• The Myers subcommittee of the Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee concluded hearings recently on the bill to increase the capital stock of the Inland Waterways Corp. from $15 million to $31 million. Indications are that little else will be done on the bill during this session. Committee spokesmen say that the bill, which is sponsored by a dozen or so Mississippi and Missouri rivers and Gulf Coast states senators, may be held up pending completion of the much larger investigation of the overall transportation setup — water, rail, motor carrier and air.
• The U.S. Navy is continuing to conduct extensive comparison tests between fixed pitch and controllable pitch propellers in Chesapeake Bay this year. The Navy has not disclosed the final results but has made some preliminary data available. Control of propeller pitch setting from the pilothouse enables the persons operating the vessel to get optimum performance from their engines.
