The morning call., 1893-10-22

tory motion of wheel within it, which is
set spinning before the. torpedo leaves the
ship"
How about electricity in the use OF
tUrnedoes ?"
THE Simms-Edison torpedois worked by
electricity. Some of these are stationed
off from the shore and connected by elec
tric wires. They are propelled. steered
and exploded by electricity. The power
comes from machine on shore or oD
ship. We have not found them as eff
cient as the Whitehead torpedo, and it is
with the Whitehead and the Howell that
our best experiments have been made"
"How about the dynamite crulserT
"You refer 10 the Vesuvius. This is a
boat of $50 tons. 1t was finished in 1890,
and it is armed with three dynamite guns.
each OF which is ffty-fye feet long. These
guns throw shells of dynamite weighing
as much as 800 pounds each, and each gun
can be discharged once every two min
utes. The ship has two engines, each of
which has nearly 1000 horsepower, and in
addition to these dynamite guns IL has a
light battery consisting Of three 3-p0und-
ers. 1t has a speed Of twenty-five knots
per bour, and carries between sixty and
seventy men"
''Can you give me some idea of our big
battle-ships. Mr. Secretary"
"We have three battle-ships building Of
the first class, each of which is 10,200 tons
in size, and one ship building which is H.
800 tons. We have also the Texas and the
Maine, which range between $500 to 5000
tons in displacement. The Iowa is L, 300
tons, and is one of the largest vessels in
the world Witt its full coal supply it will
have displacement Of over 1900 tons.
and il is to have a speed of sixteen knots
per hour. In order to give you some idea
of one of these battle ships this vast YES
sci is plated with Harveyed nickel steel.
fourteen inches thick, with a wood backing
twelve inches thick. She has turrets which
are armored with 14-inch plates, and she
will be equipped with four 12-inch guns,
together with number of 6-inch and twen-
ty-eight rapid firing and machine guns.
She will have 1,000l horsepower, and she
will have cost when she is completed i'll
1896 more than S8,000,000. Russia has a
new ship called the Rurik which has
1920 horsepower, while the Indiana and
Massachusetts have each 5000 horsepower
The armOr on these two last vessels Is 18
inches thick and they are to cost not more
than $4,000, 600 apiece.
'Are we not spending great deal on the
navy?"
Yes" replied Secretary Herbert. "but
the amount we are spending now is con-
sideraby less in proportion to our popula-
tion than that which we spent just before
the war. | think expenditures ought TO
60 on until we have much better navy.
We ought to have seven or eight more
battle-ships and some torpedo cruisers and
some torpedo boats"
'HOw about the monitors"
They are especially valuable as far as
the strength Of our seacOast is concerned.
We have five of them-the Puritan, Mian-
tOnOmob, Monadnock. Terror and the AM
Nh ~ ebs
armor ranging from nine 10 eleven and
half inches in thickness. They have re-
volving turrets, and each of them has a
speed of over ten knots an hour. They
are so armed that they will be of great
value in the time OF war. They are de-
veloped Cd tile basis Of the old Monitor,
and they are the most powerful ships
of their draught and displacement in the
world. They are peculiarly adapted for
the protection of our Atlantic coast. be-
cause they can be nsvigated in water in-
accessible TO the deep draught ships of
other powers and choose their own posi-
tion."
How about our cruisers?
I'VE are building soma of the best in the
world. Take the New York. 1t is one of
the strongest and swiftest commerce de-
strovers ever made, and any nation with
large commerce ahoat will think twice be-
fore it makes war with us if we have many
such ships. 1t is the same with other
cruisers, and We are fast bringing our
selves into such shape that we can hold
our ewn against any Of the other great
naval powers"
How about speed?"
The modern warsbp is rapidly increas-
Ing its sleed." replied Secretary Herbert.
wv We now go from seventeen to TWENTY-FIVE
miles per hour in naval vessels, and the
time was when twelve knots per hour
was considered fast. In considering
the speed of ship you must remember
that number of things come in question.
The amount of coal to be CARRIED,
the weight of the armor and guns, to-
gether with the amount of ammunition,
form important Items. If the ship is heav-
lily treighted with arm0r it becomes so
loaded that it cannot make the same speed
on the same amount of coal as il its armor
were lighter. These things all have to be
taken into consideration IN the building up
Of these great battle-ships, and the question
of getting out of the way and of long
marches at sea Is quite as important as
that of defense and attack"
How about politics in the navy? Do
they enter into the consideration Of ap-
pointmentS?"
Not SO much as in other departments of
the Government" replied Secretary Her.
bert. Civil service rules govern very
largely In the administration Of the de-
partment and the nayy-yards, and it is no
doubt true that in our navy yards more
skillful and efficient work is done now
than at any period in the past"
FRANK G. CARPENTER.