months has been below the aver and more particularly has the ac number of new vessels been less in recent years. The transatla fleet, however, has attracted m attention by the immense size of new vessels contracted for in service by certain lines. The p larity of the largest and fastest sels of this type now in operati the turbine Cunarders, Mauret and Lusitania-has resulted in Hamburg-American line underta the construction of a steamer 90 longer than these vessels, also pelled by turbines. The White line has already launched the O pic of still greater length, havi combination of reciprocating eng and turbines. Announcement is made that the Cunard line has sponded by ordering a turbine v larger than the Olympic. A summary of the principal cha teristics of these notable vessels lows: Knots S is to be expected in the near fu The universal use of turbine these transatlantic giants prove yond doubt the success of their plication to this type of vessel. A novel development in vessel struction is the contract lately p by the Hamburg-American line two cargo vessels, approximately feet in length, which are to be pelled by internal combustion eng using heavy oil as fuel, and ha about 3,000 horse power in each These vessels mark a departur Engineering. No question has ceived more attention in the med ical world of late than the typ engines used for vessel propul The development of the reciproca steam engine has reached a where no radical change or imp ment seems probable, and int has centered chiefly in the inves tion of turbine engines, and of combinations of reciprocating engines and turbines, and also engines of the internal combustion type, using heavy oils, of which the gasoline engine was the forerunner, as well as the application of gas producer to marine propulsion. The practically universal adoption of the turbine engine for naval vessels of high power by all countries, and for the largest and speediest transatlantic liners, after an exhaustive study of the merits and demerits of this engine as compared with the reciprocating type, is proof that in special cases of this sort the turbine has decided advantages. Its adoption as a propelling agent for all steam vessels is, however, not much nearer than it was twelve months ago. Two main difficulties are charged to the turbines, namely, loss of economy at low powers, and loss of efficiency, particularly in heavy seas, with the small diameter of propellers resulting from the high rate of revolutions. The propeller question will probably not be successfully solved without the introduction of a speed-reduction gearing between the turbine and propeller. In this country elaborate experimental work is being carried on in this direction with wheel gearing, while hydraulic and electric methods also are being investigated. In England a freighter fitted with speed-reduction gear is said to be in successful operation. turbines, such as are to be installed in the Olympic, having in mind the greater relative economy of the first type in the higher, and of the second type in the lower stages of expansion, have been carefully investigated. In boiler construction may be noted the increased leaning toward boilers of the water-tube type, even in the largest vessels, whenever quick raising of steam, and economy of weight and space become of considerable importance. For all general purposes the Scotch boiler retains its popularity as a steam producer. Various mechanical stokers as well as SOcalled smokeless combustion systems of firing, have been tried with more or less success; progress has certainly been made in this direction. The use of oil in place of coal as fuel has been largely increased, and is practically universal in extremely high-powered vessels of torpedo-boat and destroyer type. The only real disadvantage of this system of firing, outside of the added risk of fire and possible present difficulty of finding fuel stations when required, is the difficulty of avoiding the production of heavy black smoke when getting up steam. When under way with blowers running, no smoke at all is seen; and its presence at other times is probably a fault the remedy for which is not far away. Great progress has been made in the design and manufacture of internal explosion engines using heavy oil as fuel, this being the logical development of the gasoline engine of larger sizes, the latter having been found a constant source of trouble when even as much as 50 horse power per cylinder is desired. With the heavy oil engine no such difficulty is experienced, and six-cylinder engines of 1,500 horse power are being installed in German cargo carriers today. The problem of increasing the range of economical operation has naturally received special attention; various arrangements of turbines of different stages on the several shafts and alterations in piping methods have been tried; the installation of a special cruising turbine with special reference to low-powered cruising has been tried, but seems to be condemned on account of its complexity and the possible results on the machinery when so operated. The greatest advance in economy is probably due to the fact that the various makes of turbines are more and more Due to the introduction of high-speed nearly approaching each other in cer- steel, there have been more changes in tain features, particularly in the machine-tool design in the past few partial admission of steam. Combi- years than in the preceding twenty. nations of reciprocating engines and | The first result was to greatly increase MACHINE TOOLS AND DESIGN WILLIAM LODGE drive by belt direct to the spind give a smoother finish on the and relieve the work of the vibra and marks of the gearing. Much attention is now being to facilitating the quickness of of tion by locating all levers so a be convenient to the operator providing rapid power traverse heavy carriages, and by elimina belt shifting. There is also a tendency towa design which will not only ab but largely prevent vibration of and machine. More rigid supp are provided for the cutting t Carriages are made much hea with wider and larger slides. A tional bearing surfaces provide e supports in line with the grea stresses, to prevent springing of parts of the machine under se service. Multiple cutting tools are b utilized more and more. Planers quently have four tools cutting one time on different parts of a c ing. Front and back tools are used on the engine lathe for m pieces which formerly were tur much less efficiently with a si tool. An automatic screw mach has four spindles, so that operati are carried on simultaneously on different pieces. Individual Motors.-Drive by dividual motor has been very erally adopted on the more power machine tools. This is more conv ient and more efficient, because machine can be quickly started stopped independently of others, because transmission losses of Speed Changes.