The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 7, 1897, Page 27

SE—— THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 18917. 23 Power for California From the Furnaces of Nature Story of the Conception and Execution of the Most Golossal Engineering Scheme of Modern Times--Utilizing the Heat Imprisoned in the Now Dormant Volcanic Rocks of Our Western Goast HE present age is one of gigantic en- terprises. Measures which a few A years ago would have challenged and received the contumely of the incredulous to-day are generally investigated before the seal of approval is affixed. The “im- possible” is stricken from the lexicon and only the “‘improbable’’ remains with very uncertain tenure. The needs of the world nave stimulated genius into the produc- tion of results which had they occurred a Lundred years ago would have condemned their creators to the fate of the witch. We are no longer surprised at what happens. The capital stock of a telephone line to the moon could be successfully floated in sny city were it positively known that there was somebody at the distant end of the line to answer to our “bLello." The great need of most of our large | cities arises from desire to be manufacturing centers; and this i tainable without the pr with which to revolve the wheels of ma- | chinery. Where there is the fortunate | contiguity of abundant and cheap coal | supply the growth of the manfacturing in- | dusiries depends only upon the business sazacity of the citizens; but where coal is | distant and ement costly and T, riai; 1 y piring to manufac- is sadly handicapped. s there is ever presented to the ge- | Q e times the solution in practical | e of the problem of “‘power produc- tion” in such places. To this end natural | gas fields have been pived to distant cen- | ters of application. The enormous force | of falling water pouring over Niagara's cataract has beep harnessed to drive the | mechanism in factories, propel the cars and light the streets in towns and cities very many miles from the source of power. ' ipendous character of the ope deters man in his approach | mmation of his desires. What teenth century was considered is grasp is to-day in his posses- s willing slave, performing for him the labor which by its fruits makes fu and more enjoyable the lives of the m California has not the immense torrent | of Niagara, nor has she, as far as known, e immense reservoirs drogen gases | which have made famous and valuable ‘ he northern regions of New York and yilvania, but she possesses a source | of power beside which the water and the gases of the Eastern natural power-fieids‘ sink into pigmy insignificance. | From the northernmost point of North | ca to the extreme end of Bouth | ca there extends a continuous range | c tains situated close to the western edge of the continents. This entire range volcanic. Along this line, which em- aces the Coast Range of California, may | Le found thousands of moribund craters | anic vents, their salient outlines | 7 hidden by the accumulated debris | solls formed by the operations of | oisture and temperature during long | years. The entire country bordering the | Pacific is composed of igneous rocks, | ts and lavas, eruptedin the past from interior of the earth in molten con- | Professor Whitney, State geolo- | n his magnificent report on *The | ology ot California,” speaking of the | ot springs, the borax deposits and thei st formations of the coast regions, says: | be no diffi in under- | standing the origin of these phenomena | r that they are displayed a line of former intense voleanic y and where now the igneous forces | t entirely dorment. Even on Mount | Shasta the last expiring efforts of this ighty volcano may be traced 1n the | on of sulphurous vapors and steam | 1 going on near the summit.” (Report | ) ¥ reases as we penetrate to the interior of the earth. It is not | fmane to the purpose of this article, aims to record the concep- on of the most colossal engin scheme ever undertaken, to discuss the causes leading to such 1ncrease | of temperature; it is sufficient to say that | it i a fact. In the mines of the gresli tock lode the rate of increase of tem- re has been estimated to be one de- | nheit for every forty-five feet | of descent untila depth of 2000 feet is | reached; and below that, as much as one | degree for every twenty-five feet of aadi- tionel depth below the eurface. Assum- | ing that this regular increase of tempera- ture continues, a simple calculation proves | to us that ata depth of say 7000 or 8000 | feeta temperature of 212 degrees Fahren. heit will be found, one sufficient to boil | water at the earth's surface; and ata| depth of about twenty miles the tempera- | ture, will be high enough to melt cast | iron. In other parts