The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-08-04

her bones will soon be whlten-
ing at some point far from
hap. hap She has passed ialo history
as one OF the innumerable craft that met
their fate in the terrible storms that
ragged along the coast last winter.
! ! I
"Among the most interestiog exhibits
at the Columbian exposition" SAID
gentleman who has just returled from
prolonged visit 10 the fair, us that IN
front of the government building In
which the work OF n wcll-known Provl-
dence firm il one of the most notable
contributions" The Builders Iron
foundry of Providence made the IL. inch
spring return mortar carriage and the
two 12-inch breech loading rh, mortar.
This carriage is a combination oil an Eng
lish (Esston & Auderson) and n Russian
(Raskazof) invention, its principai Tea
lures being the arrangement or spring
and hydraulic cylinders To take tue re-
coil, the United States patent for which
we control. Several features IN
originated and patented by us.
The carriage CO lsists OF "a lower base ring
upon which an upper base ring and all
the upper portion of the carriage eau be
revolved TO turn tue gun la any
desired direction; the crank-hand
by means of the hand wheels the mortar
may be elevated to be fired between the
angles OF 35 and 65 degrees. Tie diam
sier OF the carriage over the index ring
is 10 feet, 1011 inches, diameter OF upper
base ring IA ieet, weight of largest piece
P7.000 pounds. total weight OF carriage
64.5OO pounds. total weight of mortar
aud carriage l17.0O0 pounds, or 561S tons.
Eighty of these carriages have been or
jerei by the government for coast de-
fence. The nsortars are made with castiron
bodies and two rows of steel hoops. The
hoops were furnished by the Midvale
Steel company, of Nicetown, Pa. The
finishing and assembling is
done by the Providence firm.
The total length of the gun is 129 inches,
diameter outside Of hoops 42ls inches,
weight 14h long tons. or 32,55O pounds
The bore must be between IL and II 0O3
be straight enough to allow
test cylinder 11997 inches diameter and AZ
inches long TO easily slip through its
entire length. Sixty eight grooves are
cut. in rifling. each: $40 inches wide aud
.O7 inches deep, aud these grooves have
in 25 caliber 10 one In 40; he object
being to avoid a too sudden initial
rotation OF the shot when fired.
The steel projectile ordinarily used
weighs $50 pounds. 1t is fired by charge
of eighty pounds of brown prismatic
will penetrate four inches OF steel.
1t has bursting charge of
thirty pounds of fiue powder.
AS mounted on the Easton a. Anderson
carriage the gun can be fired at least
every nve minutes. IL is proposed to
distribute the mortars and mountiugs
along our seaboard in groups OF sixteen,
10 have them shielded from the elemy's
ships by high earth embankmen and to
fire them simultaneously by means OF
electricity.
After all. the weather department has
let us off pr r.ttv easily so far during the
summer. There have been few days, to
be sure, when the necessity of n fur coat and
ear muffs has not been apparent, and on
one or two occasions we have had reason
30 regret that the sun eets down TO busi-
ness so early in the morning; but all things
considered we have little reason to raise
our voices in protest We ars not yet
out OF the woods, however. and the
present month may catch us mapping
and teach us trick or
two. In the meantime, stick
clothing. You may feel pretty
warm when you start out in the morning,
but there is no telling how fnr you may
get before blast Of cold air from the vi
cinity OF Lieutenant Peary mili fill your
sails and capsize your bodily comfort.
BE warned in time. Eternal vigilance is
the price Of comfortable temperature.
I I I
The records of the local savings banks
show that impro vidence Is not as rule
characteristic OF the Rhode Island
cash locked up by men who are
earning less than $3.50 a day and sup.
porting families besides. is really amaz-
lug. At first thought it would seem that
man who can support family
on the modest wa4es that the
all that can be expected, but the savings
banks tell a din, rent Ia e. Tie amounts
deposited are never large; 500 Is often
the limit, less tnau that amount is not
infrequent. The cdvisabjlty or some
kind vi nest egg is taught them by the
inexorable logic or experience-the pos
sibility OF sudden sickne s, financial
crash, q thousand aud one disasters may
occur without a moments warning and
the family that has no haven OF refuge la
The shape OF n bank account
Huds itself most emphatically. thrown
dowD. Brokers say that small deposits
run on for years untouchel. and gradu-
ally accumulatiDg, while large deposits
are much more frequently Withdrawn.
The craze for speculation sooner or later
overtakts man who owns n large bank
account. The small depositor has no in
ary scle les; he holds his de. osits simply
as n elIef measure in case Of a sudden
reversal Of fortune.
I !
The authorship of IN Old Kentucky"
the new pay to be produced in Sept
ember, has been ascribed 10 different
writers. IL is said to be n remarkably
strong play presenting a striking picture
of Kentucky If, during most interest
ing period Of her history. It w hispered
that James Lane Allen, the brilliant
Kentucky writer, is the author, and
that he was aided and abetted by that
other distinguished ksntuckian, Henry
Water-ol. III this be trus, it Is barely
possible that we are at last to have The
great Amer lean play. Al any rate Prov
idence theatregoers will soon have n
chance to judge the piec', for it will be
produced at Il. L. Keith's Op IRA House.
! !
Imagine the condition OF the city IL
our telephone exchange should burn out.
A new species OF mai and woman has
been evolved since the introduction of
this labor-saving device. In the .od