The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1904-06-24
ELECTRICITY IN THE NAVY.
Dynamos on Uncle Sans Wa3ships
Have Become an indispensable "A
Part Of Equipment.

Have Become an 1ndispensAble
Part Of Equipment.
Some interesting facts are contained
In the report of Lieut.. Harry George,
United States navy, inspector Of cleo.
trical appliances, says the Boston
Transcript. Among other things it is
shown that the sum of $376,964 was
expended during the last fiscal year
upon the installation and repair of
electrical appliances ON shipboard. and
$212,S36 on the manufacture and re-
pair of electrical apparatus and ap.
pliances in navy yard shops. Alter
atoms, additions and repairs to the
electrical appliances of 119 naval YES
sells were made during the past year.
A portable searchlight has been de.
signed for use in connection with
coast defense districts and the occu.
patton of advanced naval bases. In
general, the apparatus consists of two
units, each mounted on broad thread
wheels, suitable for operation in a
rough country, and so constructed that
1t can be readily assembled or disas.
sembled for transportation in ships
boats.
During the past year the bureau of
equipment of the navy department has
acquired two sets of Ducretet loud
speaking telephone, marine type, ex.
tensively used in the French navy.
This apparatus, together with a set
of the Graham instruments, English
navy type, will be tested in competi-
ton with the Bell and other instru-
ments of American manufacture and
installed on board ship for further OBJ.
servation. A new system of battery
fire control has been designed during
the year to meet the requirements of
the bureau of ordnance. In this sys.
TEN the guns are divided into groups
instead OF by divisions, as heretofore,
each group including all guns of prac.
tically the same nature and having the
same arc of fire. The system possesses
great fiexibility and enables separate
and distinct orders to be transmitted
simultaneously to the various groups
of guns. The school at the New York
navy yard for the instruction of en-
listed men for the rate of electricians,
with view of detail on shipboard as
dynamo tenders and for the care of
electrical appliances, has been success
fully conducted during the past year.
1t will soon be moved into more suit
able quarters, with additional appli.
ances,, where it is anticipated it will
be still more efficient.
The report of the departmental COM
mittee on the use of electricity in
| mines has been issued as blue book
| by the British government. After stat.
ing that they were impressed by the
very large part that electricity is likely
| to play in mines in the future. the
committee proceeds to point out the
dangers of so potent an agent and the
necessity for regulations The gen
eral principles which should govern
the employment of electricity in mines
! are, they state, as follows: % The
electric plant should always be treated
| as source of potential danger; (2)
the plant, in the first instance, should
be of thoroughly good quality and so
designed as to insure immunity from
danger by shock or fire; and periodical
| tests should be made to see that this
state of efficiency is being maintained;
! 60 all electrical apparatus should be
under the charge of competent persons:
(4) all electrical apparatus which may
be used when there is a possibility of
danger arising from the presence of
gas should be so inclosed as to pre-
vent such gas being fired by sparkling
OF the apparatus; when any machine is
| working every precaution should be
taken to detect the existence of dan
ger, and on the presence of gas being
noticed such machines should be imme.
d1ately stopped. Passing to the appli-
cation of electricity, they formulate
the general principles which should be
followed in reference to generating
stations, cables, switches, fuses, etc.,
stationary motors. portable motors for
coal cutters, drills, ETC., electric loco
motives, electric lighting. shot firing,
signaling and electric relighting of
safety lamps.
The committee state that there may
be parts of mines in which so much
| f1redamp is emitted that the introduc.
ton of electricity might be improper,
notwithstanding the fact that by law
these places may be worked with safe
| ty lamps. They wish, therefore, to
impress emphatically on both colliery
owners and managers that the ulti-
mate responsibility of installing or
using electricity in such places should
and must rest with them. To assist
the British home Office and to put their
views into definite shape, the commit
tee has drawn up set of rules which
they think might, with advantage, be
introduced into all mines. They are
rather lengthy, and from their multi
plicity may create alarm, but they do
not see their way to deal with the sub
ject as they propose. They think, how
ever, that if this code, or one like it.
is established, considerable step will
have been made toward securing the
| safety of miners, and that it will he