Evening star., 1898-03-25

teen feet, and can go into Port Royal,
Charleston, Savannah, Fernandina Mobile
New Orleans and Galveston day or night
the year round, and, of course, into any Of
our northern harbors. This might be n
valuable feature If our ships should be se-
riouSty damaged In action, or be storm
driven, or in need of coal or repairs Such
ships. if we had enough of them could be
regularly stationed in any of our ports
and be available -at any moment for de-
fensive purposes.
What is the matter with the monitor?
The two-turreted monitor is fighting ship
pur ct simple, stripped to the waist, and
has no solar plexus. She does not require
man of caSt-steel to get out Of her all
she is capable of. Her main deck is only
twelve to sixteen inches above water, pre-
senting an armored target that high and
about go feet long. On top Of this are
two low turrets, containing each two heavy
rifles. On top of them is light super
struction, in which are a few light guns
for repellihg boarders, torpedo eboats, etc.
With equal guns she can whip any battle
ship af1oat.
The turrets are not piled up together
amidships. but are placed 100 feet or SO
apart The target is, therefore, divided.
not doubled. The turrets are placed
that the four guns can be fired ahead or
astern as well as in any other direction.
The weight of her .turrets and ornaments
is distributed, not concentrated, and it is
practicable to make the structure strong
enough to sustain the weight of her arma-
ment, the strain OF rolling and pitching In
heavy seas and the shock of battle.
"Such a craft, taking position in shoal
water, cannot be followed by battle ships,
because they draw too much. She could
not be rammed by them, nor torpedoed, if
provided with proper netting. The double
turreted monitor is never out of date SO
of arms. heavier guns are desirable, der
rick can lift out the old ones and put in the
new. This contingency should be consid-
cred in designing new monitors
Remarkable senworthiness.
"It is popularity supposed that the moni-
tor is not adapted to sea-going or sea
fighting. This is a mistake in both partic-
ulars The writer has served in gunboats
and frigates, screws, side-wheelers and
sailing ships and about eighteen months in
monitors. The doubie-turreted monitor
Miantonomoh, in which l made cruise to
Europe in 1867, was the best sea boat of
the entire assortment and the best gun
platform l ever saw afoat. Some time dur
ing that year she went out of the port of
Toulon, France, into a stiff levanter with
short and nasty seas. For hours the moni-
tor dipped up solid water six to eight feet
deep on her bows and, riding easily, tossed
most of it overheard before it reached the
forward turret Her rolling and pitching
was easy and moderate. and her guns could
have been used continuously, without diff
Guilty. in any direction. During the day We
happened to pass squadron of French
ironclads going in .the opposite direction.
They were rolling deeply and violently
had lost some of their boats, and we were
informed later that they had lost some of
their men. washed overheard. Effective
use of guns under such conditions is usual
ly difficult, but we would not have wasted
a shot a.
1--WE have five or six battle ships in COM
mission and five under construction. Are
they not enough of that kind of ships? A
monitor costs 81 .JOOOO0, fully equipped and
h,,ilI
costs nearly 5000 900. lis three years in
construction, and out of date, when COM
pleted. s7 f'''i - -
with thirty double ie-turreted monitors on
the Atlantic and gulf coasts and ten on
the Pacific, properlyrsupported by torpedo
boats, well-fortifed seaports and millions
of good men on the inside line, We can defy
the world"