The San Francisco call., 1908-08-02
WAR VESSELS WILL
HAVE GAS ENGINES
Prediction of SmOkeleSs Battle
ships Is Made by Official of
Geological Survey
Company Will Test Freighter
With Internal Combustion
Motor on Great Lakes

WASHINGTON. Aug The war
smokeless. noiseless craft, lying low in
the water, with every vulnerable part
below the water line. the entire deck
being given over TO the work of the
guns There will be no smoke, because
there Will be no smokestacks. In the
night time there Will be nothing to
betray TO the enemy the presence of
this invisible fighting demon.
This prediction was made today by
Robert Haywood Fernald, mechanical
engineer, who has for several years
been connected with the fuel investiga-
tions OF the United States geological
survey.
Fernald believes that the gas engine
or internal combustion motor, as il is
called by engineers, Will be installed
in naval vessels of the United States
within the next few years.
I expect to see the United States
ahead of every other nation IN this in
novation," said Fernald The gas en-
gine. in my opinion, is feasible on any
vessel because OF its economy over the
steam engine. but IL is especially de-
sirable, on the fighting ship for the rea-
son that 1t makes no smoke. The gas
is generated In a producer which has
no chimney and needs none. The coal
is turned directly into gas, which goes
straight to the engine
The smoke nuisance has been seri-
Gus problem TO the navies of the world
for number of years. In the day
time the presence of an enemys ship
has been discovered miles away by the
smoke from its stacks and in the night
the flames belching from the tops of
the stacks have spoiled many a well
laid plan of attack.
REDUCTION IN COAL BIII,
The elimination II the smoke is
sufficient TO call for the installation OF
the gas engine, yet there are many
other features IN Its favor The vessel
would have a free deck for the play of
its big guns. There would be no tow
ering stacks 10 puncture or destroy,
thus perhaps Gripping the boat. Then
il would be unnecessary 10 carry as
much coal. for the same power can be
developed with one-third less than the
steam engine uses. The gas producer
and the gas engine would take up less
room and weigh less than the same
power Scotch boiler and steam engine.
If IL were necessary ii would be pos
sible 10 carry more coal, which would
give the vessel a radius OF travel far
greater than at present
"Of course 1 DO not expect TO see the
gas engine confined to the use of the
navy. The fact that it shows such
economies will compel its installation
In all sorts of vessels. One of the big
! items Of expense to a modern ocean
liner is its coal bill. These vessels
will consume 10,e0e tons of high grade
coal on round trip. With the gas
/ engine this could be reduced to 5000
! or 1000 tons, q saving of several thou
sand dollars. Then what a boon it
would be to the citizens of New York,
Philadelphia, Boston and other sea-
ports to have all the vessels entering
| equipped with snaokeless engines. In
] New York harbor a considerable per-
! centage of the smoke comes from the
river craft.
TRIAL ON GREAT LAKES
zone of the big steamship companies
OF the Great Lakes is about to take the
Initiative in this movement. Plans have
been made for freighter that will use
e 1000 horsepower gas engine. This
company is not making the experiment
| because of the smoke from the stacks
of It's vessels, but in order to denom-
strate the economy OF the gas engine
over the steam engine At present this
concern Is paying SO a ton for coal, and
/ Its managers figure considerable saw
/ ing If the gas engine proves q success
in marine work, and I see no reason
why il shouldn't. Already the marine
type OF gas engine has been designed
UP TO 1000 horsepower. The future Will
see much larger units"
The government, through the United
! States geological survey, has been ex-
perimenting with the gas producers and
gas engine for several years and has
demonstrated that this type Of engine
in a stationary plant is capable of gen.
Grating from twice to three times as
much power from a given amount of
coal as the steam engine. It has also
shown that the gas engine can develop
more power from a low grade coal such
as the Ignite of North Dakota than
the steam engine can with the same
weight of the best bituninous coal
TO SAVE FUEL SUPPLY
The purpose of the government has
not been to develop the gas engine,
but to increase the efficiency in the
utilization OF the coal supply of the
country, which is now being used at
an enormous rate. Experts declare
that IL the present increase in con-
sumption keeps up the better part of
the coal will be gone before the close
OF the next century. and that the ma
ton will long before that feel the ef-
fects of the waning supply. The gov
ernment itself spends $4,000, 900
yearly for coal. and it was primarily
to get the best results from this ex-
penditure that the Investigations of
the gas producer and gas engine was
taken UP.
The tests in the gas producer at the
government plant have shown that many
fuels of such low grade as to be prac-
tically valueless for steam furnace
purposes. including slack coal. bone