The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-31
FL Cid Dynamite Cruiser.

The Brazilian government seems in
fair way to secure, within few weeks,
some. hing this government has sought in
vain for years a practicable dynamite
cruiser. The splendid new 5OO0-ton
steel steamer I'll Cid, purchased last
week from the Morgan line for the Bra
1iian government. as it is now generally
known, is to be at once fitted out as a
dynamite cruiser; and such cruiser as
will cas- our little Vesuyius into insig-
nifcance
El Cid is 40j feet long, as sharp as a
racer, as powerful to her inches as q tug
boat, and is oae of the fastest steamers Of
her class ever bull on American stocks
She has i've ports on ea5h side. As
merchantmen these por,s were for The
| discharge of freight. In her new capac-
ity of war vessel the muzzles of 3D.
Founders and 55-polnders will project
from them.
But these heavy guns will not consti-
tute FL Gas most terrible armament.
On her forward deck is to be mounted
pneumatic dynamite gun fifty feet long and
of fifteen inches bore-twenty feet longer
buull llldb VI INC ' tSuNluS L ne gun WuS
recently completed at Cold Spring, N Y.
and is at present set up on it's base ready
! for business. 1t was purchased a day or
two after the purchase Of the vessel, and
is to be lifted bodily upon kl Cids deck,
| just forward of the foremost. The nor
NAL charge of this great gun is 800 pounds
| of dynamite or gelatine, and its guaran-
! teed range is three and a half miles. The
guns of the Vesuvius, it will be remem-
| bered, are fixed on their base. They can
| be neither raised nor lowered, nor turned
to the right nor the left. To aim her guns
! the Vesuvius herself must be pointed di-
rectly at the target, and accuracy of fire
| is secured olly with the valves admitting
the air pressure. The gun FL Cid is to
| carry is balanced on a pinion and based
on a pivoted carriage; thus it can be ele-
waited or depressed at will, and can sweep
a circle. In a minute after firing charge
at an armored cruiser three miles away,
FL Cid's gun could drop an exterminator
upon the deck of torpedo boat 1000
yards away.
FL Cid will be able to fight broadside,
heaa-on or running away, with her pneu-
matte gun as well as with her powder
guns, and will thus be one of the most
formidable war vessels afoat In fight
with such a vessel as the armored battle
ship Aquidaban, of Mellos fleet El Cid,
with ner high explosives on board, would
be an easy victim at moderately close
range. But her commander would not
permit her to come within close range.
] ie Nv arptrrrh IN oh l,ya~. .o,,,
distance, aud when she hal chosen it
she would leisurely drop 50J-pound masses
of dynamite about her antagonist until
one landed on his deck, then there would
be no more antagonist. And the world
would then wake up to the fact that a
new era in naval warfare had dawned
Neither the President nor Senator Hill
will be able to vote in the New York
STATE election this fall Each was so
closely tied down at Washington By the
silver fight that he could not get away to
New York toregister. The well known
difference between the President and the
senator with regard to New York politics
has led a wag TO remark that in this
emergency they may form pair for the
election.
The death of Mayor Harrison, of Chi
cago, leaves Gov. Altgeld OF Illinois, the
only democrat of prominence yet spoken
Of TO succeed Senator Cullom. IL is to be
hoped, however, that another and better
man win bc speedily forthcoming. The
country at large would regret exceeding.
ly 90 s'e friend % anarchists in theS Sen
a.e.
70 used 10 bee Canada that got an Of ON
mougycd men VINO came by IL dishonesty
moss BE- Is Central America that is taking