Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-11-23
MONEY WANTED.
Two Millions and a Hall, 10
Arm our Ships.
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COMMODORE FOLGERS REPORT
The American Navy Compared With
Those Of Other Countries.
POWDER Ann PnOsECrILEs.
a Submarine acknowledgements sf
Armour. CO. a Revolution In
Gunmaking.
COMMODORE FOLGERs REPORT
POWDER AND pnosEoriLrs.

WAsHISGTON, ID. C., Nov 22.-
Commodore FolgeL chief Of the
bureau Of ordnance, In his annual re-.
port 10 the secretary OF the navy,
which is very lengthy one, asks nF-
propriaIions aggregating nearly two
aud n half millions Of dollars for his
bureau. Tho requ,st soems moderate
IN Wow Of the achievements OF the
present year and promises for the
future. The volumlnous report is filled
with interesting details ms TO how the
American navy compares with the
navies OF the foreign nations, and how
native rkill and inventivenese have
placed this country In advance OF all
others In comparatively new las far
rs the United States 10 cUnccrned)
field OF amor construction aud great
gun making.
10 arm tho vessels OF the new navy
SSl guns, varying in calihcr from four
toLhirtsen inches are required, and OF
these ll6 nre atloat. A marked step In
advance has been made IN improv-
ing breach mechanism and L.
inch guns 70 they may DO
worked easily and rapidly by hand.
The bureau Is now building nickel
steel gun on new designs Invented by
William Sellers, which doubtless will
insuguratc tho entire use Of nickel
steal for naval gun construction. IL is
stronger and better than ordinary gun
ettei. and the designs permit this re-
construction " gun whenever the
tube Il worn. When used in guns up
10 six inches In caliber II resulted 80
satisfactorily that IL Is said to be merely
question Of time before the idea will
be applied TO lntger calibers. The
fApid.fre mechanism n applied 10 five
inch guns has enabled Ave shots 10 be
iircd from one gun Ia nine seconds, but
the result Of lilo application OF this
mechanism to iOur.incb guns will bn
followed by results s,iii more remark.
able. for II has been possible TO fire five
shots In fourteen seconds.
Improvements are noted In the quail
ity OF domestic brown powders supplied
during the year and II IL stated that the
bureau has taken steps TO establish the
manufacture OF brown powder on the
Pacific Coast, supplying tho California
Powder company o! Santa Cruz, Cal,
with n testing implement aud guns
and securing for 1t the use Of the Du.
pont formulas. Marked progress has
been made Ia the development OF navy
smokeless powder during the year. IL IL
now made In large quantities; Ia much
safer than other powders, unaffected
by climatic conditions, aud superior In
u marked degree 10 the best European
snokeless powder, tests with high
explosives aud shells filled with this
material nre fired at the high velocity
Of 1000 feet second from Tited guns
and exploded upon water Mt GOO0 yards
range. Experiments with another
American explosive have shown that
common shells filed with this material
can be lited through six one.inch
plates ana burst detonatively at will
beyond them. These experiments are
regarded az settling the discussion with
regard TO the relative merits OF firing
high explosives from air guns or pow
der guns.
The report speaks In terms of praise
OF the development In this country Of
the manufacture OF armor-piercing
projectilcs, and says in u test recently
made at Indian head Of eight.inch
shells, two OF tho celebrated German
Hol,zior, two OF the Carpenter and
two OF the Stirling product, the Car
penter shells were clearly equal to II
not superior to the best Of the HoltzIor
manufacture thus far delivered In this
country. One OF the Stirling projectiles
showed qualities of "a very superior
character. Deliveries OF automobile
by torpedoes have been delayed by the
difficulty experienced Ia securing suit.
able fiashs, but these ut last have been
obtained from domestic steel compa.
MES, and number OF Howell, White.
head and other tJrpedoes are expected
to be presented for testing ut an early
date.
Commodore Folger speaksapproving.
ly OF the submarine boat, now tue sub
ject OF experiments at Chicago. While
iull success has not been attained tho
invention IL promising, and he sug-
gests combination with IL In effective
warfare OF controllsbie floating torpe-
does or u eubm srine gun. Under the
head OF torpedo boats the report makes
a strong recommendation that .petro-
ltum be used for fuel In these. boats In
cfeaslng their effectiveness. Tho re-.
port says the labor troubles at Home.
stead put temporary stop 10 amor
manufactured by the Carnegie com.
pany, but work has again begun, aud
1t is hoped that in short tlmv tho
total nrmor product OF the Carnegie and
Bethlehem companies will reaoh six or
seven hundred tons OF finished plates
per month. Orders for armor TO the
full amount Of both contracts have
been placed, and there being nbout
1000 tons still needed for the ships au.
thorlzed by law tho department ~ pre-
pairing to advertise for bidp tor the
above quantity OF armor nickel steel,
and treated 10y the Harvey process al
the direction OF the denartil3ent.
Touching the development Of armor
In this country the report describes the
Harveyized ten.inch nick 10 steel pintes.
On one oi tbcse five eight.inch Holzer
shells were smashed without injuring
the plates. The tests were more
severe thpn any ever before made. The
Commodore thinks the result OF this
great development OF nrmor will
doubtless be- to check the tendency In
Europe TO abandon guns OF large