Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/204

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��Popular Science Monthly

��equipments, rammers and turret turning equipments are made the subject of study.

The thirteenth, fourteenth and fif- teenth weeks are devoted to the study of the theory and practice of hghting and interior communication. The sub- jects listed are instruments, circuits and fuses, incandescent and arc Hghts, tele- phones, wires and wiring, wiring appli- ances and fixtures, search lights, signal- ing apparatus, interior communication cables, switchboards, telephone circuits, telephones and fire controls.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth weeks the theory and practice of pri- mary and secondary batteries are studied.

The last two weeks, the eighteenth and nineteenth, are spent in a general review of the entire course, and any points that have been missed by the pu- pils are made clear in their minds.

Radio Telegraphy

For the first six weeks of the course in radio or wireless telegraphy, the study closely parallels the study of mag- netism and electricity, dynamos and mo- tors, alternating currents, batteries, and internal combustions which is pursued in the course just outlined.

From the seventh to the nineteenth weeks, the pupil is constantly practicing at the instrument, becoming efficient at sending and receiving. He also devotes one week each to the following subjects: Condensers, inductances, oscillating cur- rents, primary circuits (transmitting), secondary circuits and closed oscillating circuits, radiating circuits, transmitting sets, receiving apparatus, receiving cir- cuits, Fessenden sets, wireless specialty companies' sets, and Telefunken sets. The nineteenth week is spent in review, as in the other course.

Immediate entrance to these schools is, of course, obtained onh' by those who already have some knowledge of the trade, but every enlisted man who wants to take up a trade of which he may be utterly ignorant at the time of his en- listment has only himself to blame if he does not eventually acquire a chance to obtain this special shore instruction. He has only to state to his superiors on the ship what line he would like to fol- low and provided there are not too

��many already having the same desire at the time on the ship, he will be assigned duties on shipboard which will give him a certain familiarity with the subject. After a year's service, he can make ap- plication for a special course of training at the school, and, if he has shown suffi- cient intelligence and progress in his work on board ship, he is certain to have his request granted.

With such inducements and with a daily school on shipboard where the sub- jects to be found in every public school on shore are taught him as well, it is not surprising that, instead of a lack of men of the type desired, the Navy now finds it a difiicult matter to choose from the host of applicants those best suited for the service. Judges no longer sen- tence ne'er-do-wells to the Navy as a punishment, nor are such men received, and desertions in the last three years have decreased thirty-two per cent.

In this way has the doctrine of sub- ordination of everything to military ef- ficiency been carried to the very begin- ning, and we are certain of efficient crews on board our ships because we have efficient recruits to begin with.

Iron Industry Gains in Germany.

DESPITE the smothering eft'ects that the war has upon industry of all kinds, the production and manufacture of iron implements increased considerably in Germany since the opening of hostilities. During the last year of peace, 1913, the German iron industry mined approxi- mately 35,941,000 tons of domestic iron ore, from which, after exporting 2,613,- 000 tons and importing 14,019,000 tons, a total of 19,300,000 tons of crude iron was smelted. During the month of Au- gust, 1914, when the war started, the output of iron products sank to 18,310 tons daily. During 1915 this daily aver- age has increased to 33,000 tons. A large percentage of the iron being pro- duced in Germany is finding its way into war implements of various sorts.

THE commission form of govern- ment is in eflfect in eighty-one of the two hundred and four cities in this country of over thirty thousand inhabit- ants.

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