The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-06-25
NILES TALKS OF
THE NEW SHIPS
Says There Ought to Be
Hollow Double Decks
Water Does Not Sink Vessels. He >a~
Sat Construction Prevents Its
Floating Her.

New York, June 22.-In an address
before the Maritime Association ~
New York, Marston Niles, for twelve
years an officer of the United States
ravy, and who at the time If hls
resignation held the rank of lieutenant
commander. declared that 1t is pos
slblc for steamships to be made an
siEhable by equipping them with
oub decks, the hollow spaces 10 lie
provided with as many small air-tiSht
metal tanks as they will hold.
Mr.. Niles told his hearers tina the
loss Of the Titanic had demonstrated
the fUtility of all attempts TO make a
steamship unsuitable by building her
according to the pattern which pro-
Nides for a series Of vertical bulk
heads dividing the vessel into a num-
Der Of water-tisht compartments.
W ought" said Mr.. Niles, TO
realize hat it lies beyond human pow
er to fortify the walls Of the present
fi0tatlOn Space-the space below the
water Hne-SO strongly that in no cir
cuinstances "a they be either pene-
trated directly DIT become SO distorted
as to cause a fatal leakage. Let Us
give up the attempt as hopeless and
content ourselves with pursuing the
vertical bulkhead system to a moder-
dtS Vi ItdSCIldb l EXTENT, rs a IfS1
line of defense.
Double Decks.
'The ships uilt hereafter ought by
law TO be built with double decks, and
the ships already built ought to have
the Gpper spaces on each deck filled
from bow to stern and from Sarboard
to Fort with small, rectangular, cheap,
sheet iron tanks OF the lightest con-
stTuction, bolted between and below
the beams and q few inches apart
FROM one another.
"When a ship furnished with these
horizontal tanks, or q ship built with
doubled decks, in which the holiows
are in like Subdiyided, strikes
q rock or iceberg, or is struck by an
other vessel, she will subside in an
Crteriy and expected napne and TO q
certain point, S%upposing that the pres
ent vertical compartments are toe far
injured to keep her afloat. If every
one Of these vertical compartments
fills with water n has only to sink
one, two, OF three decks lOwer-exact-
Is as the architect may have provided
and then she will stop sinking
Continuing. Mr. Niles said that
properly speaking, water never sinks
any vessel.
Water Doesn't Sink.
What sinks her when she goes
OoNH. he OeGld1 co, is the way ia
which she is built-some way that
vii not let the water float her. 1t
cannot be said too often that water is
her friend, standing ever ready 10
buoy her up. When she floats she
floats because the water is heavier
than h is. and crowds her out Of
pl,ce until vessel and water balance
rearf, other. If a ship should be right
~ built a collision that would sinh
the present ship in 40 seconds would
be no more serious than loading d
vessel to below the ordinary load
wafer line. but still o lower than is
absolutely safe"
Nr. Niles proposed several other
measures Of safety in addition to hol-
hcN decks flied with alright tanks
He urged particularly that every pas
senEer-carrying steamship be ON
PEELED to carry an officer Of the gov
[ errment whose flag she flies, the Off
Ger TO be in so far superior TO the yes
sells commander as to have the RICH,
TO order her sent at half speed Oh
, stopped altogether whenever in hi
; judgment. SUCH a precaution should
be necessary.
The Fu1ifivp Ideal