coal,
get the coal. burn it ny. and there YOU are
You can't figure on coal any more than you
can figure on a race horse. Coal was made
| to burn, anyhow, not to figure on
This chief engineer was an old-timer
who came in through the hawse pipe" as
the saying goes and was therefore a philos-
opher.
coal problem so easily. In truth, the coal
problem darkens their days There can be
no more touching figure of grief than a
dignitied chief engineer logged out in n
suit of blue dungarees crawling through
hot bunkers, Cimmerian in their darkness.
with pencil and pad in his hegrimcd
hands, and trying to figure out whore tho
deuce all the coal has gone. He takes tho
cubic method for this figuring, and. after
he has all finished and his calculations
are set in form for presentation to tho
| OF contracting and expanding bunk
ers-not that he be ieVes any such thing
of course, but he's got To say something.
| Estimating the Quantity.
OF course, chief engineers know just how
much coal the hunkers of their ships VIII
hold to a pound-In cubic measurement.
But figures lie with reference to coal
When chief midway on n cruise. wants
to Know how much coal he has used and
how much he has on hand, he never sim
ply subtrdcts the amount used. according
TO his log, from the amount taken aboard
at the outset of the cruise. li, knows thar
if he does this he'll probably get his shiD
| IN me trough Of the four or five hun
dred miles from land Without - i,,,,,,I ~
coal left to move her into port he llrsr
sends his yeoman or clerk chief petty
oitcer, into the bunkerS to do some, tis.f,r-
iis. he discounts the yeomau-s report.
through ms knowledge that al Yt.unleu . re
oPtlhiStS. and therefore likely To tack uu
good many more tons than the buuI,rs
really contain.
Fancy Figuring
After the yeolnan has washed up ana
| made his pen and pencil sketch of the bunk
| ers' with the figured amount of coal re-
| naming in each Of them. the chief sends
| one of his cadet engineers through Tho.
| bunkers for report the amount of coal
| remaining on hand. The cadet engineer
| does some fancy figuring, making his cal
| Cuiations ahstruse and roundabout as
| possible for the greater effect of them and
| then the chief has one Of the assistant en-
| glneers make the murky, smujty trip
| through the bunkers The assistant engi-
neef hgureS occasionally get within Il
| hundred tons or 30 of the figures presented
| by the yeoman and the cadet engineer
| FINALLY, the chief assumes the blue jumpers
! and blouse himself and makes the cruise
| through the bunkers. He always energies
| from the bunhers with gloomy eye and
| with his confidence in the three officers no
| mas sent through the bunkerS quite shat
| tered, and he generally makes straight for
| the cabin and announces to the captain
| that if the speed of the ship Is not imme-
| diately slackened he won't be responsible
for the ships running out OF coal in md
| ocean.
| The perturbation of the chief engineer
| under these circumstances usually works
| on the feelings of of the old mac him
| lists at the throttle. These old machHists
| are practical, experienced men, without
| much reverence for the cubic method of
measuring coal. one of them goes through
| the bunkers, sizes up the amount of coal
remaining in each of them by The simple
| eye method, which is the evolution of eX-
| perience, and makes a report on the amount
| of coal hand that in nine cases out of
| ten is proved at the end of the cruise TO be
| correct almost to the ton. Thus the trouble
| over the coal in the bunkers is never at an
| end.
| Reports without End.
| If the chief engineers trouble over the
| question Of coal consumed and on hand
| were the end of the problem, ii would not
! be SO bad, but the number of reports he is
| compelled to make 10 the bureau of steam
| engineering on each cargo of coal is appall-
| ing He has got to tabulate for the bureau
| the exact amount of coal. to a bushel, used
| daily for driving the ship for working the
yentilating engines, for working the flush
| ing pumps, for working the dynanoS, Tor
| furnishing heat, for running the zee ma
| chimes for operating the condensers, for
| doing all the things aboard a modern war
| ship that steam is employed for. lie must
| see to il that the refuse from coal used Oh
| a cruise is measured and weighed ana re-
| port on the amount Of cllnker. He must
| not. the color of the Goals smoke, and re-
| port on it, in varying degrees OF density;
| He must, in general. note the cohduct anu
morale of all the coal consumed on ms
shin and report it. No wonder that
| chief engineers on shore duty always look
| the other way when they pass by a coat
As indicated at the beginning OF this ar
ticIe the coaling ship job Is the meaieSt
work in the navy for enlisted NEIL ana IL
causes numerous deSertiuns. All hands,
fore and aft stand by for the coaiing ship
ioh with hard words. When the coal snip
3ay'' in A home port finally arrives, the men
go at it with ciear-ship-for-action energy,
and accomplish the job in frenzy OF en-
deavor to get through with it as quickly as
possible that they may again nave
modicum of comfort for comfort. Tor
either officers or men, ON mail-oI-~ war
being coaled. IS out Of the question Inc
men are not quite so strong IN coalihS
when they are making IA cruise IN Foreign
waters for the simple enough reason mat
on a ship cruising foreign station there
is always a large number of men who want
to make first visit shore TRIMS in all the
norris touched at, and the longer they de-
law the coaIng by failing to put forth their