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| __ ofa mastless steam yacht, with a turret rising from the center of the - accepted theories. One of these is the supposition heretofore preva- THE NEW ARGONAUT. RADICAL CHANGES EMBODIED BY SIMON LAKE OF BALTIMORE IN HIS F NEW SUBMARINE BOAT SOON TO BE LAUNGHED. Some weeks ago the Baltimore correspondent of the Marine Review made mention of the fact the submarine boat Argonaut had been taken to the Erie Basin, brooklyn, N. Y., for the purpose of _undergoing enlargement and transformation in accordance with the latest views of its inventor, Simon Lake. The old Argonaut had ascended and descended in all depths of water over a hundred times, had moved over a thousand miles under water and was regarded by a number of engineers as the only practicable form of subma- rine vessel. This theory is heartily concurred in by a writer in the current number of Lippincott's magazine, who prefaces a descrip- tion of the new Argonaut with the assertion that Lake has been successful because he has been the only inventor of a submarine boat who has not striven to construct a mechanical fish. It is fur- ther asserted that the United States government has rejected sev- eral submarine boats and that France and other countries hesitate to put their pet craft to a practical test in deep rough' water simply because of the impossibility of maintaining trim and equilibrium with them, a few ounces of extra ballast being, it is claimed, suffi- cient to send many of these vessels to the bottom. Simon Lake has in his new boat, or rather reconstructed boat, which is soon to be launched, made a radical departure from all lent that a submarine vessel must partake in some degree of the form of a cigar or fish. The Baltimore inventor has set these tra- ditions at variance by placing a small yacht hull on top of the cylindrical steel hull of the original Argonaut. The points in its favor, as proven by experiments, were increase of stability and speed and also deck room for the crew when the vessel was on the -surface. The upper or yacht section of the new Argonaut will be 66 feet in length. Seen on the surface the boat will have the appearance deck, while the appearance in dry dock will be that of a small gun- boat of deep draught. Essentially the Argonaut will be transferred from the torpedo to the yacht class by this provision of a conning tower, in which the steersman and owner may stand in bad weather, a windlass and collision bowsprit. Only two of the five compartments are to be devoted to machinery, and the gasoline and compressed air reser- _ voirs are in the yacht hull, entirely outside the submarine boat hull wo proper. The cabin is 10 by 20 feet in size, there is a galley fitted with electric ranges and an operating room which will accommodate four men with ease. She will have a complete telephone system and search lights of 60,000 candle power. A valuable contrivance on the new boat will be a sand pump, which pumps up and throws to a distance sand or coal or any other solids held in water, and which is of course designed for use in wrecking operations, which constitutes one of the primal «ses of the Argonaut. _ The interesting feature of all discussion regarding the Argonaut is found in the fact that all the men connected with its construction and operation not only disclaim any desire to provide a boat for naval work but heartily concur in the English opinion that the submarine 'torpedo boat is impracticable, for the reason that it would destroy itself as well as the hostile war vessel attacked. In verification of this belief, they point to the fact on one occasion when the Argonaut was submerged in Hamp- ton Roads a mine was exploded, and although it was more than a mile Ra McMyler Car Dumper--Fig. 4. a LP} Re MeMyler Car Dumper--fFig. 3. away the concussion was severely felt by those on board the submarine boat and proved the most unpleasant experience to which any member of the crew had ever been subjected. NEW SHIPS NOT FOR THE FOREIGN TRADE. Bes There was sent out from the office of the Marine' Review and pub- lished in newspapers generally throughout the country during the past two weeks a.review of marine and naval affairs for the year-- a reprint of an.introduction to the Blue Book of American Shipping. Such a review necessarily contained extended reference to the crowded condition of ship yards throughout the country and to the prosperous outlook in these yards as regards the construction of vessels for home trade. Unfortu- nately this matter was utilized py certain newspapers to assert that legis-_ lation for the encouragement of our shipping in the foreign trade was unnecessary. The fact that our ship yards for the time being, are unus- ually busy, was taken by these newspapers to prove that no legis- ] lation is needed for the upbuilding of our shipping in the foreign tracts from the Blue Book to discredit, or to justify anyone else in honestly discrediting, the efforts that are being made to secure leg- islative aid for the encouragement of our shipping in the foreign carrying trade. The new merchant ships referred to are all for coastwise trade, in which there is no foreign interference. Every- body in shipping circles who-has a knowledge of the situation un- derstood what was meant ana will endorse the statement that legis- lation on the lines of the bill introduced in congress last winter by Senator Hanna is an essential pre-requisite to any permanent or effective improvement in the condition of our shipping in the for- eign trade, eae: INTERNATIONAL YACHT RACES. Mr. George L. Norton of the Marine Journal, New York. an- nounces that arrangements have been made with the management of the Plant System, steamship department, through and in con- nection with Vice-president and Manager M. F. Plant, to run the magnificent steamship La Grande Duchesse to the international yacht races, beginning Oct. 3. La Grande Duchesse is a 5,000-ton steel, twin-screw steamship, with. double bottom, steel houses and decks, two of which are clear fore and aft, affording a splendid Op- portunity for a promenade and a view of the races. This ship has ample stateroom accommodations, elaborately furnished, with a telephone in each room. The dining saloons are handsomely ap- pointed and will seat 125 at table. A first-class caterer will be provided, also a brass and string band. La Grande Duchesse will run on the Canada & Atlantic Plant Line between Boston, Halifax and Charlottetown during the summer, making her last trip from Boston Sept. 23, after which she will be hauled off and got ready for the races. Staterooms will be reserved and passage booked upon application to the Marine Journal, 17 State street, New York. trade. It was certainly not the intention in putting forth these ex---