Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1912-08-08

quarter by steamer from New
York to Liverpool. Not all of the en-
cheering which has brought about
this result has been done in the draw,
Ing office and the factory. Much Of II
has been done by workingmen who
took the raw inventions out to sea,
struggled with their crudities and put
The needful improvements into the
minds of the designers ashore. In big
ships and little the process is going on
and 1t is a stern one still in spite of
modern refinements. In the old days,
when boiler pressures were so low
hat a steamer had to slow down to
raise enough steam to whistle with,
an upholstered settee was often pro-
vided in the engine room for the use
Of the man on watch, so that he need
not stand more than was absolutely
necessary. Today it is probable that
not n seagoing vessel could show
u a thing. A man who cannot walk
about for four hours in the tempera-
.ure of a Turkish bath Is not wanted
now.
While the ship is at sea all the en-
gineers except the chief keep two
watches of four hours each in the
iwenty-four. The same man always
has the same hours. The third engi-
neer takes the IL to 4 a. m. and D. m.
watch, the second takes the 4 to 8 and
he chiefs watch, s to IL, Is taken by
he fourth engineer. or by the donkey
nan, If there are only three engineers
carried. In this case the chief is al
ways within call. The duties of watch
keeping largely lie in seeing that this
Dr. that does not happen. AS well as
he main engines there are the pumps
and other auxiliary machinery and the
boilers always seeking to go wrong II
given a chance. Then in port all
hands are busy with the adjustments
that have been noted down as neces-
sary while the ship was steaming.
and these entail the handling of ire
nendous weights with hand tackle on
y. Such work does not seem very for
nidable, perhaps, but seagoing engi-
leers know that Commander Willetts.
u. s. ~, spoke truly of their work
when he told the American Institute
of Naval Engineers that at REQUIRES
he most strenuous and exacting atten-
lion Of any known pursuit, and. while
requiring skill and intelligence 10 ac-
complish well, 1t has to be performed
under such severe stresses and in such
dirt and heat as to rob it of all interest
except in its speedy completion.
In the Silent Hours.
An engineer does not readily forget
his first voyage or that first night in
the graveyard" watch (12 to 4 a. my
when he sat on a bucket to consider
the novelty of his surroundings and re-
vile the heat, and woke up from a few
seconds Of troubled sleep to find the
chief engineer vigorously kicking the
bucket away from under him. In a
lew week he becomes ashamed of
to sit. even in the tropics.
out ne has not conquered human weak
ness even then, for after a few WV
nature will have provided him
with the trick Of sleeping while he
solemnly PAGES the engine room I1e,.
ally this only happens after a smell NJ
exhausting labor, such as is corse-
quent on breakdowns, and usuaIlv :,
only lasts until he walks into the boil
er-room bulkhead and wakes. feeling
foolish and %uncanny, after, perbans
hfteen seconds of jerky somnambula
ton e he learns to keep a bucket !
OF cold water handy to dip his head in.
to, and the same intelligence that con.
triyes this antidote warns him that n
were unwise to mention the circum-
stance In the messroom. Indeed q
hint OF even feeling sleepy Is as bor.
rifying to the ear as the smell of a
heated bearing Is to the nostrjl.
hot bearing once smelt is never for.
1t is not by any means an
empowering smell-just burning oil
but to the mar on whose watch It
occurs 1T reeks of certain disgrace.
he has eased the engines and
hears the other engineers warne nv
the change of en4ed comma ,.