Show C CARGO aln R it fal G 0 SHIP ya RUN in 1 U N alff Y electricity aly y J ctr TE eclipse clipse soon to go cc into service first american ship driven by such stich power COST OF OPERATION IS GUT CUT reduced ted consumption of oil and number humber of crew slashes sashes expense in half admiral benson strong for electric drive washington the first electrically propelled cargo vessel to fly the american flag will nili be placed in service at this port within the next few weeks by the united states shipping board the vessel will fly the house nag fag of the international mercantile jarine company and will be used by that concern in dans atlantic trade the eclipse as hie file alp lias ins bi bien been en chriSt christened eDed will mark the introduction of as a motive power tor for ni merchant erchant ships the use of this power in the past having been con filled to naval vessels the shipping board Is already so confident of the success of the eclipse that construction of several other freighters similarly po powered ered has been started arted Bt the eclipse Is of fload H eight tons 4 10 feet long and OG feet beam her electrical propulsion sion machinery was built by the general electric company at schenectady and installed by the vulcan iton iron works of jersey city drining a ship by electricity means ac revolving the propeller shaft from a motor to supply the power to turn I 1 his motor a generator must be operated somewhere else in tile the vessel just cs as generators in ili power houses bouses make current for street railways on oil board ship nhip these generators may be drivon driven by an economical steam turbine or by ta ii diesel engine cost of operation cut in hall half the records of the electrically driven now new mexico of the united tilted T J states navy shaw that oil consumption Is lo lowered ered about one third by the lie use of electricity is as motive power and the cost of operation Is 19 cut in halt half principally as a result of the reduced number of men necessary in engine room crews itis it as not only possible for an officer to operate on an electric e ship with small levers from the bridge but if need be virtually the hie entire engine room roola mechanism can be handled by one man mail among the lie many advantages attached to electricity lis as sea power are the added hull bult space jor for pargo argo and the greatly reduced fuel c consumption on the first application of the electric id drive rive principle was made on a vessel resembling closely the merchant ship although the first really successful craft er aft to use this power was the naval collier jupiter launched in 1012 it jaba fj alila sap ehla that proved conclusively that eliat electricity could be used successfully in seagoing vessels when admiral W S benson was chief of naval operations lie he encouraged the adoption of tile the electric drive for naval vessels after lie had retired from the navy and was appointed to his present position as chairman of tile lie shipping board ills his interest was enlisted again in tile the electric drive as the roost most economical method of operating merchant vessels ies sels economical says benson the admiral Is the lie first chairman of the shipping board to come out in favor of lin an electrically operated merchant fleet 1 I nin am convinced lie said of the possibilities of electricity in our merchant marine we have demonstrated on our bat 1 that the electric drive dri V e Is move more economical linn lhnn tile lie ordinary drive we ave must save every gallon of fuel oil that we ave possibly can and when uben I 1 say coal I 1 say it with a good deal of regret because our competitors will contend that we must go back to coal burning that we cannot get oil in all parts of the lie world or that it t por pay or something like that if we ave ener ii or give up fuel oil unless we can let gt something better we might 1 as 13 well to take ice to tile the woods tin and cut timber for our fuel we cant compete with foreign competitors on oil any other than an oll oil fuel basis |