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Show Sfoip-fos'ske TfaaS; May Prevent Many Disasters at Sea Special to The Tribune. WASHINGTON. April 19. Navy officers and marine engineers aro ex-liibitiuc ex-liibitiuc much interest in a tost that is lo be made early noxt week in tho Delaware bay, in rough 8eas, or a new ship-brake. Tho device is to bo tried out on the battleship Indiana. Tho brake has already been attached to tho ship at t.ho League Island yard. The device is tho invention of a Canadian and engineer, the lato Louis Lacosto of Montreal, son of a former chief justico of Canada. A number of prominent Canadians, headed by U. II. I Dandurand, as president, arc behind the invention, and John A. Stewart of New York is at tho head of tho company com-pany which controls tho rights to the invention in tho United States. The lest will bo made in tho presence of a board of experts from the navy department, de-partment, the Canadian owners and a limited number of invited guests. Tho ship will probably go lo sea Mondav or Itioaday, and two or three 3a vs will be occupiod with the test. Tho device consists of a pair of wings or blades, hinged to the vessel's sides, and held in their normal closed nositiou .by locking bars, that aro released re-leased through mechanism controlled from tho bridge. Thcso bars are equipped with means that give to the wings their initial opening movement when the bars arc unlockod, and from this position the wings open automatically, automati-cally, through tho movement of the ship, and when they havo attained their lull open position, nro braced so that they exert such resistance to the water as to rotard the vessel's progress, and it is .claimed by tho inventors that the avenigo ship going at tho ordinary rate ! of speori can bo brought to n full Rtop within the distance of her length. I he inventors claim that thoy can stop a ship without jarring unnecessarily or inconveniencing passengers or crow by " he sudden check. It is claimed in be- half of tho invention that the attach- nicnt of tho wings io the vessel's sides does not result in the sacrifice of any f speed. It. is taid the appliance is aclaptibJe to. any ship now. in comniis- sion. 1 he purpose of tho brake is to i prevent collisions at sea and to make it ( , i possiblo to maneuver vessels of war in battle within a small radius. President Roosevelt was primarily responsible re-sponsible for affording the inventors the opportunity for the test. lie became interested in t.ho device after its main points were disclosed to him by the' Canadian oflicers of tho company, nnd ordered the secretary of the navy to give the brake a test, provided the owners of it would pay for the expense of attaching it to the Indiana and give a bond to the government to indemnify against possible damage resulting from the attachment of tho brake, or accident acci-dent while operating it. |