The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-09-24
VALUE OF rHE BArrLKsHrP.


&ot Determined by tue basHe "a
Chinese Vessels Badly Handled.
wasHEssros cIrY, Sept. 23-Fsw OF the
ordnance officers OF the navy are prepared
10 accept the recent engagement between
the japanese and Chinese fleets 81 Tue
Yalu river as demonstration OF the So
periofity Of feet unarmored cruisers
over heavily protected but moderately
speedy battleships- This IS natural, In
view Of the fact that for many years the
officers in this branch OF the service have
devoted their ingenuity TO the develop
msnt of the psssiveiy resistant quality oil
SHIPS, holding that design best which
should carry the heaviest arnor. Thus
they created the battleshir. and now they
stand prepared TO defend her. One Of the
most distinguished ordnance officers, IN
his record OF work accomplished. man
who had much to do with designing the
guns and armor of our modern ships.
speaking upon the subject of the fa'u
fight today. was inclined TO be skeptical
as To the defeat of the Chinese battieships.
Said he:
Eve are still in the dark as to the de-
tails of the battle, but / will venture the
assertion that not one OF the Chinese
Dattleshlps vas seriously injured. and that
their loss was confined TO cruisers or only
partially protected vessels. And even the
hes, OF the Chinese battleships is no, q
brss-ciass vessel. The Chen Iuen IS
seccnd-rate ship, about like the Maine or
Texas. But as IL WAS. there was only one
reason, though that is very good one,
why the battleships did not speedily de-
siroy ali the japanese fleet, and that rea-
son IL the immense superiority OF the
Japanese personnel. TIE japanese them
seiyea fully uuda stand the vafue Qf hat
tieships, ana have made efforts to pur-
chase some. Lately they have been trying
TO buy the Captain Pratt. the new armored
vessel built in Europe tor Chile.
A good deal of nonsenso has been said
and written about the value of high-sfeed
unarmored cruisers. mainly BY the private
builders no can earn the big premiums
paid for speed | would rank excessive
speed about tenth in the list of valuable
quantities for warship. About the only
advantage II offers Is the opportunity to
decline an engagement 1t will not heip
her even 10 run away If she is once in
action. for the difference between fifteen
knots OF hatteship and the twenty
knots of a cruiser Is not enough TO save
the distance. Then, after once coming
within firing distance, she could not
choose her position. for she would have TO
move whenever the heavy ship came In.
When the heavy ship was brought in dur
ing the Crimean war naval warfare was
revolutionized. We have percussion
shells now that we can explode
with certainty almost inside a cruiser
aud tear her TO pieces. But these shells
will not penetrate the armored side of a
baitleship The only projectile that can
do that is the armor piercer, and that,
while partly hollow. is never charged with
explosives. An expert commander on one
OF the battieships can meet at once and de-
stroy half dozen cruisers and come out
of the fight without serious injury, else all
naval opinion is at fault. and the naval
power that seeks to get along without bat
tleships will certainly rue its lack of fore
thought in time OF war"