The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-05-24


name for it, goes into action with decks
cleared for battle and guns manned 1or
the impending contest of skill ana courage
and strength; with her sailors stripped 10
the waist, ready and waiting grimly ana
silently for the signal that will preclpltate
death and carnage; her fate, and the rate
of all those on board of her, Will be- In
greater measure perhaps than ever pe1ore
in the evolution of naval warfare, the care
and responsibility of one man.
More than ever before, perhaps, IN all
the time that has interviewed since that
remote day when men first took to the
sea in ships, will the ability or the man
in command count for failure or SUCCESS ift1a
More than ever before will the demand TOT
GOODNESS and judgment be p arfanl9 + IEI
that which the heat of battle VIII tn dnI
ana ana SEND sem SuTg5Phg md actton of him who
With the Change in ships, their develop
ment and modernizing from the pictur-
esque type of the famous old WOODEN
three-decker to the steel clad ship OF the
changed of necessity. me PREPARATION
who sail or command them has altered,
too, with the conditions. The sailor OF To-
day has much more to master IN the way
of learning and science than had his
sturdy predecessor in the ships or halt a
century ago; the complicated machinery
with their intricate mechanism, the dead
ly torpedoes, the tremendous power OF
high explosives and the handling and use
of all these demand a preparation on the
part of the officers Cnd men alike, the
lack of which in time of actual war no
amount of courage could replace OF atone
The days of the cutlass and boarding
pike are gone forever from the annals or
have rendered our forefathers' manner of
fighting obsolete. 1t will never again be
gun NIUE nrH The Captain viii no longer
lead his men sword in hand over the enc enc
my's side. His sword might Just as well
be glued fast in its Scabbard, for any use
beyond the purely ceremonial one, that IL
is ever likely to be to him, in time OF war;
at least for the spectacular has departed
almost entirely from his calling. Nor
will he climb into the shroudS, TO pet
ter observe the movements of the enemy.
The shrouds have gone with the masts and
has become a modern thing an invention
if you like. and he will be doing his fight
in part at least, by telephone. He will
stand in the coming tower of his ship
with his lips to a speaking tube, or 1t
may be with his finger resting on one of
the rows of brass-topped push buttons
30 direct the fight. But these ingenious
aids. push buttons, speaking tubes and
bilitles, not lessened them. 1t is true he
is more master of the situation than ever
ter. his care has broadened with the
means to meet that care.
A touch of the finger and the electric
bells will communicate his commands to
the gunners, or give the order for some
necessary maneuver of the ship to gain an
advantage in position or diminishing of
her speed.
From the coming tower will come the
order that viii fire the first shot or send
forth the first torpedo against the foe.
breaks with its pent-up thunder to ring |
forth across the water, from his narrow |
cage, Its rim of steel perhaps 10 inches |
thick surrounding and sheltering him, he |
will order every movement governing the |
The speaking tubes will put him in con- !
troll of every important position where his
annunciators will send his orders to the |
engine room; A touch on one of the rows |
of brass buttons and he will have com |
and they will be aimed and discharged at |
his pleasure. The delicate nerves OF the |
great lighting machine will center there |
in the brain of the ship. The whole pom
rest, as 1t were, in the hollow of his hand. |
And that hand will need to be a steady |
ment as cool as it IS masterful and quick.
If disastrous mistakes are to be averted. |
For II in moment OF panic OF hesitation, |
or fear the wrong command should be |
sent to the engine room or the wrong
button touched, 1t might mean, and would
most likely mean the loss of the ship /
and those aboard of her.
II was one such fatal mistake as this,
a wrong order. or an order that was mis-
understood, that launched the British
Narsh1p Victoria with her crew of half
a thousand men swirling toward the bot
tom of the deep. If such an accident
was nothing to quicken the pulse or dis
turb the GOODNESS of judgment of the man
chances for similar mistakes and acct
dents be when the ship is the center of
titanic conflict, when her decks are black
with SCOT and smoke. or perhaps shrouded |
thick with escaping steam FROM her Grip
blood: when the great projectiies are
crashing against her side; when the hail
rakes back and forth across her length;
when there is the revibrating thunders of
ting of plates. and the air is thick with |
1ying bolts and rivets; or, perhaps, to add
70 the deadly peril of all, one of her super
heated guns will burst to deal forth
death and destruction to the men serV-
1t will require something more than the
possession of mere courage, or the con-
suffering, to stand cool and collected in
the midst of ALL scanning through a mar
Of sky and sea against which the the heart
OF an angry, seething cloud of low lying
ship of the enemy may be seen. Nor viii viii
there be any particular safety for those in
refuge for fear. Any moment may bring
annihilation to the coming tower and blot
of its occupants. Bullets may stray death
dealing through its portfolios, or a she'll
blow it clear off the deck For while it
s true that good armor plate has been in
inventive skill has been at work to Gre
ate projectile that will pierce the best
IF armor plate. and his labor has not been
The hight Of the Huasear with the AL
ivia in 1897 has only to be recalled to give
some idea OF the danger that threatens |
ne coming tower and it's occupants The
he coming tower of Huascar became her
commanders tomb, for when Commander |
Aguerre entered it. after the fight was | ,
Well on. in search of Admiral Grau he
stumbled over the admirars dead body:
lear the admiral was Lieutenant F'erre |
ms naval aid. also dead. A shell had |
TUCK the tower:-and Aguerre was in COM
nand OF the ship He took his station |
n the lower tower and when a little later
Lieutenant Palacios entered he found
I1i men lying prone dead upon the deck
instead OF two. He had hardly given his
rs order when a bullet from the rifle ,
u marine perched in the enenv's ton
.. 1 him in the head,so that when Lieu