The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-02-18
RUSSIA'S POWERFUL DREDGE
DESIGNED ny AN AMERICAN AND
PASSES SUCCESSFUL TEST.
VIII he Used by the Government In
Clearing Channel in the Great
Delta of the VoIga River, and
Others VIII Also BE Ordered.

special Dispatch to the Post-lnteligencer-
WASHINGTON, Feb. T.-Consul Cen
eral Holloway, at st. Petersburg, says
the successful trials of the powerful
dredge Beta, built for the Russian gov
eminent by the Societe Cockeril, OF Sera-
ing, Belgium, from plans drawn by Lin
don w. Bates, of Chicago, have attracted
the attention OF the leading countries of
the world. The contract for this boat.
made in 1897 demanded a capacity of 1900
cubic yards an hour. with a premium of
half the dredge's cost of it should deliver
2,400 cubic wards an hour, which was be-
yond anything heretofore attempted. The
Beta's official trials have recorded a ca
pacity of 800 cubic yards per hour.
The first OF these hydraulic dredge boats
was built for the United States govern
ment in 1896. for use on the bars OF the
Mississippi river. IL attracted the atten-
ton of the Belgian government which
sent a committee OF engineers TO America
to investigate the Bates system with ref
erence to the availability of the machines
for the proposed "Grande Compure" in
the Scheldt. below Antwerp The commits
sion reported infinitely on the American
dredges, and advised their adoption for
the Scheldt improvement. This report at
tracted the attention of the Russian au-
thorities, who had been trying to find
means to remove the distractions In the
Volga for a long series OF years, when
Prince Hilkoff, minister of ways and COM
munications. invited Mr.. Bates, who was
in st. Petersburg, to make for the gov
eminent private report upon it's ports,
as well as TO examine the Volga and re-
port upon the adaptability of his dredging
system TO its conditions
Importance of the v0lga.
The Volga is Of the very highest import
ance TO Russia. 1t is not only the first
river of the empire, but 1t is Its greatest
transport highway. The railroads do not.
as in the case OF the Mississippi parallel
the stream, but cross IL. and are not It's
competitors. The volga ia connected with
the Arctic ocean by canal and with the
Baltic by a system of canals. Half dozen
large steamship lines with boats of the
latest construction, run daily routes, and
the river is alive with barges and craft
of every variety. The oil trade at the
mouth Of the river is 5000 900 tons yearly
and the grain trade is very important
Navigation Is, however. seriouslx handi-
capped by bars. to cope with which no
satisfactory instrument had been found
Many OF these ports are OF importance to
the empire.
At Rostofr- on-the-Don. l,s12sos tons OF
grain have to be moved by barges to YES
sells anchored in the Agof sea Kherson
at the mouth OF the Dnieper, and Nichol-
aief on the Boog, are natural outlets for
the coal and iron Industries Of the Donetz
basin. Nicholaief is, next 10 Sebastopol
the largest naval station of Russia in the
south. Alderman is the outlet Of Bessara-
bia, which takes added Importance from
the fact that the Kilia branch OF the Dam
ube. carrying IS per cent of the discharge.
IL, since the Turkish-Russian war, in Rus
sian territory. The sulina branch in Rou-
mania is under the jurisdiction of an in
ternational commission and IL neutral: but
the improvement of the Kilia branch would
give the Russians independent access 10 the
Danube basin
The most perpiexing engineering problem.
however which exists in Southern R,Issia
is that OF the mouth OF the VolRa Forty
miles out at sea In the shallow water be-
yond the great Volsa delta is floating
city OF many thousands engaged in trans
ferring oil from the deep-draft boats OF the
Caspian TO the shallow craft OF the yolga
To devise come acceptable scheme OF i'm
provement which would obviate this trans
fer has been the study of the government,
for many years
Capacity of the DredGe.
Mr.. Bates report to Prince HakofY re-
suited in contract to construct for
the Russian government, for the sum OF
s5l5,ooo. the largest and most powerful
dredging machine in the world, to be self
propelling by electric power. something
unheard Of in hydraulic dredging
So general was the interest in the Of
fetal trial that. in addition to Prince HI
kor and four Russian commissioners
there were present the German, French
Austrian and Turkish ambassadors the
Belgian ministers. commissions from Aus
tralia, India. Germany. France and the
Argentine, and hundreds Of engineers from
all parts OF Europe. Trains were run at
reduced rates to accommodate the people
eager TO see the American dredes," and
the socite Cockerin for ax weeks kept
boats at Antwerp taking visitors up and
down the Scheldt to the points Of opera
ton.
The official trials demanded two things:
First that the dredge should, on two-toot
cut 1000 feet in length. make an output of
1900 cubic meters GAIA cubic feeu per
hour; second, that In a three-hours' con-
tinnous run in cut three and one-ha!f
feet deep It should put out 5000 cubic me-
tiers uo6.als cubic feeD per hour. The
three hour test was to prove the capacity
for enduring work. The official record
states that the tests show an average Ca
pacity. "eonsegystiVely estimated" of
200 cubic yards an hour. This. by barge
measurement. gives about & 100 canic yards
Per hour as the average. The maximum
was al the rate of laS0 both being one
third IA excess OF the highest official rec
oras attained on the Mississippi DIVER
Prof V. r. Timonon. councillor Of state
and one Of the commissioners sent down
20 accept the dredge. summarizes as fol-
lows.
According to contract. the aredge
should eNcavate 5000 cubic meters AT a
thickness OF three and one-halt feet and
1850 cubic meters az a thickness OF two
feet ompzring these figures with the
official report. we zee that for a stratum
Of three and half feet the capacity prov
"a to be IS times more than contracted:
FOR a stratum Of two feet. All times moFs
than contracted for
The Electrical World adds.
"As the machine II sslf-propslling and
seIf-conTolling the electric features man
itestiy have added enormously 10 The ef-
festive use % the dresge and have mini
mized al possible interference with or
irons com naerce."
Success of Rates system.
on the completion o. the belgian trials
the uach3n, was brought TO st Peters
burg. where. in the presence Of an I'm
portant body Of officials. It was again put
through a series Of tests. Thaee h7lt