Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-23
ENGINEER DEFENDS
OVERLOOK BOILERS
David C. Seymour Declares
That Incompetency Is Cause
of Trouble.

David c. Seymour, contracting en-
: gineer, who installed the boilers at
s the Overlook Asylum for the Insane.
{ In long letter to Director Walter
s A. Evans of the Board of Freehold
ers, defends the boilers and alleges
that If the boilers fail TO work i'm
properly it is due to negligence and
incompetency in the boiler room at
3 the asylum and not to the boilers.
Director Evans had not had time
Y to read Mr.. Seymour's letter fully.
s he having received 1t at the Court
s House today and stated that he was
Y not ready to mako reply at this
time. He did say. however, in re-
gard to the boiler question, that as
far as the Board of Freeholders are
concerned there is no disposition at
this time to make any changes in
the boilers at the institution.
He said: This matter of boilers
was placed before the building COM
= mittee of the Board of Freeholders
I several months ago by Runyon &
Carey, the county's consulting engi-
neers. The engineers recommended
that the present boilers be replaced,
one at a time, as the present plan
was not giving entire satisfaction.
So far the board has done nothing
in the matter. 1t Is the intention
3 of the board to have a thorough in
4 vestigation made and see just what
is needed to obtain the greatest ef-
& flciency at the plant Nothing has
been shown as yet to prove that the
old boilers will not last for some
time to come.
There has been trouble over the
: coal furnished at Overlook, an ex-
= pert's report showing it to be of a
poor quality. That matter is under
investigation now and the board is
{, taking measures to remedy that con-
2 d.tion. In the meantime the boirer
= question is awaiting developments
1and these Developments will be in
8 the nature of tests to determine just
Z what is needed at the plant"
Mr.. Seymour. in his letter to Di-
rector Evans, says
Recently on my return to this city
envy attention was called to a news
paper article published in one of our
gdaily papers which referred to a re-
port read before the Board of Chosen
Freeholders, in reference to boilers
now In use in the boiler house of the
Essex County Hospital for the In
sane, Overlook.
II was the contractor who furnished
and installed these boilers, they be-
ing known as the Continental or in
ternally fired corrugated furnace
Scotch type. The article in question
swas a report condemning these boil
ers as unsuitable for the work re-
quired of them and 1t was suggested
y that they be removed and another
type of boilers installed in their place.
AS q taxpayer of this county and the
contractor who furnished these boil
sers and installed them Understand [
did not build these boilers, neither
did 1 specify them for this work. l
make most emphatic protest against
any such action on the part of the
authorities under whose Jurisdiction
this work may come.
81 have been furnishing and in
stailing boilers and acting as a con-
-tracting engineer for twenty years,
land can say at this time that these
particular boilers furnished for the
county are without q question of a
doubt one OF If not the best type
boiler made in this country or in any
other country. They are good steam
ers seldom requiring Repairs if
handled by competent firemen or en-
gineers.
ITO substantiate this statement l
challenge you or any of the people
who are interested in condemning or
criticising these boilers TO show me
or call to my attention just one
plant of any size where these boilers
have been used that they have ever
been condemned or removed to install
another type. As n matter OF fact,
us records will show, the reverse are
the conditions which have prevailed
for u number of years. There are at
the present time approximately $4,000
of these boilers in use in the United
r. ates. and they have been in use for
81 last thirty or forty years. and are
Ri constantly manufactured ana
81 .ified by the most eminent enSl-
y ers In the country.
= THE same type of boiler With a
81 ght difference in the rear end or
~ 1at Is known as the combustion
81 amber or wet back are used in
81 actically every steamship sailing on
seven seas. If this type of boiler
81 Is q failure it doesn't speak much
Ii the merchant marine of the world
d their engineers that use such boil
RS.
1.-THE condemning of these boilers
by whomever may have made this
report is simply ridiculous.
Furthermore. | wish to state at
this time when I have visited the
boiler room at the Essex County Hos
pital for the Insane. Overlook, it
was without doubt the dirtiest, I'M
kept, neglected and inefficient run
plant of it's size I think that could
possibly be found east of the Missis Z
sippi river.
"As far as the competency of the
firemen in question are concerned, l
will say nothing. The plant, as il eX-
listed when I saw it, spoke for itself.
If proper respect and the acceptance
of orders by the men working these
boilers from their superiors were
Needed. or If such orders when given
were obeyed by these men, do not
believe any such conditions would
exist at this plant as it existed when
I last saw IT.
I'm conclusion, wish to state that
to take these boilers out and put
the county to an expense of new
ou4fif would he little short of a