The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1903-03-28
He'll Wagons Of The Deep Sea.
From the Boston Transcript.

Gus petroleum products IN bulk across the
sea. Almost daily these great cargoes
leave our ports for Europe with roaring
flames under the boilers, roll and plunge
through the mighty pillows and reach the
haven on the other side as innocuouS as
when they left port. Indeed, the risk Of
fire on the tank steamer is considered far
less than on cargoes of seemingly much
less dangerous material-cotton, for in
stance-thanks to the ingenuity of man in
bottling up the devil and keeping him out
of mischief,
This work is done, a. is everything else
that pertains to petroleum products, Is We
well know nowadays, by the Standard Oil
Company, and it does not even insure It's
cargoes outside of It's own corporations.
Thus great is the trust of the trust in It's
own wisdom and statistics prove that the
confidence Is not misplaced.
Yet some of these cargoes are in = high
degree infammable, and little admxture
of their vapors with air makes a compound
that will explode with tremendous violence.
This Is not true of kerosene. That has
already been refined by FIRE, had It's yapor-
Gus devil scorched out of it, aud when free
i comparatively harmless. You may
plunge burning match into kerosene and
the only result will be 10 put the match
out. Neither does II yaporize at ordinary
temperatures But beuEiue, sa>uleue ur
naphtha make another story. - does
the crude mineral oil from which 1t Is de.
rived, for these volatile products con,inu-
ally stew up from it, and the momeu; ,uu
show fame to them,
The bulk of kerosene i shipped to the
end Of the earth IN cases containing ,Ne
four gallon cans, or oak barrels of a capacity
Of 50 gallons OF 80 These barrels are
made, sometimes % 00a q DAY. by the
Standard Oh Company, at Bayonne. y
J by machinery, sort Of an arrae-e-
men, whereby YOU feed the wood IN AZ aas
end aud ], comes out barrels. hoped and
coated with glue inside Of the other Bat
the inhammAble crude oil and the lighter
products 70 10 bulk in the tank steamers
which arr great floating oil recep,acles
holding sometimes 80. 000 barrel. besides
the necessary cual bunkers aud engines and
quarters for the crew The crew aud the
~iures ss a rule are IA a cnbby up next the
bow. the cabin and Ihe engines and c9Al
banker for RIOS, e them burn coal in.
stead of OH far aft Hence when yoa
see great black fry'ghter ploughing the
Atlantic with her snokss;ack riiicaloa~ly
near the stern it IS safe to hazard guess
that yuu are hooking at tank steamer,
though occasionally the tramp treighIer
earring a general carEo !. bgilt somewhat
oa thus plan to give great ruon IN the hnli.
oRIGINArEp ~ RUSSIA
Most ncw aud daring schemes ~ ;be
economy % the world WORK originate in
Amefioz--S5 Americans think. ANYWAY 49,
buy this cannot be- sali of the tank steam
rrs. though, perhaps the ar', yasas yealn-
iaZs came from this side The tank
sseamer originated in Russia Russia has
oil too. the BAku district ia Southeastern
Earope. being full d i; Herolo,as sne~
and Marco Polo Baeyirker gives accounts
og It. The Russians. however have ~
Oak fer the building Of baFrrl. and heace
necessity being the mother a inyenilo8.
they planned to have ti shipped down the
VolsA in bulS They lad no iank steam
srs. either. but they seoG % poTs n
Sweden and had some built and aoated
through the inland canal systcgH 81 Russia
To the Caspian Sea The canals wero uot
L. - # -
steamer. whole, - they had them made in
sections Thus ingenuity triamphed, AMI
the hrst tank Steamer. a9atvi 90 the IN
land saier, q the caspian and The Nolga,
where il may be SURPASSED there wers no
heavy seas "a disturb their equilibrium aai
whsFe shey weFe found successful and have
been used ever since,
mention the matter q equilibrium
particularly. for tins sreals % have been
zoe u the chief problems in the traaspoT-
t4,ian Of al in bulk aeFo-s ,iprmy seas. \
vessel ; safety IN any instance lrs in her
ability "a TrmAin Tighisiie up, and in case
she FoIls Ia roll back again instead Of roll
over.
ghe hrsl attempts 70 carry % aerOSs the
ocean in bulk, though il 70, there proved
the busines 50 dangerous that It was
abandoned Tor 5 considerable tern Of years
Wheat In bulk Is considered risky cargo
for the same reason When a vessel rolls
Tar enough the wheat shifts over 10 lhA,
side aud holds her down, unless prevented
by being packed tight, Bu; wheat DOES
nos shift until the surface angle has reached
a declination Of appso1iUaating 20 degrees
from the level.
Il can be readily seen that oil, which
would how to port or starboard at the
slightest change Of Level, would be lnhn,
itely more dangerous Hence the tank
steamer came 10 be built With a bulkhead
partition running fore and aft, that the oil
on the right side Of the ship might not III
wade the left side, or that on the left how
over 20 the night, and thus disastrously
pour oil aud sailor men on the troubled
waters Moreover, the ship Is also divided
by transverse bulkheads to the number Of
six or eight. and care Is taken that the oil
fills these tanks 10 the very top, thus max
ing from > to 10 original packages Of
the shipment. Lest evaporation, leakage
OF other cause should lower the level Of
the oil in these tanks aud give 1t room 10
osciilate ever 20 little, each tank has
smaller one above it, and the oil from this
can will flow down and fill any waste places.
The ships thus made are very strong,
for not only does the system Of bulkheads
increase the rigidity, but care Is taken that
the riyeting and bracing shall be ample
and very well done to avoid the leakage,
which Is another special danger In the
best made tank steamers also there Is
water compartment between the oil tanks
and the engines and coal bunkers to pre-
vent the tanks from getting any unneces-
sary heat, and those ships which 60 to
warm climates have double awning decks,
that the heat Of the sun may not cause
evaporation.
DANGER IN THE VAPoR.
1t is in this leakage that the great dan
ger lies. Even small amount Of the
smell of gasoline in the air is poor thing
TO have in the house where there Is a
lighted match. The vapors from crude
ii 90 ,,oool;,a ,ra heavier than air and will