The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-02-04
Cargo Vessel
Described

SUBJECT OF a lecture delivered by Will
lam Gatewood, of the Newport News
Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
in the Franklin Institute last week.
After reviewing briefly the history of
transportation on water from the time
of Noahs ark, which Mr. Gatewood
characterized as "the first cattle ship
of which we have a record" to the
present time, he said, in part;
"The modern cargo vessel is built of
mild steel, is propelled by screw pro-
peller operated generally by steam
machinery, and is steered with rud-
der operated by steam and controlled
from the bridge. Navigated by a mag
netic compass, it has it's location de-
termined by chronometer and sextant,
and has its cargo handled by block
and tackle from booms on masts or
derrick posts by means of steam
winches. The size, arrangement,
speed and fuel are specialized to suit
the exact requirements of the trade,
and few call for exactly the same de-
sign.
1.-THE cargo vessel of the future may
be built of high tensile or special steel,
but there are no indications at pres
ent that mild steel will be superseded
in the near future, except on the lar
gest vessels. 1t may have some other
kind of propulsion than by a screw
propeller, but there are no indications
of any more efficient method, although
some improvements may be made in
the type of screw.
'The size of the cargo vessel is
made to suit the length of voyage and
the amount of cargo available. There
is no economy in having a large ves-
sci in a given trade unless the vessel
can be fully loaded on most of the
trips The commercial life of the ves-
sci may be taken as twenty years. A
depreciation of at least per cent per
annum on the investment should be
allowed as part of the cost of oper-
alton.
"The submarine is not likely to be
competitor with surface vessels in the
carrying of cargo, and all the troubles
of surface vessels are magnified great
ly when the complications of running
submerged are added.
Cargo vessels. may be divided into
two general classes-liners and
tramps. The former are like business
men who travel between home and
office with an occasional stop off at
the club for lunch. The name of the
latter is a misnomer as they do not
correspond to tramps at all, but more
nearly to the harvest hands who work
wherever they can find work to do.
Electric propulsion was introduced
on the navy collier Jupiter in 1918 by
the General Electric Company, and has
recently been fitted on merchant YES
sells. In this system the propulsion,
an electric generator is driven by
high speed turbine, and the propeller
is operated at a suitable speed by
motor. The steam consumption is
very moderate Some eminent marine
engineers in this country consider that
the electric drive is one of the coming
forms of propulsion for cargo and
passenger vessels.
"Since the advent of fuel oil, it's use
on board ship has been extended SO
that very few vessels of the present
day are designed for coal burning, al
though the greater number of the YES
sells afioat still burn coal.
Cargo vessels of the country con-
sidered as a group together with the
passenger vessels, form it's merchant
marine and should be invested with
the dignity of upholding the honor of
the country in the ports of the world
No country can live to itself
IL Is SOACl dlIy lCNoShiNNu 'AAAS
should be as self-supporting
as possible and for many years our
were encouraged by a
protective tariff But no country can
excel in all kinds Of manufactures,
so that our imports of manufactured
goods are of large volume and are
likely to continue large. On the other
hand, we have for export foodstuffs,
cotton, coal. oil, and the manufactured
produces in which we excel. Civiliza-
ton is advanced by this interchange
Of commodities and prosperity is de-
pendent on it.
Some countries do most of the car
rying trade of the world, as they ex-
eel in the building and operating of
ships. But a country as large and
powerful as the United States loses
a measure of it's independence when it
% oil ~ 20