Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1878-09-24
.MIsGELLAHE GUS.
Naval improvements.

ject of Capt. Ericsson's invention as follows
Wooden ships of war have had their day
iron ships have been partially replaced by
those clad in steel; and the time has come
for another revolution in naval warfare. If
Ericsson's torpedo boat, which is now com>
p!eted, acts as expected, it viii be tho means
of working this change. For years Europe
| has been building immense iron-cladsi and
the ingenuity Of her inventors has been taxed
to mako the walls Of these floating foatresscs
impcuetrabIc. The vessels resulting are
heavy, clumsy and uuwieldy. As the pro-
jectile force of canon has increased with the
thickenine and Strengthening of armor, the
IRON clads have not by any means attained in
vulnerabIi,y. The principal effect of the
heavy mass of metal under which the vessels
staggcr, seems to be to render them unsea-
worthy and unmanageable. They do not
wait for the shots of the enemy before they
=" down. The laundering of the English
vessel the ill fated Vanguard, and the dis
aster which befel the Grosser Kurfurst arc
! incidents suggestive in this connection
There seems to be tendency now to adopt
i steel clad model, of little weight and great
| speed, carrying few heavy guns But the
| iron clad still holds its own, with vigor.-
The Dandolo, launched not long ago by tho
| Italian government is two. turrete1 vessel
| of this class, Z 500 horse power, TO, $50 tons
and armed with four guns, each weighing 100
tons. And two ships even larger are now in
course of building at Leghorn. As the
| United States has navy which is of any
| consequence under the prescott conditions of
naval warfare, radical change in these con-
ditions which shall make the formidable
navies of the European powers harmless aud
valueless, will Of course be received in this
country with satisfaction. Capt. Ericsson's
invention will, it is believed, effect this rev.
olution. A shnrk>shaped, iron>clad boat only
| 1870 feet in length, which can rush through
the Water at marvellous speed, can sink
itself, when under FIRE, so low in the water
| that no vital part is exposed, and can project
n torpedo, charged with dynamite, through
| the water for the first ESQ feet at the rate of
sixty miles an hour, is the new vessel, the
Destroyer, with which VIC arc to defend our
shores. An engine of peculiar construction,
with capacity equal to 200 horse power
will send the Destroyer alongside of its for
midabe enemy. A compressed air engine
discharges the torpedo with irresistible force
against its hull, and down goes the Dandolo
| or the Inhexible, MS the water rushes into its
broken side. And the process may be res
peated on all the vessels in an invading feet
Meanwhile the smoke. stack of the Destroyer
may have been shattered by the broadsidcs
of the fleet and the ironrframed quarters for
the officers broken into pieces. But the crew
of ten or twelve men are perfectly safe; and
the Destroyer can disport itself among the
vessels of EostiIe navy with impunity.-
| The exploits which tho new ship is expected
to perform remind one of the achievements
of the remarkable submarine vessel which
the fertile Imagination of Jules Verne sent
twenty thousand leagues under the sea. Capt.
| Ericsson believes that one of his vessels in
each important hnrbor will be m effective de-
! fence sgainst foreign invasion. If the De-
stroyer really destToyes. as expected, tho
money which we haven't spent on iron-olads
| and coast Notifications is so much gained.
To ALL EDIroRs OF ALL NEWSPAPERS
| My Dear Gentlemen, You are extremely
| kind, but let entreat you to desist. l am
! so tired Cant you write about something
else besides finance Please do. Woman
| is copious theme, and the weather is always
nea; and handy topic. quite agree with
| both sides of you. Your arguments are alb
| soluteIy unanswerable. There ought to be
no end of greenbacks and also nothing but
| gold. Both are a great deal better than
either. You have convinced me Of this so
! often that l am in state of sublime addle.
! But this is not all. I observe with anguish
| and alarm that the more you write about
finance the less there is of foauce. Let me
/ beg you no: to write any more. IF You do
money will disappear. Soon the surface of
the globe will be covered with able editorials
two feet deep. There will not be dollar on
earth, nor living man, and the epitaph of
the human race will be, ''Died of finance on
the brain without solitary red"
! ] am, dear gentleman, your suffering SER
want, G. WASH. MEEKINs, NJ. D.
All the larger life insurance companies
of the country have signifed their acqui>
esceuce in the California law which makes
policies absolutely nop>forfei.abIe in that
State, and have been re-admitted to do bus
mess there.
In San Francisco there are said be
about 3O2 900 people, but the whole church>
going population. born Catholics and Prot
estants, is ouly $4,000.