The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1908-03-04
A VESSELS TONNAGE,
The Method Of Figuring by Which
Il Is hScertained
STANDARD IS FIXED BY LAW.
Our Government Recognizes Two
Kinds Of Tonnage, Gross and Net.
Displacement, the Scale by Which

run Nl NllduEt, lttlUlthl lNTEon Nhu
of words of familiar meaning on shore
which anOnt contract new and ar
bitrury significance Take. for exam.
pie. this matter of tonnage Of ship
ping Ou shore everybody knows that
ton is 1900 pounds II short ton or
2.2iO II a long one. Therefore it seems
10 the luudluhhcr that l.uOu ton ship
ought to be-. if it is not a ship which
can carry a thousand tons weight or
cargo. As II matter OF fact. thou
sand ton ship can probably convey
about l.3UO or Loo tons of coal or
heavy merchandise.
Yet the tonnage Of shipping is not 50
arbitrary as 1t seems. II follows
fixed standard. established 10y uatioua,
law. There are two kinds Of tom.
mage recognized 10y our govcrnmcu,
authorities gross tonnage and net ton
mage. The gross tonnage of vessel
Is It's entire internal capacity measured
I'm tons of loo cubic feet. and the uavi.
CATION laws of the United States pre-.
scribe ia careful detail how this meas.
urcmcnt for tonnage shall he usCrr.
talncd. Net tonnage is measured hy
subtractlng from the gross tonnage of
II vessel all space used for the accom-
modatou Of officers aud crew. for Ger
tain gear for the working Of the ship
and, if q steam vessel, for her pro
pclling power or machinery. including
boilers and engines.
In other words. the net tonnage oi
q. .
I'm tons of 100 cubic feet. available for
the carrying of passengers or cargo
In the case Of sail vessels. from which
no machinery space has 10 be deduct
ed, the gross tonnage and net tonnage
Of vessel are very nearly the same.
But I'm steamers the two measurements
are widely different. Take. for exam
pie. one Of the largest OF American
merchant steamships. the American
liner st. Louis. Her gross tonnage IS
| ll.G29. her net tonnage J.NG. Sc Win
| the well known steamer Governor
| Dinglcy of the line from Boston 10
| Portland. Her gross tonnage IS 3.S2G
| her net 2.SjG
! In all or nearly all Of the ports of
! the world ship taxes or dues are based
upon tonnage. I'm the United States
upon net tonnage. This Is also the
standard of tolls for the Sucz canal
As a result the effort Of naval arChi-
tects and shipbuildcrs and shipowucrs
generally Is 10 keep the net tonnage o'
ship as small as possible, ana many
| Ingenious devices for cheating meas
rrement' have been adopted, design
els of merchant vessels being as adept
In this art as designers OF racing
yachts. But the navigation laws Of
the United States are exceedingly vigi-
liant on this point and are regarded as
fair ana reasonable I'm their require
ments. so that this evil of fraudulent
tonnage is believed 10 be less serious
under the flag of the United States
than In the merchant navies of some
other countries.
Landsmen may well be pardoncd for
their perplcXity that tonnage. I'm the
vernacular Of the sea. should mean
sometimes one thing and sometimes
another The navy department adds
20 the inevitable confusion 10y desCrih.
Ing cur ships Of war I'm terms not of
gross register or net register, but of
displacement. Thus the massachusetts
Is spoken Of officially as a battlcship
of 10000 tons and the Vermont as n
hattleship of 10000 tons This means
in each case that the ship displaces so
many tons Of water But the MaSsI.
chusetts If measured as merchant yes
sells are measured would have a net
tonnage Of only 3.2Of aud would hav,
10 pay dues on that only If passing
through the Suez canal. This practiC,
Of the navy department OF using dis
placement tonnage instead Of gross ui
oct tonnage gives the public an eXag
yeratcd idea OF the actual size Of oul
ships of war. As a matter of fact. IN,
greatest battlcships we have fall short
of the bulk Of the mlghtlcst Of ouI
merchantmen.
Again, another compleXity as 20 ton
mage arises In the cargo capacity OF q
merchant ship. Take, for example. q
typical Boston steam frelghtcr, IN,
Lyra Of the Boston Towboat company
Her gross tonnage is 44l7; her net
3,5lG. But the Lyra has a capacity OF
upward Of 5000 tons dead weight OF
cargo.
These national measurements O
shipping though apparently arbitrary
are Indispensable, for ships cannst b'
classified with any eXactness on th'
basis OF the tons of cargo they vii
actually carry. \ ship which cou,
receive and transport safely 5000 tons
OF weight OF pig iron would not ho-
5000 tons OF hay or cotton. There
fore the governments OF the wort
have had 10 prescribe measurement
standards Of their own, in which th,
great marine insurance companies
have had a powerful hand. And In,
tendency is 10 bring these standard,
into more ana more complete conformi
ty.-BostOn Transcript
Comforting 20 Her.