The Portland daily press., 1892-01-23

Do uOIlS, GlIiIA w llCl0 UllC Qc4hfNfsO NeoAA ~
done the shot can't get in. 4he great
guns are protected by enormous turrets
in the Monterey and Miantononlah. and
by heavy barbettes or hoods Of arlnor III
she other ships. The magazine is away
down in the hold of the ship, SO far be-
low the water line that shot could
scarcely reach it, and the wall through
which the oblong projectiles and powder
bags-with powder like lump sugar
are hoisted TO the breech III the gun Ii
armor protected.
There is protection in the speed also.
Ten years ago speed OF twelve knots
was considered very fast. Now we
build for nineteen or twenty and get IL
in squirt. with ability to maintain SIX
teen or seventeen knots hours at time.
In the Baltimore. San Francisco and
Philadelphia we have three Of the fast
est cruisers afoat. Speed is protection,
because the unarmored naval vessel IS
expected to be feet enough to run away
from the enemy which she dare not
fight. The battle ships. thick with ar
NOR, terrible in their offensive power,
are not built for speed, being expected
to cope with anything that comes along.
Such are the Miantonomah and Monte
rey. the former just put into commits
sion at New York and the latter now
ready to receive her great guns, whose
transportation by rail across the CONT
nent recently attracted much attention.
These fighting ships are only one-half as
speedy as the armored cruisers.
There is safety in the twin screws, for
they enable the vessel to be unanswered
SO much more easily. Even the COM
manding officer is protected. No Far
ragut in the rigging, trumpet in hand.
shouting through the darkness, Oh
the torpedoes-go ahead!' in modern
naval warfare. By looking carefully at
the models you will see 1.-THE bridge"
which is the elevated platform well for
ward on which the captain stands to
give his orders by word of mouth or by
manipulation of the many signal levers
by his hand Underneath is a sort of
blockhouse with walls of solid metal
fifteen to twenty inches thick, and run
ming horizontally around it small open
ing much like a crack 1t is into this
steel wall, called the coming tower"
that the commanding officer goes in an
engagement Here are more levers and
signals. and here, almost as safe as if in
his favorits nook in the army and navy
clubhouse in Washington, he may look
through the crack, see what is going on
and give his orders accordingly.
Everything appears to be protected,
say. except the boats. There are many OF
them-yawls,. pinnaces, lifeboats, gigs,
even steam launches-but all are hung
above the deck. fair marks for the
enemy's big guns and his innumerable
rapid fire Hotchkisses and Gatlings.
"Would not these boats be shot to
pieces in a severe engagement? | asked
a naval expert.
Certainly; we expect that. But there
is no way of protecting them"
Then. how could you escape in case of
disaster to the ship?'
1--WE couldn't. We'd have to go down
with the ship
So it appears modern ingenuity has
protected everything but the human
part Of the machine. which, after all, is
the cheapest part of it.
Do these great fighting machines cost
much money? For an answer look at
few figures: The San Francisco, now on
her way to CHILEAN waters, cost little
more than So. 900. 000-construction, arm
ament and equipment. She is the most
costly of our new vessels now in COM
mission. The Philadelphia, Baltimore
and Newark each cost about 81, 800, 900,
complete. The Atlanta and Boston cost
S1,00O,000 apiece and the Yorktown
500. 600. These are very small figures
compared to the cost Of some of the
ships which we are now building. The
most costly vessel now on the stocks i'll
this country is the Oregon, which is to
be monster floating fortress of 10000
tons, with 2,700 tons of armor plate pro-
tecting her hull, and to cost, complete,
the enormous sum of S.. 1905 Her
two sister ships. of the same size, arma-
ment and arlnor Throughout, will each
cost about $4,000 less, owing to diff
ference in the contracts.
ITO HULL VA 0iO ull5AUy CIO5Oh 40 w
cost more than $2,500,000. her en-
gines will take $738,000 more, the
armor for her hull 100000, the ar
NOR for protection of her guns $780,,
900, her guns $7S5,000 and her equip
ment $101. 000 These figures show
that building these mammoth modern
men-of-wa is luxury which only the
richest of nations can afford to Indulge
in on large scale. Secretary Tracy
tells me the United States now has under
way warships which will cost to COM
plete, arm and equip $55,000,OO0. Great
fleets come high, but the United States
must have them.
1t is gratifying to know that we are
building all of our new ships at home.
The plans of all but three or four were
made in this country too. Another in
spring fact is that the United States is
now turning out armor faster than the
factories of Europe could do it, and that
it is the best armor in the world-a
metal which acts as sort of snowbank,
and takes the projectiles hurled at it
with Titanlike force and smothers them
without .7,o cyiY,o Or snrio11S ioiI1rv To If