The Washington herald., 1908-08-03

The war vessel Of the future viii be
a swift. 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 viii be no smoke. because there
will be no smokestacks. In the night
there win be nothing 10 betrsy the pres
.ence Of this invincible fighting demon to
the enemy
This prediction was made Saturday by
Robert Haywood Fernald. mechanical en-
gineer. who has for several years been
connected with the fuel investigations Of
the United States Geological Survey.
Mr. Fernald believes that the gas en-
gine, OF internal combustion motor. as it
is called by engineers, will be installed
in naval vesse;s Of the United States
within the next few years
7 expect 10 see the United States
ahead Of every other nation in this limo
vation.' said Mr.. Fernald- The gas en-
gine. in ny opinion, IS feasible on any
vessel because Of its economy over the
steam engine. but it is especially desirable
on the hghJing ship for the reason that
It 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 10 the en-
gine.
smoke Target for Enemy.
The smoke nuisance has been a serious
problem to the navies OF the world for
a number Of years. In the day time.
the presence Of an anemy-s ship has been
discovered miles away by tne smoke from
It's stacks and in the night the flames
beIching from the tops Of the stacks have
spoiled many a well-laid plan Of attack.
The elimination Of the smoke IS suffi-
cienJ TO call for the installation Of the
gas engine. vet 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 towering stacks
10 puncture OF destroy. thus. perhaps.
4 Gripping the boat Then q 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 II It were necessary Il
which would give the vessel a radius or
travel far greater than az present.
Good for Ocean Liners.
OF course. I do not expect 20 see the
gas engine confined 70 the use OF the
navy The fact that IL shows such
/ economies VIII compel its installation IN
al sorts OF vessels one Of the big items
/ Of expense 70 a modern ocean liner is its
coal bill These vessels VIII consume
o.0o0 tons OF hizh-grade coal on a round
trip With the gas engine this could be
[ reduced 10 500 or 7.010 tons. a saving
I OF several thousand dollars Then what
a boon II would be 20 the citizens Of New
! York. Philadelphia. Boston. and other
I seaports TO have all the vessels entering
/ equipped with suokeIess engines In
I New York harbor a considerable percent
/ a sge Of smoke comes from the river craft
One Of the big steamship companies
I Of the Great Lakes Is about 70 take the
I initiative IN this movement Plans have
I been made for a freighter that will use
/ a 2ooo-horsepOwer gas engine This com
I pzny is not making the experiment be
I cause Of the smoke from the stacks Of
I its vessels. but IN order 20 demonstrate
the economy Of the gas engine over the
steam engine. At present this concern
/ IS paying 3 a ton for coal and its man
/ ayers figure a considerable saving II the
/ gas engine proves a success in marine
work. and see no reason why il
shouldn't Already the marine type Of
gas engine has been designed Up 10 200
horsepower The future viii see much
large units
] The government. through the United
States Geological Survey. has been ex-
peritnentins with the gas producer and
I gas engine for several years. and has
/ demonstrated that this type Of engine
I in a stationary plant IS capable OF gen
Grating from twice 70 three times as
much power from a given amount OF
I coal as the steam engine It has also
shown that the gas engine can develop
more power from a low-gTade coal. such
as the Ignite OF North Dakota, than the
steam engine can with the same weight
{ OF the best bituminous coal
saving Coal Resources.
The purpose Of the government has not
/ been to develop the gas engine. but 10
/ 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 II the present in
crease in consumption keeps up. the bet
ter part OF the coal viii be gone before
the close Of the next century. and that
Ine nation Viii long before that feel the
effects Of the waning supply. The gov
ernment itself spends S10000.0o0 yearly for
! coal. and It was primarily to get the best
results from this expenditure 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 vslueless for steam furnace pur-
| poses. including slack coal. bone coal,
and Ignite, may be economically con-
( verted into producer gas and may thus
! generate sufficient gas power 10 render
I them OF high commercial value In this
way. Ignite beds underlying from 20
| o.000 to 100000 acres Of public lands.
| heretofore supposed to have little or no
/ commercial value. are shown 10 have a
/ large value for power development This
/ Is Of importance to the West and makes
! possible q great industrial development
/ there