Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1893-06-26
LESSON OF The VICTORIA
Theories of Experts on the
Il Great Disaster.
ADMIRAL eHERARDrs OPINION

S@NS -'AAS 10 ASoNASOus
WASHINGTON, June 26-In the con-
tinued absence of authentic information
as to the exact cause of the Victoria cAtas-
trophe our naval experts are theorizing
and seeking to read the lesson taught by
this great naval disaster. The opinions
vary between defective steering gear and
misunderstood signals
Admiral Gherardi is one of the high ma
val lights who inclines to the belief that
the steering gear failed. He recalls the
fact that in tie course of the voyage of
the vessels of the naval review fleet from
the Pacific to Hampton Roads his flagship
on two occasions was abruptly sie:ntiled,
once by the San Francisco and once by the
Charleston, and informed that the steam
gear apparatus had utterly failed. Had
this happened when the vessels of the feet
were in close formation the results might
have been disastrous collisions. In modern
naval construction every possible precau
ton is taken to ensure the efficacy of the
steering gear, but even then accidents will
happen.
All naval vessels are row handled alto
gether by steam steering gear, as the weight
@and speed of the great craft make italmost
impossible ohandle them quickly by hand.
Still they are fitted with auxiliary hand
steering wheels for use in case of accident
to the steam plant.
Surprise has been expressed in some
quarters at the fact that the vessel was
not saved from sinking by the water tight
Compartments into which she was divided.
But the naval constructors say that too
much dependence has been placed on these
compartments They are unquestionably
of great service, as was striking shown in
he case of the City of Paris when she sue
ceeded in reaching port with both of the
large compartments containing her engines
full of water.
Had the Victoria been struck at either
end she might still haze doatel and in
fact the Camperdown which crashed into
the Victoria undoubtedly owes her own
escape from immediate laundering to the
fact that her ferwar! compartment bulk
head kept the enormous flood of water
which probably poured through her torn
bow from flooding the vessel. Also the
midship bulkheads may be of iEesuimable
service in case of heavy leaks which can be
confined to one compartment. Commo-
dore Farquahar, the hero of the Samoan
wreck, speaking on this point said:
'sYou never hear of a vessel struck
amidships surviving the blow. They are
bound to fill; the shock is so great that
everything substantial that is cut down
is wrenched and torn apart.
The naval constructors have been ex-
amining the plans of the ill -fated ship ana
making some rough measurements based
on the information respecting the collision
that has reached the Department. and they
find that the keen ram of the Camper
down must have entered the hull of the
Victoria just below the protective deck,
crumpling it up; filling the second large
compartment at once, and through the
heavy leaks caused by tearing up the pro-
tective deck also filling the adjoining
compartments.
Chief Constructor Hichborn has made
an interesting calculation to show. in
graphic manner the enormous force of the
blow that the Camperdown dealt upon the
hull of the Victoria. He says:
"The Camperdown has weight of TO-
900 tons and was moving at the rate of
ten knots an hour, or 16 IS feet per sec
ond. This would give an impact of 46, ono
foot tons delivered by the sharp ram of
the Camperdown. That is equivalent to
the blow that would be struck by a rail-
road train consisting of six large Pullman
cars drawn by the heaviest of locomotives,
say one of 100 tons, running at speed of
90 miles per hour"
Naval officers say that compartments
sometimes fail of their purpose because
| the water-tight doors are not closed in
| time to keep out the water from the dam
aged portion. Admiral Gherardi says
| that it is absolutely necessary to keep
| these doors open most of the time owing
/ to the impossibility of securing air to
breathe when they are closed, especially in
l tropical climates. 1t is reported that the
Victoria's sailors were endeavoring to
| close these doors when the ship went
i down This has led TO the suggestion that
/ by electrical or other appliances the doors
II nieyht ho mazda Tn rI0ga ANTON ic9IlV
Il on signal of danger. But there are sal {
/ to be many practical difficulties in the
i way of such device, not the least being
/ the danger of decapitating or crushing the
| sailors who might be caught beneath the
doors when they were snapped together.
One result has been to bring to the from
| numbers of advocates of the ram pure anC
simple as weapon OF offense. On tn
other hand there are those who say tina
the efficiency of the ram may easily be over
| estimated, for actual experience in warfar
has proven that it is exceedingly difficult
and in most cases impossible to ram al
antagonist that is fully aware of the pur
pose of the enemy.
If the Victoria could be raised, perhap
a careful inspection of her injuries nigh
teach a valuable lesson to the builders o
naval vessels, but that is practically i'm
possible owing to the great depth of tn
naval designers do not ses that the Victo
ria's loss il likely to lead to any essentia
change in naval construction and the oul.
In acsult of this terrible lesson will be I
cause change in feet tactics and to lea
commanding officers of vessels to the ever
else of high degree of skill in handlin
their craft.
Judge smith to be Married in LOndor
ELMIRA, N Y, June 26.-The marriag
of Judge Walter Lloyd Smith, of the Su
preme Court Bench, and Miss Jessie Cor
zales, of Elmira, is announced to tax
place in London about the middle OF July
The ceremony will be performed by d.
Wilton Merle Smith, pastor Of the Ger
trail Presbyterian Church, New Yorl
brother of the Judge, who will sail wit
him to England on July 8.
: A Little Girl Shot.
ALExANDR1A, Va, june e8-The Eve
year-old daughter of ]. H. Hines, c
Woodstock, Va, was fatally shot las
night by the sixteen-year-o daughter {
George p Clark, Of this place. Th