-The step cone, for- line shafts are eliminated. In so merly almost always the device for instances-small grinding and drill affording changes of speeds, is rapidly machines for example-the mo becoming obsolete except on light forms an integral part of the r machinery. Changes for both speeds chine, with the armature direc and feeds are now usually secured upon the driving spindle. This id through gearing. With the advent of construction is not possible for m high-speed steel there was a rush to machine tools because of limitatio all geared drives. There is now a of the motor itself and the difficu strong tendency in the other direc- of keeping it in balance; the n tion. Well-known makes of lathes, best thing is to mount the motor radial drilling machines, drill presses, a low base beside the machine, wi and milling machines have gearing the armature shaft direct connect for obtaining the speed changes, but to the driving gears. XXX. RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS H. K. CARROLL THE WORLD MISSIONARY CONFERENCE Interdenominational Mission Organization. Recent years have been marked by a great missionary impulse among the Evangelical Christian bodies of the world, particularly those of the United States and Canada. All of the latter, excepting only a few very small denominations, have missions in various foreign countries, which they conduct independently, or in some instances through kindred organizations. Gradually there has been growing among foreign missionaries and foreign missionary societies a deeper fraternal feeling leading to comity between missions in the same territory; also to coöperation in educational, publication, medical, and other lines of work, and also to the organic union of certain missions into general native churches. Interdenominational coöperation at home has also been a feature of foreign missionary activity. The boards and societies have an annual conference, meeting in Jan. and considering questions of common interest in the administration of missions. This conference maintains a committee of reference and counsel which acts for all the boards ad interim on questions of common concern, including those arising with governments. There is also an interdenominational organization, known as the Student Volunteer Movement, which works among college students and other young people| with the purpose of leading them to volunteer to go out as missionaries, under the auspices of their respective denominational boards when they are ready for service. Another similar organization, called the Young People's Missionary Movement, endeavors to promote the study of the theory, history, and administration of missions and the character of the countries and of the peoples among whom missions are carried on. Text books are prepared and published for this purpose, and conferences are held for the training of those who are to lead study classes. Laymen's Missionary Movement.In addition to these influential interdenominational organizations is the Laymen's Missionary Movement, both denominational and interdenominational. Its object is to promote more particularly the interest of men in the missionary enterprise, in order that larger and more systematic contributions may be made through the denominational missionary treasuries, and it insists that all Christians are under obligation to support the cause more adequately so that the world may be evangelized in the present generation. Last winter and spring the interdenominational movement held a campaign in seventy-five or more of the leading cities of the country, presenting the opportunities for missionary expansion and urging the men of the churches to increase their missionary offerings. The result was pledged increases by representatives of each of the participating denominations, in those particular cities and neighborhoods, amounting to nearly 100 per cent in many instances. Each church has its own laymen's movement which works in harmony with the plans of the interdenominational organization. This by no means exhausts the list of interdenominational organizations, having the interests of foreign missions at heart. The American Bible Society does the Bible work for all missions, including publication of the Scriptures in the various languages of the fields, and their circulation by the society's own agents. The International Young Men's Christian Association has secretaries and associations in the various countries, doing in them work similar to that which it does here. The Decennial Conference. These several general movements and the rapid growth of interest in the foreign missionary cause, gave particular value to the Decennial Missionary Conference of 1910 for which preparations had been making for two years or more. There had been a general missionary conference in 1900, in New York City, to which the designation Ecumenical was applied. It was a large, imposing and influential body in which many churches, missionary societies, missionaries, native workers, ministers, and laymen participated, and its proceedings and papers fill two large octavo volumes. In response to the invitation of the British and Irish societies it was agreed that the conference of 1910 should be held in Edinburgh. Coöperating committees were constituted in Great Britain, in the United States and Canada, and the continent of Europe, and arrangements were made for the largest missionary conference ever held. It was determined that the conference should be called the World Missionary Conference instead of the Ecumenical Missionary Conference as the gathering of 1900 was designated, as more simple and free from ecclesiastical significance; that it should, unlike the latter, be constituted on a strictly representative basis that the body of its work should be prepared by eight large commissions of missionary experts; and that it should include in its basis of representation and in its program and proceedings those missions only which are conducted among non-Christian peoples. To make its scope more definite the words, "to consider missionary problems in relation to the non-Christian world" were added to the title, "The World Missionary Conference." Therefore, missions among Protestant, Catholics, and Ori ental Christian peoples were strictly excluded from consideration. The basis of representation allowed all foreign missionary societies, denominational or interdenominational, sending missionaries to non-Christian fields and administering funds for their support, to elect delegates to the conference in the proportion of one to every $20,000 of receipts, according to the average of the income of the three preceding years, societies having at least $10,000 income to be entitled to send one delegate and those having from $20,000 to $40,000 two delegates. American Delegates.-Some sixty missionary societies of the United States and Canada were found to be qualified under the rule and all but two or three of these actually sent delegates to Edinburgh. Among them were Adventist, Baptist, Congregational, Disciples of Christ, Evangelical, Friends, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, Reformed, United Brethren Societies, with ten interdenominational boards. The total of delegates from American societies was nearly 500. Delegates from Great Britain and Ireland, from the continent of Europe and from Australasia made a conference of upward of 1,100 duly appointed persons of both sexes and all races, including missionaries and native Christians from all fields. The conference was held in the hall of the United Free General Assembly, beginning June 14 and closing June 23. A feature of wide interest and comment was the comprehensive character of the conference. Bodies recognizing no higher ecclesiastical authority than that which is exercised by the individual church or congregation, as Baptists and Congregationalists, were there; churches with a fully developed hierarchical system, as the Church of England and its branches; denominations holding to the presbyterial polity, established churches and free churches; those with an elaborate ritual and making much of the ordinances and those with no ritual and with no outward observance of the sacraments-all sections of Evangelical Protestantism were there participating cordially in |