The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1908-09-24

IERMS' Six Months, so cents.
and very economical to operate, ma
rine interests have found what they
have long been seeking for and were
not slow to adopt it<at once. In the
Olden days, the fisherman who went
out had to depend upon the sail of his S
boat and sails in turn were dependent
upon the wind, consequently when he
said gOOd.by to his wife he did not
know whether he would lie back that
night Or the next week. Outside the
fishing industry the marine gas engine
is put to an unlimited number of uses.
Gas tugs are common and on the north
ern lakes and rivers and in other Sec
tions of the country they are used for
towing great RATS of logs, small boat
being able to handle many thousand
feet of timber and being able to 60
where steamboat could not enter let
alone work. Gas schooners in the
coasting trade are not unusual and are
seen in great numbers. There are few
people who have not ridden on ferry
propelled by gas and many have trsv-
eled in passenger boats operated by the
same power, for regular boat lines all
over the country are paying big divi-
dends to the owners.
Another interesting use to which the
gas engine is put is in the life-saving
service of the United states and Brit
ish governments. For long time
these departments were suspicious of
this power, preferring to depend on
canvas and tho strength in the arms of
men rather than q machine However,
after exhaustive experiments the gas
engine was deemed worthy of place
and was put into use with so great
success that in the near future all sta
tioRs will be equipped with power
boats; the governments nave also
found the gas engine useful in the in
ternal revenue service and many swift
launches are used to bring In wrong
dOers. The field of the gas boat is
wide one extending from the tropics
up into the frozen fastness of Alaska
where gas launches are used to trans
port mail.
This is only brief consideration of
the gas marine engine, from the little
skiff with its engine whose power is
less than that of horse, to the mag
nificent yacht finished in costly woods
and equipped with b machine whose
power runs into the hundreds, and
then back again to the fishing boat and
. from that to the trim lines of the rev.
enue launch, the gas engine has found
place from which it cannot be dis
lodged and is constantly Gnding and
|, retaining new ones.
Last, but by no means the least i'm
portant, we find the gas engine driving
, machines thru the air and it is needless
to say that steam is barred out here
altogether. Santos DumOnt's sixth
+ airship, in which he made several sue
eessful flights, was driven by an eight
cen horse power motor, as were all of
, his other machines driven by gas en-
, gines of various sizes. The Wright
! brothers are reported to have made q
great success with their machine which
they have been working on for some
: time. This Information was taken
. from most reliable paper, our MIRROR,
3 which went so far as to state, in words
!. to the effect that, in the near future we
: may look to see passenger traffic car
: ried on by means of the airship, be-
r tween New York and San Francisco
f and America and Europe. We read
Q most every day of the success or disas-
n ter of some airship aud we should al
2 ways remember that these airships are
0 operated by gas power.
r From this presentation of the USE
n fulness of gas power for all works,
Q from the very highest to the heaviest,
Q one can plainly see the future that Is
|. in store for it and to enumerate all or
J. even half the points in this amazing
q picture would ask altogether too much
r. space. And at best any endeavor to
"A put the scene into words is mere
5. presnmptious effort to describe the in
q describable. J. r. d.
a A man must stand erect. not be kent