Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-03-17

penetrable gray blanket Of fog tobscur-.
ing his vision he frequently had to
literally fell his way through the wa
ter. An iceberg, white and ominous.
| was apt to block his path; he was like
ly to lose his way and run his ship
aground or collide with another vessel
Now the big ships are practically i'm
| mune from these dangers.
On each ocean liner there are two
small, bOx-like affairs attached to the
side sof the ship under water. Day
and night and in storms and clear
weather, these boxes are sending
warnings to the man in the wheel
house. Inside each box is a small and
delicate instrument that receives and
records waves vibrations Just as the
wireless telegraph records air vibra-
tions.
| Wires run from the box to the
wheelhouse. where the buildings Of the
instrument are reproduced by the ring
ing of bells. The automatic recorder
picks up the vibrations from the
booming of the surf on rocks from
to is miles away. The presence OF
lightships, fog stations and the churn-
ing of screws on other steamships are
all recorded.
If by any chance collision did take
place and the water came pouring
through the sides of a ship a remedy
could be instantly applied and the ves-
sci would be in little danger. The
modern water tight bulkhead divisions
of steamships have been improved SO
that they can be operated in a few
seconds and in the face Of the great
est opposition. Formerly, when d col
lision occurred or ship struck a rock,
the water gained such headway
through the rent made in the vessels
side, that doors could not be closed.
Nowadays electrically operated doors
are used. These doors are controlled
by steam or compressed air. In addi-
tion to the bulkhead divisions many of
the modern vessels are equipped with
double bottoms
Thus, when modern liner by any
chance strikes a rock. only the outer
bottom is penetrated and the ship
goes IN its way as il nothing had hap
penpd. Powerful pumps that will lift
5000 tons of water in a few minutes
are always in readiness and connect
with the space between the two bot
toms.
To warn the Captain of the ap-
proach of icebergs in foggy weather at
night. when he could not see them. a
sensitive thermometer is attached to
the side of the vessel below the water
line. On approaching an iceberg there
is always an appreciable lowering of
temperature.
Before the introduction OF modern
safety appliances a fire was the most
terrible thing that could happen on
shpboard. Frequently flames would
make great headway before even boats
could be lowered, and the unlucky
passengers had to choose between
swimming for their lives or being
burned to death. Now fire is practi-
cally an impossibility on an ocean
liner.
The most effective fire services in
the world are on ships Extraordinary
as it may seem, an ingenious device
has been put into use which rings an
alarm before the fire has actually
started. The fire alarm Is a mechani-
cal device. All parts of the ship arc
wired and thermometers are located at
various points. When the tempera-
ture in the vicinity of one of these in
struments gets so high that ignition is
likely to follow the wires fuse and Gre
ate an electric current. Then bells
ring throughout the ship, while red
light on a dial in the wheel house gives
the alarm there.
Although the devices on ocean liners
for the prevention of danger are large
ly automatic. they are all dependent
on one man. the officer in the wheel
house. The big floating castles of the
sea that ply between New York and
the ports of Europe. have elevators.
| bathrooms. theatres and libraries. II
anything goes wrong in any part of
them the man in the wheelhouse
knows it instantly. In front of him
are numerous diagrams, charts, ther-
mometers. barometers. telephones and
levers. all ready to sound the alarm at
| the approach of danger.
| Even the unlucky passenger who falls
| overheard is protected. AS soon as the
| cry Man overboard"' is heard the
| officer in the wheclhouse presses
| button. Immediately life preservers
are released from the sides of the ship
and drop overheard. AS they reach
| the water rcd lights on them. touched
off by chemical process, point out
their prese nee to the passenger. who
| grasps the nearest life preserver-there
as So many of them dropped that one
| is almost sure to come within reach
| and hold on until a boat Is lowered and
he is safely drawn aboard.-Philadel
| phia Record.
/