Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1905-06-16
SHIPS RUN BY GAS.
NAY REvoLUTIONIZE MARINE
TRANSPORTATION.
Changes In the Motive Power OF
Boats Of ALI Kinds Point to
Eventual Adoption
of Gas


locomotive are not actually doomed.
1t is certain that we are on the eve of
developments which will bring into
the field several competitors. Even
IN the experience of the present gem
GRAFTON, says the London Telegraph,
the great Atlantic transportation COM
panies may advertise voyages by
gas ships" and we may travel ashore
In trains drawn by "gas locomotives. -
In small boats the gas motor is al
ready displacing the steam engine. and
In our greatest men-of-war oil fuel
Is now being utilized. Within a short
time all the battleships of Vice Ad-
mlral Sir w. H. Mays Atlantic fleet
Will carry liquid fuel in their double
bottoms, and the navy will soon have
vessels driven by internal combustion
engines, practically sea automobiles. to
act as messengers and scouts. There
has been disposition to regard the
motor-boat as toy. or at most as
vessel suitable for use only on the
smooth waters of our great rivers. 1t
may be recalled that when the Tur-
binia whisked about Spithead during
the diamond jubilee review, to the
| amazement of spectators. it was urged
by some that the turbine might serve
for small pleasure craft, but could not,
In our time at least, be of practical
utility.
To-day it is displacing the recipro-
eating engine. Great turbine lines
have begun to ply across the Atlantic
with complete success, and the new
engine has amply demonstrated it's
economy of power in his majesty's
| ship Amethyst, cruiser Of 5000 tons.
The same vindication may await the
| motive power which, after initiating
a revolution on our roads, has lately
performed amazing feats af1oat. Those
who have scoffed at the motOr-bOat
| as plaything have an object lesson
| In the unwisdom of facing the future
with lack Of faith, which means stag
| nation in the long trial of the motor
boat Napier Major, making nonstop
voyage from the Thames to Lerwick,
| in the Shetlands, a distance of $50
| miles. This craft is merely a COM
Portable 12-ton cruising yacht, fitted
with a 20-horsepower marine motoy
and with sufficient fuel to last for
nearly 5000 miles at fair speed. The
| trial is the severest test Of reliability
and seaworthiness which has yet
been made by any ship of this new
type, and the promoter shows his con-
fldence by sending his little craft
blowing her way up the North sea.
Science is moving so quickly that it
is difficult to keep pace with it's ad-
vance, and even the turbine, and the
oil mOtor-boat, are now threatened by
the "gas" ship. vessel propelled by
coal gas. The age Of marvels did not
end with the Victorian era; we have
yet more remarkable applications Of
invention to the service of man al
ready outlined with some distinctness
The motor-boat has undoubtedly ar
rived for use In peace and war, for
commerce and pleasure, but on the
eve OF its career it is met with sug-
gestion Of rivalry which is of immense
Importance to the British people
Within the wide expanse of the Brit.
ish empire practically everything that
man needs may be found in abundance
except oil fuel. For this we are large.
ly dependent on foreign countries, and
as the demand increases the price will
rise. Consequently we have not been
able to view with eQuanimity the
apotheosis Of the internal combustion
Oil engine ashore and afOat, since il
seemed inevitable that it would rob
of some of its value one Of the most
important natural resources of this
country. The Napier Major is, OF
course. a gas-ship, but it is an oil
gas-sh1p. Now we are able to an
ticipate with pleasure and profit the
coming of the coal gas-ship, a de-
velopment which will rank among the
greatest scientific achievements Of our
time.
A German engineer, Herr E. Cap
tame, has devoted many years to the
| study of the best means for produc-
ing gas from coal and utilizing the
product Is marine motors. In q lee
ture at Frankfort recently he was in
the proud position Of demonstrating
that he had already made considerable
progress. He has built 25-horsepow-
er launch, in which gas is produced
and used with complete success. It has
attained the same speed as a steam
boat Of four times the size. The
economy in space and fuel is I'M
mense. The inventor calculates that,
by adopting this new generator and
| motor In steamer Of 10000 horse
| power. a saving of 10000 in the coal
bill would be effected in a single year
| If the vessel were under steam $500
| hours The ship of the future may,
| therefore, be kind of marine gasome-
ter. economical, clearly, and, we are
assured, absolutely safe. Admitted
ly. this latest adaptation of coal to
| propulsion is in it's infancy, but the
| prospect which is held out is most
| cheerful for a nation whose chief
wealth is it's coal fields.
Pest from America.