The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-24
TARGET PRACTICE AT SEA.
MN. RoosETELT's EXPERIENCE ON
BOARD THE BATTL ESHIP IOWA.
n. Nearest Approach 90 Actual NaVtue war
csre That Cas- Ne Given Tn Tiuse % Peaee-
An Interesting ExhIsitiou Of Hew = Battie-
.,,n Goes Into Actton Against an Rneuny.

ne Nearest Approach &c Actual NaVtue war
o.re That Cas- ne Given Tn Tise % Peaee-
An Interesting EzhIsitiou OF Hew . Batie-
snip Goes Into Action Against an Raeuny.
WARRINGTON, Sept. 23.-The most interest
ting feature Of Assistant Secretary Roosevelt's
recent Inspection OF the North Atlantic Squad
ron was his visit to tho battleship Iowa during
target practice. No vessel Of the United States
q, equal TO the Iowa in size and formidAbility.
she Is larger than the sister ships Indiana, Mas
,schusetts, and Oregon, two Of which were In
the squadron. and greatly outclasses the sec
opd class battleships Maine and Texas. which
were also among the seven vessels under Rear
hImiral Sicard. 1t was because Of her supe-
rtortty over all other American men-of.war that
Mr.. Roosevelt selected the Iowa to furnish an
inhibition for his benefit, as tho Assistant
Secretary Of the Navy. Of how a battleship
roes into action against an enemy. Target
~urnctice "a the nearest approach to actual ma.
rine warfare that can be given in time Of peace.
II lacks only the presence OF an opponent, the
damage from hostile guns, the possibility Of
defeat. the execution among officers and men,
and the intense excitement attending such an
suvaSement. Other conditions are the same.
Some degree OF the excitement may be in.
Guided in the description Of the peaceful method,
. thing Mr.. Roosevelt and the members Of his
party, one OF whom was q SrN reporter, realized
before they had been on the Iowa very long.
4 clear sky, the absence'of wind, and q smooth
sea made the conditions for target practice
ideal. Signals from the flagship New York told
Capt. Sampson Of the Iowa that tho Assistant
Secretary would board his ship as soon as he
had finished luncheon on the despeach boat
Dolphin, and that Mr.. Roosevelt wanted to see
how well the gunners OF the battleship could
nut 4 sancitul enemy out Of service. OF course.
the signals did not say this in so many wig
waSs or daS,symbols. but Capt Sampson un-
derstood that that was what was intended. and
proceeded 10 make Interpretations accordingly.
Two whaleboats were detailed to place the tar
get In position. They were pulled out q dis
ftanes Of 1850 yards from the Iowa with the
barrett In tow. and after turning It adritt pro-
koeded to take their positions. The target and
The two whnleboats marked the three corners Of
. triangle. A straight line between the two
was the Iow1's course. From the
decks Of the battleship the target could be
~Eplainly seen without the aid Of glasses, . nero
speck slowly webbing In the gentle roll OF the
ecn. 1t was ave feet above the water. 1t con.
listed of . wooden framework. on which strips
OF canvas were stretched . diminutive make
shift Of . hostile vessel. and not fairly repre-
renting the ponderous bulk Of . modern armor-
clad.
To make the conditions moro unfair to the
Iowa, her officers and men had not tndulEed In
target practice before The guns had been
fred at her fnal inspection, but not at q roat
ing mark. Few on board were familiar
with disehargins such heavy ordnance. Tar
get rials on the Iowa have been limited &c
what IS known as sub-calihre practice. This
consists in sighting q big gun at q target
several hundred yards away and firing q small
an rife clanped In the centre Of the more for
mitable piece. The rife bullet follows the
aim Of the gunner, and his ability to sight q
big gun is tested by how near the projecttl.
comes to the mark Sub-caibre practice L
valuable, but it has its disadvantage in com
parison with the use Of heavy ordnance. from
the necessity OF shortening the distance be
tween ship and target to suit the carrying
range OF small arms. Therefore the gun crew
OF the Iowa were not thoroughly prepared Il
make a good showing for the benefit OF tn,
representative Of the Navy Department. The,
did make a good showing, however, and Nr
Roosevelt was delighted
The targets had been placed and the deck.
cleared when Mr.. Roosevelt came aboard, &C
comDanied by Commander Bronson, who wa
with the Secretary in an unofficial capacity
Lieut.. Sharp. Mr.. Roosevelt's aide, and other
Of the Assistant Secretary's party. Every
thing liable TO be damaged by conclusion ha,
been moved TO a place OF greater security. Sid
rails were taken down to give free swing TO tn
runs. Hatch combingS were slowed ava,
and the heavy steel battle plates screwed 4
their places. Doors were left ajar. windov
sashes lowered. breakable articles taken cror
insecure shelves. The glass doors OF the cab
net In which the silver service presented t
the ship by the state Of Iowa was kept wer
Unattached and allowed to swing free to tn
ends Of pieces OF Irvine. Small boats on tn
main deck were slowed in the best places OF
tainAble for impedimenta OF their bulk.
In actual battle the Captain OF a ship goes int
the protective coming tower and watches tn
progress:ot.the engagement through narrow:slit
In the steel sides Of his shelter. On the occ1
sion Of Mr.. Roosevelt's visit Capt. Sampso
took position on the bridge with Lieut.. Con
mander Rodgers, the Iova's executive Officer
Capt. Sampson Is always calm and dignlfec
he looked the ideal naval commander as b
stood on the bridge waiting for the practice I
begin Lieut. Commander Rodgers, with
speaking trumpet slung over his shoulders, wa
here, there. and everywhere, giving orders thl
nystifed the visiting laymen-
A terrific ringing Of q gong was the sign,
for a scene Of activity. Officers took their reg,
lar places with ~alacrity. while the bluejackel
and marines scampered to the positions
which Lney mad Deem aShlyneu- Inc GIucel
who had charge of the turrets appeared In worl
ing clothes, canvas jumpers, old trousers, an
caps that had seen better days. Theirs wa
dirty work. and regulation uniforms CO..
money. 1t was close quarters inside the tn
rets. The day was warm, and hardly any a
was stirring. The men who worked the TURF,
gln4-Lhe l2-inCh and s-inch rifies-had lit
room TO move about. Every time a gun wi
fired the men in that particular turret wei
nearly sufrocaCed with smoke and the fumes
powder.
The head surgeon on q war vessel Is know
among officers and men as the bull doctor
The preparations the bull doctor" made a
Gisied The imagination in its tendency towai
the .ceA hat actual hostilties were imminen
Down a. the sick nay he had cots arrange
surgical ia ruments laid out, and oandag'
prepared. The jolly assistant surgeon helDt
to make things more warlike by dressing Il
arm Of 4 sailor who had been injured throug
becoming entansled in an entirely peaceab
anchor chain.
hockey" called out Q young officer to Il
assi,tint, give me some cotton. will yo'
Those damned twelye-inch fellows will split Il
ear
- Dockey-ran a hand down In his trouse
RDcArt and pulled out u wad Of raw cotto
rs Uniform was strsaked with shreds OF q
hnEy -tuf. The members OF Mr.. Roosevelt
Marty war hfa rf-.fun trn