The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-02-23
THE MODERN WARSHIP
Almost as Dangerous From
Within as From Without.
LESSONS OF THE MAINE DISASTER.

/
Building Battleships-The Horrible Pos
abilities of Modern warfare-Chairman
Boutelle Defends Our Naval Policy.
WASHINGTON Feb. Especial. l-One
result of the disaster to the Maine in Ha-
vana harbor is an increase of the outcry
against constructing great battleships for
| naval purposes. This sentiment Is grow
| ing in congress and 1t may be difficult TO
secure appropriations for any considerable
| number of such vessels In tho future. The |
objection raised to building craft OF this |
| type is that they are too easily destroyed.
| 1t is putting too many eggs in one basket.
Over at Havana great modern lighting
engine which cost this government COM
plete more than $4,000, 900 went to the
bottom in a few hours, carrying with It
$50 precious lives. II a single explosion
will cause such tremendous loss, wreck
ing the whole of ship and weakening
the navy of which it is a part, men are
asking what will be the fate Of battleships
in case of a naval WARP
| Naval experts who are not welded TO
any particular form of construction tell me
that the next big war the world has upon
the sea will develop the most terrific dc
struction of property and life that was ever
witnessed. Huge ships that cost "a, OOO,-
600 to So, 600, 600 each, and which carry
from 500 to 900 men, will go to pieces like
eggshells. There will be "a terrific crash
: ing of steel, deafening explosion OF dyna-
mite, gun cotton and powder, vain cries
for help binding flashes of fire, and then
nothing but few bits of floating wreck
) age to mark where noble ship hoated but
. | short time before.
These great modern fighting craft are
, almost as dangerous from within as from
without. They are vast repositories OF
electricity explosives and chemicals. De-
= spite all precautions taken by their build
. ers and officers despite all the adJuncts
which science can suggest and ingenuity
:, devise. a shot from the gun OF an enemy
NAV explode magazine or the gun cotton
carried for the torpedoes and wreck the
whole vessel. When the next great naval
i engagement comes on, there will be many
such scenes as that hich the panicstrioken
h people of Havana witnessed in their mar
Di Dor few nights ago. Instead OF one snll
It resolved into volcano, floating hell 1oi
the poor sailors caught between her decks
l. there will be a half dozen or perhaps
st score riddled by shell, exploded, burned
k. blackened, charred, turned into oharne
lie houses.
A Foretaste of Modern War.
e. Modern development of the arts OF navn
V. construction, of ordnance, or explosives
of projectiles, has produced ngntihg ma
chimes which are terrible monsters. Luck.
the shin that goes through an engagement
-, with an enemy without having her mag
azines exploded by conclusion. Lucky Tn
sailor boys who escape being blown Z
Oh pieces by their own petards. Literary
ed saw naval experts with whom nav
re. talked, the issue of naval engagemen
ey between ships of equal class Is gong TO :
h largely a matter of luck as to when STU
Ia suffers most from its own explosives. froi
or eruptions within it's own walls OF steel.
Tn the disaster at Havana the America
,is | people have had just slight foretaste
III | what modern naval war is likely TO u
he Instead of a single crew decimated Till p'
~ remnant remains, war Will snow
80 many such calamities. Instead Oh y
IN dead sailors to bury and their iamiiies
~ nrovide for. we shall have thousand
:. Nevertheless there is no fear or war her
In Washington there has not been gre
zee deal of war talk, though, OF course
ny would be impossible for such events
~ those of the last two weeks to fail TO pr
leu duce I'm some mems minds an eagerness
me oet at the enemy and to solve sltuatl'
al which must be productive OF lrrltatioh
'iai long as it continues. Much comfort
taken by we'll informed men In Washih
ton an the fact that this country is rea
-. for war II war comes, that we have fol
G. long time been carefully and systematic'
~ " preparing for it. have already outiln
of An these dispatches to your paper tne y
.aa cautions taken by our government, anu
49, could give many more facts showing I'll
when the dread word Is passed, IL IL e'
NJ Is. the United States will be able TO Jui
~ into tho field ready to deal decisive oio
IN with amazing rapidity.
80 Chairman Boutelie's Opinion.
the As to the objections raised against CO
ma struction of more battleships since
Maine went up in fire and shock, Cha
man Boutelle of the naval commlttee
the house tells me the critics go TOO
ng- While 1t is true that in the event Oh
!. a aster to n naval vessel of first class I!
into the loss will be great, ne Poin's ous
fern ali the nations of the world are build
car more and more such ships, and 1t Is
ieht mnoh to believe that all the world Is n
we're taken. Furthermore, the development
viz commercial shipbuilding Is along
ster same lines, toward larger and larger sn
a,er While merchant ships do not have 10 .
q. the risks of explosives and procedures
roit battleships do, they must incur al
hazards of navigation, of storms, OF
dents TO their machinery and boilers
the TO their shafts and screws. Still the
y at steamship companies go on construct
re- bigger and bigger steamers. ihey
men not afraid to put all their eggs I'D
(. in baskets. -
any. "When men tell me we must stop ou
here inc battlesbips because once In ~ o
set wears ship Of that class blows up,
MIR. Bouteile. 81 reply by saying tha'
must we stop building locomotives bec'
now and then one explodes. we II
90 abandon railways because frequently
and dents occur by derailment or COILS
nges We must stop putting up tall building
losed cause here and there one Is wrecked
given Storm with loss of life. NO, 90 no'
leye the world will abandon battles
because disaster overlook the Maine.
%. C.hors IN hose opipions are also emit