The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-06-03
BETSY AND ALICE.
The Big Guns Are All Right in Spite
of All the Talk.

The Big Guns Are All Right in Spite
of All the Talk.
If there are any foreign warships in the
Pacific who have nothing particular to do
and whose officers believe the stories told
about Big Betsy and Alice, the 12-inch
guns on the monitor Monterey. they
might exercise their crews by making a
strictly business" call on the monitor.
and if they don't find Betsy ready and
willing, then THE CALL reporter will be-
lieve his eyesght is very bad.
When the mammoth gun Big Betsy was
fired on the monitor Monterey on Tuesday
last CALL reporter vas in the turret. He
wore an old cap belonging to one of the
officers aboard ship and long macintosh
coat. uniform not unlike that worn by
the regular naval officers when Oh deck
duty in heavy weather.
The reporter asked nobOdy's permission
to go into the turret and no one outside the
sailor al the ladder knew he was there.
The gun crew was too busy and casual
glance at the officers cap be wore saved
questions and answers.
All reports as to Big Betsy breaking
down her carriage, or bursting the water
pipes connected with her hydraulic ma
chinery. is purest bosb, and all talk about
Big Betsy being disabled is worse than
bosh.
The truth about the whole matter is this
Behind both the 12-inch guns in the for
ward turret of the Monterey there should
be set of hydraulic safety springs, but
owing to the negligence of the Navy De-
partment at Washington the Monterey
went to sea with only one set of safety
springs, and these were fastened TO Big
Betsy's carriage.
The gun was fired, and, as stated by THE
CALL, the machinery worked perfectly.
returning the gun to battery position long
before the shot struck the water.
When 1t was Alice's turn to shoot the
safety springs had to be taken from Big
Betsy's carriage and transferred to the
carriage on which Alice rested. ANY one
with ommon-sense must realize the great
amount of pressure that Is necessarily be-
hind the safety springs that they may Dot
only check the racoil of the huge mass of
steel, but return the gun into position for
again reoading. This power consists of
water, and hence 1t can easily be imag-
iDed that the pipes connecting with the
springs were as full of water as it was
pos sible to get them.
When the safety springs were removed
from behind Big Betsy tie water poured
out or the pipes in torrent and filled the
bottom of the tuIret to a depth of two
feat There was no leak and no break.
Had there been occasion to use Big Betsy
The safety springs would never have been
removed.
Under the conditions as stated the big
gun Alice would have been useless, be-
cause she had no safety springs, but Betsy
could have been fired time and again, so
far as her machinery was concerned, with
out trouble.
Several joints in the pipes were loosened
as precautionary measure, but the leaks
from these pipes could have at any time
been controlled by the turn of wrench.
1t seems more than unjust, both to the
Monterey and her officers. that such state
meuts should be made. While the safety
springs were being ransferred from on g
gun to another both big Pinch guns were
useless, but no one could imagine the Off
GERS on board the Monterey disabling one
gun, that was work ing well, in order to fit
up another gun if the ship was needed in
action.
Some of the statements made recently
are so palpably false and so easily dis
proved that the officers of the Monterey
and the Board Of Inspection in charge of
her on the trial trip feel that their per-
sonal honor and word has been impugued
and Will not allow hammer or wrench to
be used on the gun-carriages until experts
have seen them.
The Monterey Is to-day the most serv-
leeable and by far the most formidable of
all the monitors il the world, and when
completely fitted out with her armament
ana machinery may fear no craft that
floats