of the world this in- | crease of temperature, as the earth’s crust is penetrated, is found to obtain, though | with less rapid increase than is marked on | the western coast of America. So well es- | shed is this fact that it has been seri- | ¥ proposed by European scientists and | cal engineers to make very deep | Lorings in order that supplies of vrum} THE NEW STEEL | the determination of how many | of much shorter tunneis projected into | in length, or until the temperature sought | placed what might be termed boilers; only water may be obtained for heating pur- | material in nature.JjIt expands to enor- | dockyard and to afford safety for vessels | poses. Arrago and Wolferdin, two emi- nent physicists, suggested this method for the purpose of warming the Jardin aes Plantes in Paris. The lack at that time of proper mechani- | cal appliances deterred the enterprise. Now that such imporiant improvements have been made in carrying borings to | enormous depths the time is at hand when | we may draw upon the supply of subter- | ean heat. The city of Budapest is now extensively supplied with lot water from underground sources. It must be known that this rule of in- creased temperature applies to the earth'’s crust considered as a level coinciding with the surface of the sea. In the vol- cano the subterranean heat is projected | far above the line of sea leve!l. To reach a region of desired high temparaturs in a voleanic region it is not necessary to bore deeply into the bowels of the earth. A horizontal shaft piercing the vent of the volcano above sea level reach the in- candescent materiai in 8 more direct and shorter route thana vertical one. Recog- nizing the great need of adequate heat— | for, after all, heat is the basis of mechani- | cal power, whether it be in the shape of | coal, gas or even water force, it is simply | units of a | “mode of motion” that zre obtainable | that solves the problem of all manufac- turing industries—recognizing this prime fact, the scheme has been had under con- sideration for along time by prominent promoters of industrial enterprises of utilizing, if p be heat imprisoned in the now dormant volcanic rocks of our Western coast. For if it can be made | | available the greatness of the Pacific Coast is mssured. The market for whatever mauufactured products she may create 1s and bas been waiting, and it is an im- mense market and a growing one. To this end, quietly, but systematically, | investigations have been going on by | | thoroughly competent men of well-known engineering and ecientific ability, who have just concluded their labors and made | their report, which iz now in the hands of | the executive committee of a syndicate | formed of Eastern and English capitalists, fully able to deal promptly and compe- | tently with any undertaking involving the expenditure of hundreds of millione. | The report states that at numerous places along the line of volcanic fracture and upheaval, known as the “Coast | Range,” 2 temperature of irom 200 to 300 degrees (Fahrenheit) may be reached by | meens of a horizontal tunnel or drift con- | structed above sea level; the elevation of the cutting or boring above sea level vary- | ing with the locality. As, for instance, the temperature mentioned may be found at the termination of a boring projected into the side of Mount Shasta at an eleva- tion of 8000 feet, while the same tempera- | ture would have to be sought for at lower levels elsewhere. It is not meant by this that molten material or even incan- descence would be found in such cases, bnt that the boring would reach an interior region having the temperature men- tioned. For reasons that will be well understood these borings will be conducted at levels not greatly elevated above sea level. In the case of a huge mountain, as Mount Shasta, the outlet of the fiery material at the time of its ejection was through a central dike or funnel, the enormous amount of matter ejected having in time largely formed the mass of the sides of the mountain. To aitempt to reach the hot interior funne! would, therefore, en- tail the necessity of an extremely long | tunnel. The object to be attained—the | presence of heat—may be had by means lower volcanic formations havin: thinner walis. This latter condition is the one | recommended by the report. | The report is accompanied with elabo- rate geological and physical maps of the | regions inspected, and also by numerous drawings showing in sectional elevation the various localities which are available to the purposes. The practical application of the scheme comprehends the cufting of tunnels of working dimensions into the sides of cer- tain mountains in the Coast Range; the tunnels will vary from one to three miles for is reached. In the tunnels will be