1 84 AN ELECTRICALLY PROPELLED 



each state-room, which in turn are connected with an annunciator in the office, 

 indicating at once if there is a fire, and just where the fire is located. One of the 

 greatest dangers on boats of this character is from a drunken or careless passenger 

 lighting matches in his state-room for the purpose of smoking, and igniting the bed- 

 ding in his berth. 



All the various improvements which are designed for the safety of the traveling 

 public add to the cost of the vessel. This, with the increased cost of some of the 

 materials used, as well as the shorter hours and the increased pay of labor, put 

 both the designer and builder up against a rather serious problem in their partic- 

 ular march of progression, as we to-day are endeavoring to build ships cheaper by 

 increasing the wages and shortening the hours, this method bemg practically forced 

 upon us by our government making it obligatory in the yards where naval vessels 

 are built to work eight hours, and as the larger portion of shipbuilding to-day is 

 for the government, it is practically forcing the yards to an eight-hour day, without 

 any decrease in pay. When we add to this the additional cost of the various im- 

 provements, which have been introduced, both for the safety and comfort of the 

 traveling public, and we realize that the tendency of the demand of said public is 

 for a decrease rather than for an increase in the cost of transportation, one can 

 easily understand how impossible it is for either the designer or the builder, in con- 

 sidering any particular proposition, to lose sight of the practical and commercial 

 elements which are involved, and which must be considered in any proposition. 



I might add, in regard to the question of economy, I am sure Mr. Andrew 

 Fletcher did not, nor do I, mean to imply that the beam engine is the most 

 economical power you can install in a boat, but in many cases it is most 

 desirable, when all conditions entering into the proposition are considered. In my 

 opinion, your three-screw propulsion on the Hudson River or other comparatively 

 shallow waters will not return anything like the proportion for the power expended 

 you would obtain out of a well-designed, feathering, side-wheel boat, because of the 

 fact that the side wheels seem to be the ideal method of propulsion under conditions 

 of this kind ; whether you use a beam engine or become more progressive and use a 

 three-cylinder, compound inclined engine, operating under a higher pressure, is a 

 matter which must be considered entirely from the standpoint of one's pocket-book. 

 If one wants refinements and is willing to pay for them, there is no reason why one 

 should not have them, and most builders are both willing and glad to furnish the 

 refinements, if so desired. 



Many years ago when either the Sandy Hook or the Monmouth (I forget which) 

 first came out, there was considerable discussion as to the relative speed of this 

 vessel and that of the Hudson River Day Line steamer New York. Our president, 

 Mr. Stevenson Taylor, was at that time a member of our concern and naturally 

 took a very deep interest in the subject. We then felt, and do to-day, that vessels 

 Hke the New York and Albany compared with vessels like the Sandy Hook and 

 Monmouth, both carrying passengers only, at about the same speed, that is, ap- 

 proximately 19 miles an hour and running in comparatively shoal waters, that the 



