boilers imperative periodically, and the head of the mechanical department should be held responsible for neglect of the very important work. He, of course, would pass upward the responsibility for accidents.

"Some railroad companies have made contracts with boiler insurance companies to assume the responsibility of keeping their boilers safe. Where that is done everybody interested may rest assured that no boiler is at work with scores of stay bolts broken, which is a very common condition where systematic inspection is neglected. Hiring the services of an insurance company to keep

ing the pursuit of happiness who would be in their graves had the law relating to the compulsory use of safety appliances been permitted to fall into desuetude. The extension of the law to include locomotive boilers would be one of the most humane acts that Congress could possibly put in force.

"There is no rational reason why the boilers of locomotives engaged in interstate commerce should be exempted from government inspection and supervision when boilers of steamers are subject to this form of control. The lives of people traveling on railroads are certainly as valuable as the lives of those who travel

the boilers safe is better than depending upon the overworked foreman boiler maker; but a still better method could easily be arranged to be carried out by powers whose actions would be backed by national authority.

"The United States Government holds supervision of marine boilers, and it is generally conceded that this system of control is right and proper. On the same principle it would be a small extension of government authority to put the boilers of all locomotives engaged in interstate commerce under the control of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Many people supposed, when Congress put power in the hands of the Interstate Commerce Commission, to compel railroad companies to equip their cars with safety appliances, that the law would remain a dead letter; but it was enforced; and many people are alive today enjoy

by water. The practice of requiring marine boilers to be systematically inspected by competent boiler experts has proved one of the best safeguards of human life ever introduced. An explosion of a marine boiler is a remarkably rare occurrence, due directly to proper periodical inspection. Travelers by land ought to enjoy similar immunity from accidents. The same treatment will produce like results."

It is not only railway officials in whom this seeming neglect or ignorance is noticeable. In manufacturing plants the head officials assign about as much importance to the boiler room as they do to their kitchens, and with them a boiler is at par with a cook stove. The explosion at the Swift Packing Company's plant in Chicago was so disastrous in its

effects, and so much was said about it in the newspapers, that many old shells were replaced by new boilers. As the particulars of this explosion are so well known, and as it has passed into history, but little need be said now, except the accompanying illustrations will be of interest. Concerning this and other boiler explosions, Mr. Charles F. Hart said, in an article published in the Chicago Record-Herald:

Lest we forget! It does seem a kind Providence wills that at frequent intervals we shall have a boiler explosion to remind us of our duty to our fellow men. The public can not be interested in tensile strength, ductility, single and double riveting, hydrostatic pressure, etc. What the average mortal wants is some assurance, when located near or passing by a boiler room, that he will not be induced to take an aerial trip with an exploding boiler as the prime mover.

To the initiated a boiler explosion is not a surprise. The surprising feature is that it is not more frequent. One can conceive of no more pathetic struggle than the labors of a board of experts endeavoring to locate the possible cause of a boiler explosion. While they invariably fail to agree, it is usually assumed that low water was the cause. Their verdicts are like that of the country coroner, who, whenever a perplexing case demanded his attention and for lack of a better cause,

concluded the decedent died of heart failure, and no one could deny this fact.

One thing remains certain, and no board of experts can convince to the con

trary, had the boiler been strong enough to withstand the pressure it was subjected to no explosion would have resulted. Then it remains to ascertain if the boiler was subjected to an excess pres

sure.

It is an open question among the brightest minds in the mechanical world today if low water will cause a boiler explosion where one boiler is connected to several others by a large steam header. It is at once apparent that an excess

pressure on the one boiler would be shared equally by all boilers and steam connections. Furthermore, many are yet to be convinced that high water is not more dangerous than low water.

It is a commonly accepted theory if an effect is produced there must be a cause for it. However, it is not always policy to state our opinions too freely. For a few days after a boiler explosion the owner of a steam plant is interested in his boiler room and is very solicitous as to the condition of the boilers. He sends for the engineer and wants to know if the boilers are in good shape and whether anything can be done to make them bet

now and not making money enough to run up a boiler repair bill.

