The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

392 TAE Marine REVIEW A Shameful Exlibit AAIHE three photographs on the op- a posite page were taken on Sept. * 10; ae Winslow. Wash., and show more 'clearly than any description the effect of shipping" eastern coal to the Pacific coast in foreign bottoms and then turning these vessels loose to prey on American shipping.- On Sept. 10, there were 17 American vessels of the type shown lying at anchor in Eagle Harbor, Wash., away. They represent an investment of over $1,000,000, and have a carrying ca- pacity of at least 17,000 tons. That these idle vessels are not due Winslow, idly rotting to a falling off in the total freight ton- nage moving to the Pacific coast is shown by the figures on total tonnage 10, 1910, as taken from the Weekly Commercial. News, of meee 10; 1910. on the way, Sept. Sept. 10, Sept. 10; Total tonnage on way. 1910. 1909. For San Francisco 221,747 179,817 Bor Portland. 2.515 hes « 57,183 70,485 Bor Puget. Sound... 3.3. 60,893 59,377 For British Columbia .... 26,063 33,894 For Hawaiian Islands..... 39,816 26,873 405,702 370,446 This is a balance of 35,256 tons for 1910 over 1909, on the way to the Pacific coast. 30, 1910, the coal shipped by the United States to the Pacific coast for naval use aggregated 256,947 tons, costing over $1,852,000. This coal was shipped as follows: To Honolulu: Tons. Tons. In foreign bottoms.......... 91,962 In American bottoms........ 9,637--101, 599 To Mare Island: In foreign bottoms........... 11,000 In American bottoms........ 20; 600-- 31, 600 To California City points: In foreign bottoms........... ' 44,971 In American bottoms........ 10,045-- 55,016 To Puget Sound: In foreign bottoms........... 68,732-- 68,732 256,947 Of the total of 256,947 tons, 215,663, or 84 per cent, were -shipped in foreign bottoms, and 40,282 tons, or 16 per cent, in American bottoms. . Testing Pacific Coast Coal 7T Is generally 'known that merchant vessels use Pacific coast coals econ- - omically and continuously and get good results from them at a compar- atively small cost. There is no good reason why the navy cannot use Pacific coast coal instead of continuing the senseless practice of bringing all its coal from the eastern coast. The navy department has finally decided to make a test of three or more Washington coals for comparison with eastern coal. These tests will be made on the cruiser Mary- land on the Pacific and the cruiser West Virginia on the Atlantic, under as near- ly identical conditions a's possible. Just _ why the Maryland and the West Vir- ginia should be selected is not clear in view of the facts so clearly stated in THE "Marine REVIEW of June, 1910, un- der the heading, "A Straw Navy." Be that as it may, the people of the Pacific northwest are awaiting the results of the ttials and expecting that fair use will be made of the results obtained. It is admitted that Pacific coal is not the equal of .Pocahontas coal for steaming purposes, but. an unbiased comparison of the. relative costs of the coals used will show an enormous saving: over the cost of Pocahontas. coal by using Pacific coal. eth 3 Le eT oe - But there is no hope that the policy of the navy department will be changed in the slightest degree by the proposed coal tests. The department knows now all it wants or needs to know and THE Marine Review has heretofore published facts and figures regarding the heat values of Pacific coast coals derived from the government's own published reports, made by its own experts, show- ing that the indispensable eastern coals are only 6 to 9 per cent better than some of the Washington coals. The navy can make as much steam for $1 with Washington coals as for $3 to $4 with eastern coal, and this is true with- out qualification or modification. The reasons for using eastern coal are not of an engineering nature nor yet military, as is perfectly understood by all familiar with the subject; they are not even geographical, and statements to the contrary are merely issued for general consumption. The selection of the Maryland and West Virginia was the master stroke. Two ships of the highest and finest type, yet which limped into San Fran- cisco-on their return from an eastern cruise almost complete wrecks in their machinery department, as was fully set forth in THe Marine Review for June, For the fiscal year ending June October, 1910 1910, because of the inexperience and incompetency of their officers, the chief engineer of one of them, for instance, never having had any engine room ex- perience whatever previous to joining her, and the chief engineer of the other had 15° months. The fleet engineer of the Pacific fleet, under whom these trials will presumably: be carried out, has had but a few months'. experience as chief engineer and but little more in all his engine room life. The Pacific northwest owes much to Congressman W. E. Humphrey, of Washington, and G. F. Thorndyke, of Seattle, in securing a test of Pacific coals by the navy department. Almost single handed, they have carried forward the demands of the northwest in the matter of using Pacific coast' coal in the navy. It is greatly to be feared that those who think that the proposed trials, which after all are merely a cheap attempt at shutting off proper criticism, will develop anything worth knowing, are doomed to nothing but disappointment. In connection with the proposed tests of Pacific coast coal by the United States navy, the following cer- tificate of the chief engine r of the French Pacific squadron relative to western coal taken aboard the cruiser Montcalm at Seattle, may be of in- terest: -- By your letter of Aug. 26, you have asked me for information concerning the coal fur- nished us at Seattle. The results obtained have been quite 'satis- factory. Our observations of the coal while it was used on board were as follows: The coal taken on at Seattle contained a considerable proportion of fine coal, in the neighborhood of 40 per cent. It is a bitumin- ous coal, does not coke on the grate, and would be improved by.being mixed with cok- ing coal like the coals of the east--Pocahontas, Cumberland,. New River, etc. At first it gives off an abundance of smoke, with a. long, yel- lowish' flame. It should be burned in a thin fire (4 to in.) with a slightly active draft. It should be fed forward in the fur- nace alittle at a time and the incandescent coal pushed back each time before feeding. The grates should be spread 2/5 in. as a maximum. . The coke is friable and falls easfly into the ash pan. If too much of it should' work through, the coal cinders ought to be sifted. There is very little scoria which sticks to the grate and there is very little. soot. Taking Pocahontas for purposes of com- parison, this coal can be given a value of 0.9 under conditions where the rate of con- sumption does not exceed 20 Ib. per sq. ft. per hour. . Yours, etc., A. Le Lay. Manzanillo, Sept. 3, 1910. Assistant Secretary Winthrop, when confronted with the experience of Pa- cific mail liners and other commercial ships, said that the satisfactory service obtained with western coal in the mer- chant marine was no evidence that it was suitable in ships of war. It was pointed out that the British Pacific fleet used western coal for: cruising purposes, just as suggested for. our own, and now comes the evidence of still another navy. We stated then