The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-10-25
Interesting Report of George
 Melville, Chief of Bureau
WILLCOST MORE THAN COAL
Expert Suggests, However, That the Cost In Naval or Military Mat ters Is Secondary, But at the
 Same Time Important.

l port to the secretary of the navy of En-
 gineer-in- Chief George Melville is of un-
 usual interest this year, principally for
 the reason that the proposed use of pe- troleum as a substitute for coal on ship board is treated at length, and in such
 details as thoroughly to meet the in-
 numerable demands that have come to
 the navy department for the special in-
 formation collected by the engineering board For months this board has been
 working with big aV0 horse power hboiler
 on the water front in this city, testing
 a multitude of oil burning devices, and l the greatest manufacturing concerns in the United States and even abroad have
 been seeking to learn the results of the boards work.
 The following extract is made public:
 The more this question is Investigated the more intricate seems the problem of successfully installing an oil fuel ap- pliance on board battleship It ought to be successfully used on the torpedo boats as well as upon auxiliary vessels that steam between regular ports. For the army the present service might prove very serviceable, since a supply of coal could be maintained at the several coal ing ports. In regard to the installation on the large powered battleships and armored cruisers, there are three distinct features which must be considered, viz:
 Three Distinct Features.
 The mechanical, commercial and the structural. Regarded from two of these viewpoints it seems as if 1t would be some time before "coaling ship ceases to De a axYnl yI.s1. both the naval and mercantile vessels traverse the ocean, there is a wide differ ence In their construction as we'll as in the nature of the duty performed, and this must be taken into account in de- signing the motive plant.
 The first line of inquiry by the board was the engineering or mechanical feat ure, involving the possibility of success fully burning oil for steam purposes. and it said that this problem is nearing soIu. tion.
 It has been found necessary to autom- ize the oil Git cannot be completely gasi- fed) instead of using 1t without pressure. The air blast should be heated by -ome simple device If this is done pr perry the experiments have shown that it will
 be possible to force the combustion of oil | to the same extent as coal, something nor | done before but very essential for naval | uses.
 Treating of the commercial aspects of the question the report makes the follow ing important statement:
 Cost Will Be Greater. "It may be regarded as a certainty that, except where unusual conditions prevail the cost of oil for marine pur- poses will generally be greater than that of coal. The cost may be less for ves- sells departing from the gulf and the California seaports, but the rule will hold elsewhere. While the question of cost should be of second importance in military matters. 1t must be taken into consideration. It is the expense of trans portafion that will always prevent the oil from being a cheap compustible. While 1t may be put on the tank steamer very | cheaply at ports like Point Sabine, it's | commercial value will be determined by the cost of delivery at commercial and
 maritime centers. This feature of the | problem Is beyond the ability of the
 navy to control, but 1t must be regard | ed as any important phase of the sub- | ject"
 It is then shown that 1t would be more expensive to store oil than coal, and that
 the fumes are dangerous in places like 1 the small bunkers and double bottom
 ship, where being heavy they cannot be | easily blown away. But In spite of these l | "The bureau has no hesitation, how | ever in declaring that in view of the l results already secured by the liquid fuel | board, an installation should be effected | without delay on at least a third of the l torpedo boats and destroyers. The junior | officers of the service are very much in- | terested in the matter and If several | boats are equipped entirely with oil fuel
 appliances. a spirited and keen but friend l ly rivalry will be created, which will l result in a material increase in efficiency of the torpedo flotila. Such an installa- | ton would also permit a competition to
 be established between the boats using coal and those using oil, and this would be another incentive to cause systematic | and careful study of the subject upon the part of all connected with the tor | pedo feet
 Structural Advantages. l By way of encouraging the advocates | of oil fuel, the report points out that the
 structural advantages that may prove so
 serious In the case of the navy would not be encountered in shore plants which also | could easily maintain reserve supplies of 1 the liquid fuel.
 Finally summing up the results of the | important shore experiments made in | Washington, the report concludes the
 treatment of this subject as follows:
 A. That oil can be burned In very uni | form manner
 B. That the evaporative efficiency of nearly every kind of oil per pound of combustible Is probably the same. While l the crude oil may be rich in hydrocar- bons, 1t also contains sulphur so that
 after refining the distilled oil has prob- ably the same calorif1c value as the crude product.
 c. That a marine steam generator can 1a to fn1 oe with coal.
 D. That up to the present time no i'll effects have been shown upon the boiler E. That the firemen are disposed to fa- vor oil and therefore no impediment will be met in this respect
 F. That the air requisite for compus- | tion should be heated, If possible, before entering the furnace. Such action un- doubtedly assists the passifcation of the | oil product.