182 REFUELING WARSHIPS AT SEA. 



ments and types of gear for side coaling. All should be fitted, as Mr. Spencer Miller here 

 points out, with the cableway and coaling-at-sea apparatus. 



Each collier should be taken in hand, and brought up to date. We have done splen- 

 didly, but we have stopped short of thorough efficiency. 



The Chairman : — Certainly the reluctance of members in coming forward to discuss 

 this paper, and the absence of criticism is, in one sense at least, very gratifying to Mr. Miller, 

 I am sure. He remarked in presenting his paper that the keystone of the arch was the ten- 

 sion engine. I think any one, after his explanation — and certainly those who have had prac- 

 tical experiences — realizes that it is the very foundation of the success of the performance of 

 this apparatus. The successful fueling of ships at sea is to-day much more important than it 

 was when Mr. Miller began his experiments. We have now come to appreciate the vital im- 

 portance of this matter. 



I do not care to express too advanced opinions one way or the other, but I think it can 

 be accepted as self-evident that if you have an effective arrangement for quickly fueling 

 ships at sea while under way at very fair speed, you have provided the best means of fueling 

 promptly and in security under blockade conditions; and this, of course, is most important 

 under modern conditions of naval warfare. Having had some personal experience with Mr. 

 Miller's work during the development of this apparatus, I feel that I can safely congratulate 

 him upon the success attained up to the present time, and that success, as I said before, is 

 based largely upon the efficiency of the tension engine. The Chair did not expect to be called 

 upon to make any remarks, and he would still be glad to hear comments from any members 

 present. ( Applause. ) 



Your task, apparently, is a very easy one, Mr. Miller, so far as responding to any ad- 

 verse criticisms made on the apparatus is concerned. If you desire to give us some further 

 information, I am sure we will be very glad to hear it, as it is a most interesting subject and, 

 as you see, has been received by the audience with a great deal of appreciation. 



Mr. Miller : — The author extends sincere thanks to Admiral W. L. Capps, U. S. N., 

 for his kind congratulations. Admiral Capps, as Chief Constructor of the Navy Depart- 

 ment, invariably stood on the side of progress in the development of apparatus to meet the 

 demands of the fleet for coaling in a seaway. His assistance was always encouraging and 

 most important in the perfection of the marine cableway. 



Captain J. H. Glennon, U. S. N., discussed the paper from the storehouse of his great 

 experience. He was an officer on the Massachusetts that abandoned its place off Santiago 

 because unable to coal at sea. He commanded the Wyoming when it was coaled by the col- 

 liers Nereus and Proteus, referred to in this paper. He commanded the Virginia when it 

 carried out the official tests of the marine cableway, and to him the author owes a debt of 

 gratitude for the masterly way in which the apparatus was handled during these sea tests. 

 With but an hour's previous drill the men under his command transported 72 tons of coal in 

 the first hour and 69 tons of coal in the last hour of the test carried on in a heavy fog. It is 

 a pleasure to note that, after this experience. Captain Glennon should write that the ma- 

 rine cableway with its automatic tension engine can transport 100 tons per hour. 



Captain A. P. Niblack, U. S. N., is another line officer always demanding greater coaling 

 efficiency. His written discussion adds value in that it indicates clearly a need for further 

 equipment to our splendid colliers to make them far more valuable than at present. 



