The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-08-28

story wooden pillars looks out on
the Mississippi as II to invite ex-
c~ursion1sts to come in and see the
cosy little place. The material used
in the building is red matt brick,
while the trimmings will be Of stone
with q roof Of tile. Reinforced con-
crete will be used, the floors will be
OF concrete, with a finish surface OF
composition. On the first floor will
be the superintendent Office, the
dry dock office, clerks office and the
record ROOM, the last being absolutely
nre proof to insure safety to the
records. Upstairs are the drafting
and blue printing rooms and An Of
nee.
Dry Dock In Use.
The new dry dock is now being
used although all the cradles are not
yet installed. 1t is 15ox463 feet in
dimensions. n capable Of accommo-
dating several Of the largest river
boats at the same time. Here there is
provision for admitting and withdraw
ing the water on q plan like that
used in the lock. At the upper end is
a gate which submerges. BY closing
the lower gate he water will flow in
to the depth desired. At the bottom Of
the dock are the cradles on which the
boats rest when the water Is let out.
This winter h dock will be filed
until the capacity is exhausted. When
the ice moves out the barges will be
run out and put in the government
service. While the dry dock is own
ed by the government and used prin-
cipally for government boats. yet priv
ate owners may run their boats in for
repairs by paying a fee for use Of the
same.
For the purpose Of facilitating the
the dry dock a large gantry or travel
ing crane has been installed. 1t is
n that was used by the water pow
Ell company in construction work. In
the new dry dock 1t will be possible TO
bring boats in and repair them and
get them out again in a very short
space OF time. 1t is estimated that It
will take forty-five minutes from the
time a boat is ready to enter the dry
dock until 1t is resting high and dry
on the cradles and ready for the work
men to begin operations.
creosotin9 earges.
All Of the buildings incident to a
dry dock are to be modern and equip
ped with the latest machinery. One
OF, the interesting things is the creo-
sote plant where the lumber used IN
barges and boats is creosoted. The
open tank method is used, the lumber
to be treated merely being sub
merged. An application Of cr~eosote
preserves the wood n saves paint
Ing, n by applying 1t to joints. rot
ting is prevented. Workmen say that
handling creosote is not the most
it comes in contact with the
skin, it burns and very often causes
a slight swelling. 1t is almost i'm
possible to work around a plant with
out having the liquid splash about,
and how to protect oneself is quite a
problem. Men working for the gov
eminent here have found that one
successful way is to apply vasolene
generously to the face and hands.
keep the creosote from burning
through. To a man with tender skin
the burn is especially painful. One of
the men who frequently handles the
stufT said that he has seen a man with
thick. dark skin, stick his forearm
in a tank and bring it out with
out the slightest hurt, while a
man with kin more tender. working
right along beside him, could not
stand the least contact.
Machinery Modern.
b saw mill is complete except for
the installation of machinery. Mod
ern saws for circular work in building
steamboats, will be installed to give
the government a well equipped plant.
The lumber shed nearby is complet-
Tracks run along in front of Il
and the handling of lumber is done
away with as much as possible. The
and blacksmith shop is OF
brick and is much larger than the
building. Among the other structures
are the store room, ice house, a paint
shop and a carpenter shop.
The government ground is equip
ped with fire h%ydrants while compress
ed air is piped all over the place and
can be tapped where destroy.
All Of the power used to run the
Is furnished free by the
Mississippi River Power company.
Fine Equipment.
When the work is complete, the
government will have as fine an
here as any place along
the river. When the governments
eight mile canal was wiped out and