SMOKE ABATEMENT 34* 



(" Fordernde Mitglieder "), is 20 marks (£1). Members having 

 boilers or furnaces which they desire to place under the 

 control of the experts of the Society, pay a further 20 marks 

 annually for each boiler or furnace. The extra charges for tests 

 and reports are based upon the time spent upon them and the 

 number of experts employed. Engineers are charged for at the 

 rate of 20 marks per day, and firemen-instructors at 5 marks per 

 day. Special reports upon patented appliances are charged for 

 at the customary rates, but members receive a special discount 

 of 30 per cent, on these as compared with outsiders. 



The work of the Society is controlled by a committee of 

 seven members, elected annually. The technical and scientific 

 work is undertaken by the staff of experts retained for this 

 special work. At the date of the last report this staff con- 

 sisted of a chief engineer, three assistant engineers, five in- 

 structors for firemen, and three clerks ; while for steam-raising 

 and other trials, additional assistance had been employed. The 

 chief engineer attends the committee meetings and takes part 

 in the discussions relating to the work of the Society. The 

 funds of the Society are drawn from three sources : from the 

 annual subscriptions of its members ; from payments for special 

 work and reports for its members ; from payments for outside 

 work. The Society is thus entirely self-supporting, and its 

 success is dependent upon the value of the return it makes to 

 its members, for their contributions and fees. 



Turning now to a consideration of the practical results of 

 the work carried on, as recorded in the past annual reports of 

 the Society, we find that great stress is laid upon the improve- 

 ments in efficiency, due to the training of the stokers in the 

 proper performance of their duties ; and figures are given in 

 every report, showing gains in efficiency varying from 10 per 

 cent, to 20 per cent., from this one cause alone. As examples of 

 the gains which have followed from the Society's control of 

 boiler-plants, the following two diagrams (taken from the 1912 

 report) are interesting, since they show in graphic form the 

 results of tests on the same boilers, before and after the engineers 

 of the Society had taken charge of the respective plants. The 

 " heat-loss " in chimney gases, ashes, etc., is here seen to have 

 varied between 35 and 53 per cent, when the boilers were work- 

 ing under the normal conditions (i.e. in charge of their usual 

 stokers), while after the Society's expert staff had taken control 



23 