placed a system of pipes leading from the mouth of the cutling to its interior end. In the furthest end of the tunnel will be they will contain no water, stmply air. These boilers will be made of cast iron, of peculiar construction, so that any num- ber of them may be connected together, to form one *battery.” A portion of the pipes leading to the “‘boilers” will carry cold air, and another portion convey the heated air from the ‘‘boilers” to the eu- gines. Within the tunnels, removed at suitable distance from the hot end, will be placed hot-air engines, using the ex- pauded hot air in much the same manner as i it were steam. Aur is the most elastic SHIELD THAT GIRDLES THE HULL, ARRESTING TORPEDOES AND SAVING THE SHIP. mous volume under the application of heat, and contracts with cold. The object of locating the engines close to the *boil- ers’ is to make the greatest possible use of | the power of the expanded air. The en- gines will be used to createjelectricity and also compressed air, which will be trans- | mitted to desired points. 1 have briefly outlined the salient points of this gigantic scheme, which to many may sound as if bodily taken from the | romancing of Jules Verne, but it isin fact | a genuine project, planned by shrewd, fa seeing men, investigated and approved by | known practical physicisis and engineers, and backed by very large and cantious capital. Certain details have yet to be | arranged before the matter can be made | public in the sense of incorporating and exploitation. A scheme of such colossal | provortions and involving the investment | ot millions of capital calls for careful | consideration of every feature. Legal | advice is absolutely necessary to provide against future annoyance in the determin. | ation of property rights, and it has been determined by the syndicate to obtain from the Legislature of tie State proper authority 10 carry into execution the Rreat plan. It i understood that a bill, now prepared, will be introduced at the present session of the Legislature, conferring upon the syndicate the necessary rights and authority. When this is done, the pre- liminary borings will be begun. The value THE NEW AND | of Spain’s Chair, would actuaily command | at anchor under tne guns of the fortress. When Gibraltar was taken by the Eng- lish 1s 1704 the greatest range for artillery fire was only about 3000 yards, so that a | fleet under the batteries of Gibraltar was secure against attack from the Spanish coast. It is now pointed out that with a com- paratively small expenditure of money by the Spanish Government batteries con- structed in the bay of Algeciras, upon the ridge of mountains known as the Gueen | Gibraitar at a distance of 9000 yards and would be capable of demolishing the whole length of the fortifications from the Gal- leries to Europa Point. These Spanish batteries would also threaten the entry of ships of war to Moles. This plan would merely involve the mounting of some forty heavy guns of from 4.7-inch to 12-inch caliber and a similar number of howitzers. At the present moment the straiegical points on this part of the Bpanish coast are entirely unfortified, and with Spain’s present embarrassments in Cuba and the Philippines it is not likely, as the ““Broad Arrow’ points out, that the Madrid Gov- ernment will take immediate action in the matter. But that these batteries may be constructed some day or other is far | from improbable, and in view of the great importance to England of Gibraltar as a DOTTED SURFACE SHOWS SECTIONAL EL EVATION OF HEATED /’f;\\\ iy \ \‘(‘ N CRATER CONES OF THE GOAST RANGE G} 2\ upon its combined arsenal and dockyard, the subject is beginning to attract the serious attention of naval and military authorities.—New York Herald. ————— Bees, according to a statistician, must, in order to collect a pound of clover honey, deprive 62,000 clover blossoms of their nectar. To do this, the 62,000 flowers must be visited by an aggregate of 8,750,000 bees; or, 1n other words, to col- lect his pound of honey one bee must make 3,750,000 trips from and to the hive. As bees are known to fly for miles in quest of suitable fields of operation, it is clear that a single ounce of honey represents naval base, and the renewed expenditure millions of miles of travel. INSTRUCTIVE FAD THAT SOCIETY HAS ADOPTED. of the enterprise expressed in dollars is not to be fixed at this day. Itisestimated that the power thus to be derived is a | million times greater than is that de- | veloped by ali of the water falling over the | cataract of Niagara, and will continue to | be available long after that famed water- | fall shall have drained the shallow pool forming the Great Lakes. F. M. Crosg, D.fc. Is Gibraltar Useless ? | An article of exceptional interest—evi- dently