The following was brought to the notice of the writer: An engineer of a pretentious manufacturing plant had been trying for three months to have his employer make some very necessary repairs on his boilers and had begged so hard he was told if he could not run those boilers in their present condition another man would be hired to do it. Saturday evening his employer read of the accident at the stockyards. He sent a messenger to the engineer at his home and made arrangements to put the boilers in firsting down the institution for a month. class shape, even if it necessitated clos

The engineering department of the majority of the business enterprises is an appendix, a necessary evil. The janitor has far more social caste and influence with his employer than the engineer. Why should this be? Lack of knowledge!

Our merchant princes have been through every department of their business, some starting as cash boys and passShould a ing through all departments. Vacancy occur in their establishments, buying, selling, managing, crediting, etc., they could at once fill it. However, in writing their obituary no mention will be made of the fact that they went through the engineering department. A he knows absolutely nothing about. man can not be interested in a subject is too hot and dirty to investigate the visit his engine and boiler room it is inengine room, and when the owner does variably on a fault-finding tour.

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There are in the downtown district of owing to their location, can not be propthe city of Chicago 100 boilers which, The newspapers tell us erly inspected. the exploded boiler was subjected to a cold water pressure of 180 pounds. That implies absolutely nothing. A cold water or hydrostatic test is a relic of the barbaric ages and has been abandoned by the insurance companies for years. is only in vogue where a board of aldermen or other legislative bodies create a boiler inspection ordinance along the muzzling of dogs is made. same lines an ordinance regulating the

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accepted laws, a factor of safety is used, In building a boiler, according to all that is, a boiler built to withstand a pressure of 600 pounds per square inch before bursting is considered safe to operate at 100 pounds per square inch. Ac

cording to our present boiler ordinance a boiler is to be subjected to a hydrostatic pressure 50 per cent. greater than the pressure allowed on the boiler; a boiler to carry 120 pounds of steam per square inch must be tested to a pressure of 180 pounds. Whether this is to try and burst the boiler at 65 per cent. below its calculated bursting pressure is not known, and it is doubtful if it ever will be.

Our boiler inspection department is doing yeoman service, not so much in the inspection of boilers as in their ability to induce the owners to listen to their

engineer's pleadings for boiler repairs and improvements. If the owner is obdurate, a gentle hint to the boiler inspection department usually brings about the desired repairs on an order from the department, but woe to the engineer should his employer get an inkling of this stratagem.

An external and internal examination of a boiler, sounding all seams, sheets, rivets and flues for possible cracks, pitting, corrosion. etc., is the only proper method for boiler inspection. This, however, takes time, and our present inspection department could not thoroughly inspect all the boilers within the city limits

ing board is divorced from the spoils system, and handled under the merit system, nothing startling can be accomplished in raising the standard of the men holding engineers' and water tenders' licenses, as a board whose term of office is limited to two years or their political good behavior, can not be expected to hew too close to the line.

The fireman, under whose direct care 75 per cent. of the boilers in the city are operated, is given practically no consideration. He is supposed to work from twelve to fourteen hours per day and seven days a week, handle from eight to ten tons of coal, clean his fires perhaps

in five years. The force is woefully small. The sooner the force is increased and a new and modern ordinance regulating the operation of steam boilers is created, the nearer we will get to reducing the number of boiler accidents. It is not to be inferred that the recent explosion was due to insufficient inspection. This tragedy will be only too soon a reminiscence, and all the theories on this particular case will not help the unfortunates that were killed at that time.

The daily papers hint at incompetent men in charge of boilers. The city of Chicago has an ordinance for the examination of engineers to take charge of boilers and other steam generating apparatus, and a board of examining engineers is appointed by the mayor to examine applicants and renew licenses. Particular attention is paid to see that the applicant has a thorough knowledge of the different types of boilers, pumps, engines, etc. However, until this examin

twice a day and take care of the resultant ashes and clinkers, receive all the smoke notices and their threats of dismissal if the fireman receives another notice, etc., and all this for a wage totally insufficient to induce intelligent firemen to remain in the boiler room longer than they can absolutely help.

only be accomplished by radical deparIn brief, a decided improvement can tures from present methods. Enlarge the boiler inspection department and assist it with a modern ordinance; raise the standard of engineers and firemen by better inducements and more rigid examination, paying more attention to the boiler room for sure as fate, as our boiler installations get older each year, look for accidents, only to be prevented by eternal vigilance. An indulgent public, after a few horrors similar to the recent explosion, will rise in its might and demand protection. Why wait?