New-York tribune., 1908-08-03
A SMOKELESS WARSHIP
Invisible and InJancible Fighting
VesseI Predicted.
IFrom The Tribune Bureau. ]

washington. Aug "a swift, smokeless,
noiseless craft, lying low In the water with
every vulnerable part below the surface except
the great gun deck; without smokestacks, be-
cause there will be no smoke: invisible ten
miles of In daylight and capable of approach
ing an enemy undetected within half mile at
night-this Is the prediction for the warship of
the immediate future made to-day by Professor
Robert Haywood Fernald, mechanical engi-
neer who has for several years been making the
fuel investigations under the United States geo
logical survey. Professor Fernald believes the
gas engine, Internal combustion motor.
engineers call II. will be installed In American
naval vessels within the next few years. and
will radically modify the old armor and arma-
Inent contest.
'I expect to see the United States ahead OF
every other nation in this innovation he says.
1.-THE gas engine. in my opinion, is feasible on
any vessel, because of its economy over the
steam engine, but II is especially desirable on
the fighting ship for the reason that it makes
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.
NO CLOUDS OF SMOKE.
THE smoke nuisance has been serious prob
lem to the navies of the world for number OF
years In the daytime the presence of
eny's 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 we'll laid plan of attack.
"The elimination Of the smoke is sufficient To
call for the installation of the gas engine, vet
there many other features In its favor. The
vessel would have free deck for the play of its
big guns There would be no stacks to punct-
or destroy, thus perhaps Gripping the boat
Then IT would be unnecessary to carry as much
for he he
one-thrd less than the steam engine The
gas producer and the gas engine would take up
less and weigh less than the same power
Scotch boiler and steam engine. II IL were nee
essary. II would be possible TO carry more coal.
which would give the vessel radius Of travel
far greater than at present
"Of course. do not expect to see the gas
sine confined to the of the navy. The fact
that It shows such economies will compel its in
stallaton in all sorts of vessels One Of the big
items of expense TO a modern liner is it's
coal bill. These vessels will consume ten thou
sand tons Of high grade coal on round trip.
With the gas engine this could be reduced to
six thousand seven thousand tons. saving
Of several thousand dollars. Then what boon
1t would be to the citizens of New York. Phila-
delphia. Boston and other seaports to have all
the vessels entering equipped with smokeless
engines. In New York Harbor considerable
percentage of the smoke comes from the river
craft
FIRST ON GREAT LAKES.
"One 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 q 2OOO-horsepower gas
engine. This company is not making the ex-
pertinent because Of the smoke from the stacks
of its vessels, but in order to demonstrate the
economy of the gas engine over the steam en-
CINE At present this concern is paying So
ton for coal, and it's managers figure a consid-
cradle saving if the gas engine proves a sue
cess In marine work, and I see no reason why
1t shouldn't Already the marine type of gas
engine has been designed up to 1000 horse
power. Ire future will much larger units"
The government. through the United States
Geological Survey. has been experimenting
with the gas producer and gas engine for sew
eral years. and has demonstrated that this type
of engine in a stationary plant is capable OF
generating from twice to three times as much
power from given amount of coal as the steam
engine It has also shown that the gas engine
develop more power from low grade coal.
such as the Ignite of North Dakota than the
steam engine can with the same weight of the
best bituminous coal.
The purpose of the government has not been
to develop the gas engine. but to increase the
of the country, which is being used at
enormous rate. Experts declare that IL the
present increase in consumption keeps up the
better part of tire coal will be gone before the
close of the next century. and that the nation
will long before that feel the effects Of the
waning supply. The government itself spends
$4,000 900 yearly for COAL and it was primarily
to get the best results from this expenditure
that the investigation of the gas producer and
gas engine taken up
The tests in the gas producer at the govern
ment plant have shown that many fuels OF such
low grade to be practically valueless for
steam furnace purposes. including slack COAL
bone coal and Ignite may be economically
converted into producer gas and may thus gen
crate sufficient gas power to render them OF
high commercial value In this way Ignite
beds underlying from 20.OOO.OO0 to 3OOoOOOO
acres of public lands, heretofore supposed to
have little OF no commercial value, will have
large value for power development This is of
Importance TO the West and makes possible
great industrial development there
WRIGHT TO INSPECT WESTERN CAMP.