written by a Spanish military of- ficer—appears In the current number of the *Memorial de Artilleria,” showing that the extended range of modern artil- lery has completely revolutionized the conditions which have hitherto enablea Gibraltar to protect its own arsenal and New Fad for Society Rea\ding Character in the Eye---The Droop of the Lid or Slope of the Brow Are Unfailing Indications of One's Peculiar TJraits HE latest society fad which promises T to eclipse palmistry, thought-read- #Q ing, pin-tinding and all other im- aginations of the heart and the intellect that have found work for idle brains to do is that of character-reading by the eyes. Tue fact that the eye is *‘the window of the soul” would make it seem probable that by its light we may distinguish the inner mind and possibly make a guess at the interior decoration of the palace of thought. Like other windows, especially those of cathedrals, the eye is of various colors and consequently the views obtained through it are tinged by its hues. A blue eye shows the mind in a different light from that given by a black, hazel or brown one, and a part of the opticist’s art is to differentiate and todecide on the meaning of ke various tints obtained through this wmedium. According to Lavater and others who have made a study of physiognomy the color of the eye is the key to the character. A hazel-eyed woman, we are told, never elopes from her husband, never chats scandal, prefers his comfort to her own, never talks too much or too little, always is an intellectual, agreeable and lovely creature, The gray is the sign of shrewdness and talent. Great thinkers and captains bave it. In women it indicates a better head than heart. Gray eyes are of many varie- ties, There are the sharp, the shrewish, the spiteful, the cold and the wild gray eye, but the fact remains that the y represents the head. There is one variety of gray eye of which every lover should beware, the soft eye with a large pupil that contracts and dilates with a word, a thought ora flash offeeling. An eye that laughs, that sighs almost, that has its sunshine, its twilight, its moonbeams and its storms. "A wonder- ful eye that wins you whether you will or not, and holds you after it hascast you off, no matter whether the face be fair or not. No matter if features are irregular and complexion varying, the eye holds you captive and then laughs at your very chains. Black eyes of course are typical of fire, beroism and firmness, and have a spice of diabolism in their rays that has a potent attraction in women's hearts. And green eyes; it is said of them that they betoken courage, pride and energy, A prominent or full eye indicates great command of langnage and ready and uni- versal observation, Deep-seated eyes, on the contrary, receive more accurate, defi- nite and deeper impressions. Round-eyed persons see much. They live much in the senses, but think less. Narrow-eyed per- sops see less, but think more and feel lower eyelid is believed to e a disposition to extenuate and to justify one's self, to defend conduct by giving cool reasons for it. When this lower lid curves downward and shows the white below the pupil, then, on then, pause and hesitate to trust your wellare to the owner of that eye. If opticists are right 1t is an indication of profound, cal- culating selfishness. John D. Rockefeller bas such an eye in a recent cartoon. Per- baps this proves the truth of th rtion. Eyebrows may be thick or thin, fine or coarse, smooth or bushy, arched or straight, regular or irregular, and each form and quality has its special signifi- cance in reference to temperament and character. Thick, strong eyebrows generally betray s full development of temperament. When also coarse, bushy and irregular we may expect harshness of character. Thin, fine, delicate eyebrows are indicative of a fine-grained organization and an active, if not predominant, temperament, The art of the opticist needs no studio nor cabinet in which to practice. The eyes can be examined in public as well as in private. | S Arrest Torpedoes A Huge Steel Shield Extending From Bow to Stern and From Keel to Water Line, Is the First Effective De- fense for Battle-Ships "‘,ONDO", Feb. 6.