St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-08-29
8LUNDER OR DESIGN !?
Changes in the Cruisers
Causes Quite a Stir Among
Naval Officers
From Inclined to Vertica
Armor Plate the Prin-
eipal Change.
One Of the Cramps Discusses
the Alterations in the
Plans,
But He Declined to Give an
Opinion as to Their Eff
feet.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 2S.-A dispatch
from New York, published In this morn
ing's Enquirer, says the changing in
the plans for vessels under construction
caused quite a stir among naval
officers, most of whom were puzzled
how to answer the question whether the
changes made were detrimental to the
efficiency of those vessels, and whether
they were due to blunders in designs or
to the capacity of the contractors to per-
form their work.
The case in question was that of the
cruiser New York, now we'll on its way
to completion at Cramps shipyards.
The changes made are mainly in refer
ence to the arm0r, the intention being
to use vertical faced instead of
the inclined armor plate as originally
called for. Another important change
has been the removal of the fve-inch
ammunition tube of armor which ex
tended from the turret through the
unarmored main deck to the protected
deck. preventing the supply Of ammuni-
ton from being cut off, and protecting
the ammunition and the men handling
it against fragments of shells bursting
on board between the hilt and the
barbette.
Henry w. Cramp. of the ship-bulding
establishment, states that his firm was,
OF course, not responsible for any
changes, but was compelled to obey Or
derS, as they came from the Secre-
tary of the navy. The trouble arose,
he said, from fight in the department
at Washington and as long as the ord
nance bureau directed the construction
of the vessel ii would be difficult to see
where
That Trouble Lie.
The armor. he said, as far as put on,
was mostly according to the original de-
signs, but as soon as the other arrived
1t would be fastened to the vessel with
out delay. unless orders to the contrary
were received in the meantime.
Mr.. Cramp declined to give an opinion
whether the efficiency of the cruiser
would be impaired by the change IF
armor, remarklng that no expert
ments in that line had ever been
made, to his knowledge; and talking
about an hypothetical problem had no
part i'll the navy's work. In response
to the removal of the arnored ammuni-
ton tube, Mr.. Cramp stated that the
work had been changed on orders from
eiiC uCUdl tHlCut DIT w iSillll5 lOu. IL Hdu
requireu quite long time to make the
changes, but as lang as they had not
complained of the loss in adopting the
new plan. no one else should object.
The substitution of wire work for
splinter bulkheads to protect the guns
was regarded by MIR. Cramp as matter
of less Importance, and lie seemed to
think the vessels efficiency would
not be impaired in the least.
The other alterations were disposed of
satisfactorily by Mr.. Camp. but lie said
the most radical move was the
substitution of the verticle-faced
for the inclined armor plate.
and whenever the Carnegies shipped
the armor they were ready to adjust it
without delay. The firm, he continued,
has 10 connection whatever with the
Pittsburg IRON firm. which received
word from Washington when to ship
the armor. The Cramps would not nat
urally lose anything by the decision Of
the ordinance bureau.
Mr.. Cramp would not criticse the
action of any of the government Off
Gals, but insisted that the secretary of
the navy was Tot responsible for the
alterations in the New York.