Omaha daily bee., 1896-03-05
NAVAL PROGRESS or THE WORLD.
Interesting Facts Set Forth by the
IutctIiuctsrc uurenu.


WASHINGTON. March 4.-The intelligence
bureau Of the Navy department has Just
issued its annual volume OF notes on the
years naval progress, which has come to be
looked forward 20 with great interest not
only by naval officers, but by every person
interested in development. Owing to one of
the restrictions imposed by the last printing
act II has not been possible TO print more
than 900 copies of this valuable work, not
withstanding the fact that this number is
less than the number of naval officers on
the active list who are supposed to be sup
piled with the work in furtherance OF their
technical education. SO it happens that the
department has been obliged to cut on not
orly the press and foreign legations, hereto
fore supplied as a courtesy, but also all OF
the junior officers OF the service. the very
persons who would most benefit by the study
of the volumes.
The leading feature of this number is a
set of preliminary notes on the Japanese
Chinese war, compiled by Lieutenants NJ. M,
Witzel and L. Karmany, who were present
In Chinese waters during the late war, and
thus set out compendiously the principal
events of the conflict from a naval point Of
view, with the intention of following up the
subject and treating II much more literally
and especially in the matter OF comment In
a special issue to appear later on.
A chapter on small arms shows that the
European powers have found a caliber as
small as IL entirely feasible for rifle
and in fact are looking forward to still
smaller calbers. The British authorities
have been making many experiments to de-
termine the penetration of the bullets. into
different substances with view to ascer
tanning the best protection to afford to troops
and the results are all set out in this
chapter
The surprising extent to which electricity
Is now being used on board men-of-war Is
strikingly exhibited in an article contributed
by Lieutenant b. A. Fiske, the inventor of
the range finder, with many illustrations Of
all sorts of instruments of precision and
measurement and convenience.
The boiler of the future, that OF the
tubuous type. is thoroughly discussed and
illustrated and its merits compared with the
present style of boilers, and there is the
usual list of now vessels under construc-
tion by all the naval powers, with descrip-
tions of their novel features. Technically,
however, the chapter of greatest interest to
naval students is that telling of the naval
mareuvers conducted last year by the
powers OF Europe. 1t may surprise the
American public to learn that during the
British maneuvers no less than forty-eight
ships broke down in some more or less i'm
portant portion Of the machinery, requiring
in most cases to be put out of action and
sent to the nearest dock yard for repairs.
Somehow the torpedo boats which did such
great service in the preceding maneuvers
did not come up to expectations this time in
the case of Great Britain but on the con-
trary in the French maneuvers they were
so effective as to lead to the conclusion that
most of the hostile fleet would have been
sunk had the engagement not been sham.
One lesson derived by the British from the
experience was that the maintenance of a
high rate of speed is one of the best safe
guards for a ship while in waters supposed
to be infested with torpedo boats.