—A vast amount of b attention has been attracted recently in admiralty circles to a new device for the protection of big battle-ships below the water line. The new mode of hull defense 1s the idea of Dr. Herbert Jones, a naval con- structor of note, and is designed to act as a torpedo-guard for the vessel below the surface of the sea. It has met with such universal favor among naval architects and marine engineers that the Govern- ment of Great Britain is seriously con- sidering its adoption. The plan of Dr. Jones is simply to place a huge steel shield along the hull of the battle-ship on both sides. It will consist of a number of large plates in juxtaposi- tion, extending from stem to stern, and from the keel to & point justabove the water line. The plates must fit exactly to the model of the hull 8o as not to retard the speed of the vessel when there is no occasion to use them. £ven those who are unfamiliar with naval construction must know that the most vulnerable part of a ship is that of sner hull below the water line. There are located the very vitals of the marine monster—the boilers, engines, magazines and furnaces. On each of these the life, power and movement of the vessel de- pends. One shot, or even 100, or even 1000 shots might pass through the upper paris of a battle-ship without destroying or even seriously disabling her, but let one torpedo pierce the comparatively thin body in the weak spot under the water and the chan:es area thousand to one azainst her remaining afloat long after that. The millions of pounds sterling expended by the great powers of the world on the offensive and defensive merits of guns ver- sus armor has brought them no nearer to a solution as to the superiority in the one case or the other than they were thirty | vears ago, and for many years past theidea of one ship destroying another by stand- ing off and exchanging shots from a dis- tance has been recognized as an absolute impossibility. Lord Armstrong on this point has well stated that these stupendous warships “cannot be made invulnerable,” and that their cost is 8o enormous that no country can have a numerous navy of such ves- sels. While the great naval powers are busily engaged in bringing submarine warfare to a perfect system of attack by means of div- ing torpedo-boats British naval authori- ties agree that England has apparently neglected the means of resisting marine uttack. There are, for instance, torpedo- boats, torpedo - boat catchers and tor- pedo-boat destroyers, and it isan admitted i fact that the so-called catchers are in- ferior in speed to the boats they are sup- posed to catch; and as to the destroyers, their special destructive powers are not very apparent. In e fair aboveboard sea tight between the types mentioned and first and second class battle-shipsit is a question with na- val experts which would destroy or be de- oyed. The greatest danger to battie-ships would be at night when the destroyers, owing to their speed and bandiness might get a torpedo in contact with the enemy’s side, when the battle-ship, devoid of under-water protection, would inevita- bly be destroyed. Hence, declares a lead- ing naval officer, “the term destroyer in its fullest and truest sense is only applica- ble to the modern diving torpedo-boat. As sure as one of these submarine ship-de- stroyers, in & state of suspension at a reg- lated depth below the surface of the water, is navigated to within striking dis- tance of a 15,000-ton battle-ship so surely will the ponderous battle-ship be destroyed immediately on being strack by a missile aimed by her upseen submarine foe. ‘There is no give and take about this what- ever, as the submarine torpedo-boat when deeply immersed is out of reach of is op- ponent, while at the same time it strikes at the most vital and unprotected part of the buil of the monster floating above it.” It is upon this very point that the ma- rine architects and engineers of the world have been puzzling their brains for years. That is, they have taxed their inventive powers to the utmost to devise a form of protection against the scientificadvance of submarine wartare. The only contrivance now in use to protect tie lower portion ot a ship's hull from torpedo attack is a huge netting of wire slung from booms on the side of the ship and supposed to pene- trate far enough beneath the surface of the water to furnish protection for the entire bottom. This apparatus affords protection to some extent when the vessel has hove to, but when she has speed on the net is sure to drag astern and expose a large surface of the hull. Then again torpedoes have been invented for the very purpose of cutting through the netting when it is found as an obstacle. With Dr. Jones’ new device, the torpedo could not reach the hall proper but would explode itself against the preventive hull, as the guard might be termed. That of course would be demolished, but the hull itsel! would be saved from destruction. As previously stated, the shield must fit snugly to the hull. The shield cousists of anumber of wide piates placed side by side and hung by hinges on a long rod running the length of the ship, just above the water line, and extending to the keel. Above each plate is a davit securely ate tached to the ship’s side. A tackle is suspended from each davit, and the lower block