Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-04-18
EFFICIENCY ENGINEER POINTS
OUT DEFICIENCIES IN CON.
srRucTioN OF BOAT.
MuLhAUsER OF DAVENPORT
SAYS METHODS WERE AGEC
Builders Of Great Steamship Held TO
Anticipated Ideas Aitho Warned Of
Vessels Weakness-Mieht Have Been
Constructed So as to BE Absolutely
Proof Against Sinking.

Davenport. April 1s.-In reference to
the terrible catastrophe of the steamer
Titanic, which went down with owe. a
thousand people or board A. Mulhaus-
er, OF Davenport. the efficiency engin-
eer who recently located here, makes
pointed out 20 the builders. He claims
that tn method Of construction was
anttquated
We all know" says Mr.. Mu!hauser.
that in building the Titanic the pro-
vision for life boats was OUtrageous1E
inadequate. The writer mentioned this
neglect more than a year ago, IN
communication addressed to protnl-
men, periodical, but was laughed at
for being a crank, and the warning was
never published.
Further. the Titanic need not have
sunk so soon after the collision. If at
all. II did sink mainly because OF the
ANTICIPATED methods now in use for
placing anG riveting the plates OF
ships hull AS a result of this weak
construction, each hull plate. with It's
sharp edged rivet holes. constitutes
large shear which quickly cut off Wv
ct heads whenever the force Of col
lis.on is sufficien, 10 move the Plates
Thus each plate really becomes a
separate structural member ard be
cause OF this strong rivet shea.lns
tendency there is great danger when-
ever a number Of these plates are DIS
placed by the impact Of a collision. And
the extent 20 which the present system
81 danger
IS much less than s;,iptuilGers have
tried TO claim.
NOW. II the edges Of A ships hull
plates were properly interlockec ana
welded and if the rivets We're also
suitably welded. all of the shearase
1ro,,+1e ard ,ivet failures now encouT-
tered would be entirely eliminated
and 90 per cent Of the fatal conse-
cuences OF ocean accidents Wouio
thereby be avoided.
with the new processes for o1S-
acetvlene welding which gives tenn
pera1ure of more than 5000 degrees
Fahrenheit. the work Of welding THESE
plates and rivets as outlined ABOVE
could be done quickly and cheapiS.
Successful practical models illustrat-
ing this principle have been submitted
70 shin builders and designers, l nave
been told, but no action has been taken
to use this principle in large snip.
CWhere laws are lax the publlc's IN
terests lagO
at it apparent that the present sEs-
tenn of bulkhead construction could De
proftablv improved The trouble mere
is similar to the trials of the boy VINO
uses two empty cans while learning to
swim II the cans are bumped OF
punctured they lose their buoyancy'
and the boy sinks Twenty years ago
the writer filed two of these cans with
LAYERS of cork held by layers OF wire
yauze. During that summer the cans
became punc,ured. battered. and al
most shattered, but the cans retained
enough buoyancy to keep the ooEs
af1oat.
ut is suggested that pracnca ole
mobilization of this idea could be en-
ployed in future methods Of marine
architecture.
AT any rate. personal acquaintance
with maritime commerce during the
past fifteen years has shown that such
disasters as that OF the Titanic, La
B,1rgovne. Elba, and others could be
avoided if the public will only inter-
est itself sufficiently to demand proper
SAFEGUARDS for ocean travel"