The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1893-06-30
CARRIED DOWN 400
England's Flagship ofthe Med
iterranern Squadron Sunk
FOUR HUNDRED MEN DROWNED
Cascade Locks---A Female Miser
A Miniature Placer Mine.

A tragedy on the sea without
PARALLEL in navM annals was re-
ported Saturday. The British bat
tie ship Victoria, the flagship of
the Mediterranean squadron, COM
pleted her checkered career by
sinking off Tripoli, after collision
with the Camperdown, q sister
ship of the squadron. The tragedy
resulted in the loss of 400 men, in
cluding the vice-admiral of the
squadron, 1t has not been equaled
in fatal results stree the sinking
of the Royal George, in 1882, when
600 souls. found their shroud in
the oceans waves. fhe account
of the disaster is meager, and the
responsibility for the woful loss of
life has not been fixed. Fifteen
minutes after the Victoria received
the fatal blow the water closed
over her, and the brave hearts
that had prepared to battle with
all the enemies of their country
had ceased to beat, because of the
probable mistake of a friend more
deadly than the design of a foe.
The loss Of this ship, with the at
tending terrible sacrifice of life, is
looked upon as confirming the
opinion of many naval officers
concerning the monster warships
of the present day. Naval engi-
neering, they point out, has not
progressed as rapidly as naval
architecture, and the stupendous
mass of a 10000 ton warship can
not be controlled with the ease a
naval officer generally directs.
Taking it all together the disaster
is regarded by naval people as a
severe lesson to the navies Of the
world.
SPECULATION AS TO THE CAUSE.
An interview was had with Lord
George Hamilton, to ascertain his
views as to the disaster. He said
without doubt the Camperdowns
ram cut away the plating on the
Victoria outside of several of her
transverse. bulkheads. Had this
not been the case the bulkheads
could have been closed and the
water kept in one, or at the most,
two compartments. and the vessel
would still have fioated. An in
terview was also had with the Rt.
Hon. Arthur Bower Forwood, the
well-known ship-owner, who was
formerly secretary to the admir-
atty. Forwood said it was won
der such an accident had not oc-
cured before. The Victoria had a
longitudinal bulkhead running
through her, besides a number run
ming across the ship. She was
divided into compartments on each
side of the longitudinal buIkhead,
without communication between
them. The Camperdown probably
struck the Victoria ripping blow,
opening the plates over several OF
the compartments. The water was
then admitted into number of
compartments on one side Of the
ship, causing her to capsize by the
great weight. The longitudinal
bulkhead is a good thing in way,
Forwood said, but it did not seem
to avoid the disaster. Lord Bras
Sey, for some time secretary of the
admiralty, said that the sinking of
the Victoria supplied a strong argu-
ment against building more big
men-of-war. Tt was evident, he
said, that the Victoria's armor af-
forded her no protection from the
Camperdown's ram. While not
convinced the smaller vessels were
safer than the large ones, he
thought it wiser to distribute the
country's war strength among many
less pretentious men-of-war, rather
than among few monster battle
ships. 1t was poor policy to put
SO many eggs in one basket.