The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-26

however. the fighting man Is AT MS pest
at 80 years Of age. at 40 he Is more
conservative. less capable OF exertlo7
and not so much disposed to take risks.
During the civil war the average Amer
lean lunte had a chest girth of
about 35 inches, with an expansion OF
2 $50 inches. The men from Vermont,
Connecticut, Rhode Island. Indiana and
West virginia had a chest expansion
of over 3 inches. The chest expansion
of the average Spanish soldier Is only
. $40 inches. OF course. n dark
haired and dark-eyed S~paniards and
other Latins are notably inferior in size
to the northern peoples of Europe, be-
ing Of a wholly different race and
origin.
The Individual soldier nowadays Is
regarded as a machine. Not much In
t~elligence is required OF him; he Is sim
ply to act in obedience to direction.
Tx a piece of highly complicated me-
chanism. Fuel, in the shape OF food. is
furnished for his consumption. and IN
return he is expected to produce a GER
tain amount of energy for marching.
fighting and SO on. He requires 10
keep him going. according to scientific
estimate, a daily allowance equivalent
to Is ounces of bread, 20 ounces OF meat
and is ounces of vegetables. In addl-
ton he has coffee as a stimulant-
Speaking of fuel, the navy depart
ment expects to use at least 1000. 900
tons of coal during the first year VI
this war, IL ii lasts so long. Last year
the consumption was only l3s.Sls TONS
costing 1856, 900, but the requirements
are different now when every snip IN
the service is at sea Inc hundreds OF
auxiliary cruisers and mosquito craft
are being utilized. The navy has II
pay all sorts of prices for coal-from
$3.50 to SIS a ton. 1t comes at the lat
ter figure in some ports of South
America. At Key West. before the
scrap began. 1t cost the government
$3.50 a ton. Now Uncle Sam pays $3.50
for IL at that point.
The navy department Is now building,
for war purposes, two steel coal piers at
the Dry T~ortugas, ach of them 3l4 feet
long. 1t is also constructing, as rapid
ly as possible, two steel sheds, each or
which will hold 10, 900 tons OF coal. These
sheds are equipped with up-to-date
hosting apparatus, which is able TO
handle the coal in enormous quantities
and with wonderful rapidity. Giant
shovels, holding two tons apiece, dive
down into the holds of coal-laden YES
sells n grab the coal. lifting il out and
then running back on carriages over a
bridge and dropping the stun into the
sheds through matches in the roofs. by
the same means the coal is hoisted out
of the sheds and loaded upon lighters,
which, when filed, are towed by tugs
to the warships. Then one or more
ports are opened like doors i'm the side
of the ship and the blue jackets carry
the stuff on board in bags and baskets.
| Chutes are used as far as practicable
The work is done with amazing rapid
ty, the sailors swarming over the vesse.
like so many bees, until at length the
bunkers are all filled. A deep channe
runs close by the keys on which the
piers and sheds described are building
and dredging is being done, so that oui
men of war will be able to come right
up to the wharfs and taxi their fue
aboard direct. h will save mucf
time and labor.
1t takes a lot Of coal to run a warship
The Oregon loaded 1000 tons into he
bunkers at Rio. What is termed hei
normal supply" is only 400 tons, blu
for a long voyage she gebbles fouI
times that quantity. Travelling at tn
ordinary cruising rate of III knots al
hour, she consumes about IS tons in 2
hours, so that she could keep going a
this speed for 81 days, covering in tina
time 5,544 knots, or G. 39S statute miles
Under forced draft she could go at
speed of nearly II knots. but her fue
consumption would run up to $50 ton
every "a hours, ana neF cOdl Nouiu ON,
last her a little over six days. Ever,
AZ tons of coal she takes aboard sink
her one inch i'm the water. The BIZ
cruiser New York can carry 1890 ton
of coal, and is able to steam at a rat
of I3 knots with an expenditure of 10
tons a day. Going at p knots. she use
more thai three times that much.
The water consumption of a big war
ship is likewise enormous. Not les
than 80 tons, OF 1900 gallons. of this in
dispensable fuid are used by the In
diana every day-two-thirds of tn
quantity for the boilers and the remain
der for drinking, washing, cooking. et'
The cruiser Brooklyn requires abou
the same amount Each fighting YES
sci. when starting from port, carrie
only enough fresh water TO I'LL her boi
ers, for further supplies she depends o
her evaporators. distilling sea waite
Every battleship and cruiser has evaI
orators, and the most important reaso
why special distilling ships are desii
able is that they save the war vess'
the coal that is required to run tn
water-stills. The ships consume n
more water for steaming when goin
fast than when going slow: IL is simpl
that more heat is put into the san
quantity of water by burning more Goa
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