hooks into a ring bolt in thelower end of the plate. The falls run into the hull and connect with 8 windlass, so that the guard can be hoisted out by steam. When placed 1n position for defense it must be hauled outboard about twenty feet from the hull. Thus, besides the re- sistance of the shield, a huge cushion of water which has been formed aids in the protection of the ship. Captain 8. Eardley Wilmot, K. N., late chief torpedo expert of the Admiralty, in his report has the following to say on the subject: “The development of the ‘Whitehead’ torpedo, with which now nearly all na- tions are supplied, renders the question of protecting ships against this attack one of the gravest consideration. “The torpedo of to-day travels at the rate of 30 knots an hour and carries 200 pounds of explosive compound directed againat the most vulnerable part of a ship, that of her hull under water. ‘“We have been enabled by the addition of large masses of armor to fairly pro- tect the water lin nd above it against the effects of artillery fire, but cannot ex- tend this to the submerged portion ot her hull as a defense against torpedo attacks. We have therefore been obliged to restrict our endeavors as far as structural ar- rangements are concerned to give ships of war a double bottom, and subdividing them internally into a number of water- tight compartments, thus seeking to diminish the effects of an explosion and restrict the inflow of water at that point. “‘As, however, these arrangements could only give very partial protection at a time when torpedoes carried a compara- tively small charge, it was considered de- sirable to stop them before they could reach the ship and for this purpose the present system of net defense was de- vised. “This consists of wire netting suspended vertically from steel or wooden booms at~ tached to the hull of the ship, from which they project from 25 to 35 feet. The nets hang down to s depth of 20 feet and are connected together in sections so as to then form a continuous crinoline of net~ ting. ‘But should the ship move through the water, the nets are more or less impelled toward the surface according to the speed of the ship. For these reasons naval offi- cers do not consider that nets can be used at sea. “Thus it is evident that if external pro- tection is to be relied upon it must be in a different form, ana Dr, Jones has devised a torpedo-guard which is not only novel, but free from most of the objections in- berent to the net defense. His plan is to have steel shields made to the form of the ship and ordinarily resting against the hull. They are, however, capable of being projected outward when required to a dis- tance of twenty feet from the hull, and this cushion of water, together with the resistance offered by the steel plating, should secure a ship from material injury in the event of & torpedo exploding against the guard. It is obvious that the plate could not be cut through like a net, nor would it be forced out of position by a current or the ship's moving through the water. “An advantage of this system is that all the appliances for working this protection are above the water line and always in position, thus enabling the protection to be put in position at the shortest notice, while it overcomes the difficulty attached to supporting steel booms or rams if pro- jected to a distance of twenty or thirty feet. “This plan now proposed by Dr. Jones is, in my opinion, the best which has been put forward for guarding against the terri- ble effects of locomotive torpedo attack, and looking to the grave issues involved I consider that expenditure would be wisely incurred in giving it a trial.” Many others have signified their ap- proval of Dr. Jones’ torpedo defense for protecting costly warships and the lives of gallant seamen from the appalling dan- gers of torpedo attack, among whom are the highest expert authorities of the United Kingdom. In the front rank of theseis E. J. Reed, K.C.B., weli known as having designed and constructed war- ships forall the naval powers of the world. The sccompanying illustration shows one of Dr. Jones' modes of protection against torpedo atiack., It gives a fore- shortened view taken off the port bow and represents the vessel with the improved torpedo guard expanded to its protective position while the dreaded missile ex- plodes against i Art. Said Life to Art: “Ilove thee best Not when I find in thee My very face and form expressed With dull fidelity; “But when in thee my craving eyes Behold continually The mystery of my memories And wi11long to be.”* CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS, in Century. Germany possesses 24 843 miles of rail ways; France, 21,396; Great Britain and’ Ireland, 19,811; Russia, 17,823; and Aus tria, 15,442,