OCR Text |
Show The Ship of the Future. "I do firmly believe," said Sir Nathaniel Nathan-iel Barnaby at the iron and steel congress, con-gress, "that we shall get the mastery over the seas, and shall live far more happily in a marine residence capable of steaming fifteen knots an hour than we can ever live in seaside towns." Sir Nathaniel gave his idea of what the coming ocean steamer would be like He believed that an immense steel ship could be constructed so heavy and steady that she would not roll or pitch or heave in the eea; a ship so altogether delightful delight-ful as a residence that passengers would not be in so desperate a hurry to get on shore and leave her. The minimum size of such a ship would be 1,000 feet in length and 300 feet wide. One trouble with thi3 floating steel island, for such the steamer would be, would lie in the fact that no dock in the world woul l be large enough to receive re-ceive her. To meet this he suggested that in the ship itself could be constructed construct-ed small still water harbors or docks, large enough for tugs and barges to enter and load and unload. Entering through gates in the steamer's sides these small vessels could bring freight to her and take it away, passing in and out by the testes with more ease than freight is now hoisted and lowered at docks, Tho floating steel island would draw-not draw-not less than twenty-six feet of water. Wr ships built in this fashion would require to be fortified and garrisoned Uke a town. Sir Nathaniel, however, thought that the change from wooden ships to iron ones was not all gain, and ho predicted that America, owning one-sixth of all tli e wooden ships of above 100 tons in the world, would long fmd it to her advantage ad-vantage to continue to uso them. The danger from collisions had increased many fold since iron ships e.'!?r- iiitousa |