The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-10-25
Chief Engineer George Melville Makes
His Annual Report.
EXPERIMENTS ARE NOT CONCLUSIVE
The Tests Show that Fuel Oil Can Be
Used Successfully on One Class
of Vessels Only.

Washington, October 24--The annual re.
port 10 the secretary OF the navy OF I'm. |
glneer in Chief George Melville is OF un-
usual interest this year. principally for |
the reason that the Substitute OF petroleum |
for coal on ships is treated at length aud |
such details as thoroughly TO meet the In
Vulnerable demands that have come to
the navy department for special mforina.
ton collected by the board For mouths
this board has been working with big
200ohorse power boiler on the water front
IN this city, testing multitude OF oil
burning devices and the greatest manu-
featuring concerns In the United States aud
even abroad, have been seeking to learn
the results Of the boards work.
rhe details Of this report on this sub.
iect VIII DO OF great interest TO special
c,asses For the public, thef are summed
up In the following extract from the re
port;
The more the question is Investigated
the more intricate seems the problem Of
successfully Installing an oil fuel appliance
on board a battleshp, II ought TO be sue
cessfully used on the torpedo boats. as well
as upon auxiliary naval vessels that steam
between regular ports, For the army
transport service 1t might prove very do
sirabe. since supply OF coal could be
maintained at tho several calling ports, IN
regard to the Installation on the large.
powered battleships and armored cruisers
there are three distinct features which
must be considered. viz; The mechanical,
commercial and the structural. Regarded
from two OF these viewpoints 1t seems as II
It would be some time before coailng ship
ceases to be an evolution on the war yes
sell While both the naval aud mercantile
vessels traverse the ocean, there is wide
difference In their construction MS well as
In the nature Of the duty performed, and
this must be taken into account in design.
ing the motive plant"
PROBLEM NEAR a SOLUTION.
The hrst line Of Inquiry by the board
was the engineering, or mechanical, feh-
| ture, involving the possibility Of success.
fully burning oil for steam purposes, and
| Il said that this problem rs nearing sou-
| tion.
! II has been found necessary to atomlze
| the oil dt can not be completely gasiaed).
instend Of using it without pressure. The
mir blast should be heated by some simple
device II this ls done properly the expert,
meuts have shown that It Will be possible
10 force the combustion OF oil to the same
extent as conf something mot done before,
but very essential for naval uses
Treating Of the commercial aspects OF
| the question, the report makes the follow.
Ing important statement:
ut may he regarded Hs certainty that,
except where unusual conditions preyail,
the cost Of oil for marine purposes will gen.
orally be greater thHn that Of coal. The
cost may be less for vessels departing from
the gulf and California senports but the
rule Will hold elsewhere while the ques-
ton Of cost should be Of secondary Inn
portance in military matters, Il must be
taken into consideration Il ~ the ex.
pcnse OF transportation that viii always
prevent the Oh from being a cheap com
bustlhe, While It may be put on the tank
steamer very cheaply az ports like Point
Sabine, It's commercial value win be deter
mined by the cost Of delivery az CONNER
cial and maritime ccnters This feature Qf
the problem is beyond the ability OF the
navy TO control, hut It must be regarded
as an important phase Of the subject"
THE STORING OF OIL
II Is then shown that Il would be more
expensive and difficult TO store oil than
coal. and that the fumes are dangerous in
places like the small bunkers and double
bottom spaces aboard ship, where, being
heavy, they can not be easily blown AWAY.
But, in spite Of these and other objections,
the board says;
"Tbe bureau has no hesitation, however.
IN declaring that, IN view OF the results
already secured by the liquid fuel board,
an installation should be effected without
delay on at least third OF the torpedo
boats and destroyers The junior officers
or the service are very much Interested In
the matter, aud II several boats are
equipped entirely with oil fuel appliances,
spirited and keen. bft friendly. rivalry
will be created, which win result Ia a ma
teriaI Increase IN the efficiency IN the
torpedo boat notllla. Such an installation
would also permit competition to be es-
tabishcd between the boats using oil and
those using coal, and this wnuld be another
Incentive TO cause systematic and careful
study Of the subject upon the part OF al
connected with the torpedo feet"
By way OF encouraging the advocates Of
oil fuel. the report points out ecat ihr
structural disadvantages that may prove
serious 81 the case Of the navy would not
be encountered IN shore plants. which also
could easily maintain reserve supplies 81
the nquid fuel
SUMMARY OF RESULTS.
Finally. summing mp the results OF ths
Important shore experiments, made Ia
washington. the report concludes the treat
ment OF this subject as follows;
-=-----.-=-=--=-=--=-----=.