Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1898-07-24
Torpedo Possibilities.
Why They Have Played No Part in the Present War With Spain.


 There is nothing the matter with torpedoes, even though they haven't revolutionized naval warfare" said the torpedo expert in command of one of our most important torpedo stations, though, by the way, thev have caused great fleet of little boats to be built and attached to all the navies, and thus considerably altered the makeup of fleets.
 .'Why haven't torpedoes been heard from?" Now, that's like the question that some idiot asked of a great sci enlist: Why does pail of water weigh less after you put fish in it?' Torpedoes have been heard from. Get your history out and you will find that in our own war, when torpedoes were first used, ships were blown up right and left by torpedoes. Haven't you heard of Cushing? In the Turko- Russian war several ships were sue- cessfuliy torpedoed, and Admiral Ting's ship, the heaviest battleship in the Chinese navy, was blown up in
 
 from Japanese torpedo boat Why do we keep away from Havana harbor and sink ship ill the Santiago nar- rows instead of sailing through them? For the same reason that the French ships did not dare to enter the Ger man harbors while the German army was marching on to Paris-fear of torpedoes. In both the Brazilian and Chilian civil wars powerful ships were sunk by Whitehead torpedoes. What more can you ask? In every war that ships have played part, since tor pedoes were invented, the deadly little gun cotton carriers has done more than it's share of execution. Just think for moment. A battleship costs several millions, and a torpedo boat less than $10oeoo, so that if one in thirty of them destroys a battleship in a war they have done their part well.
 ''In Cuba the Spaniards have no ae- tive torpedoes that is torpedoes which are used by putting them in motion-except those on torpedo boats. It must be admitted that this war has demonstrated that torpedo boats are not particularly useful as such-proxided that the Spaniards are the equals of other nations in manag- ing them. There are number of tor pedo boats along the coast of Cuba, which have had sufficient opportunity to blow up our ships if they were able to. But Spain has shown such deplora- ble inefficieney in all respects wherein she has been tested by this war that we cannot damn torpedo boats just because Spanish sailors don't make good use of them. But there is little doubt that torpedo boat is useless against warship whose gunners know how to shoot, unless it can approach without being seen, and that is a diff cult matter, as our Spanish friends have discovered. In a duel between battleship and a torpedo boat the former has such an immense advan- tage that torpedo boats will never, probably, be sent out directly against them. Every shell from one of the guns of the battleship is as deadly to the torpedo boat as torpedo is to it's enemy. This is one of the things that this war has demonstrated. For, if our ships can hit objects smaller than torpedo boats at a distance of four or five miles, what chance does such boat have of being able to ap- proaeh within half mile of a ship the longest distance at which a tor pedo is effective?
 Spanish torpedo boats might have accomplished something in this war if they had made dashes at our ships, but probably the only result of their daring would be that Spain would have lost some torpedo boats.
 Torpedo boats discharge their weapons from moving platform, and passing through the water renders the torpedo less accurate than can- non. It seems to be impossible to give them range of more than 1000 yards at best. These are enough reasons to limit the use of torpedo boats, but the neat little vessels will probably figure in every stand-up sea fight they have chance to take part in, and, darting out behind a friendly battleship, amid the smoke and excitement of battle, they will, in wars to come, decide the fate of many noble ironclad.
 "Of course, torpedoes sometimes do queer things. One of the most curious actions of a torpedo occurred during the sham fight between German and English warships that took place few years ago. A torpedo went under an opposing ship at which it was dis | charged and struck one of the ships on it's own side that lay beyond. In the Chinese-Japanese war torpedoes cut up some cratic capers, but so did 1 the Chinese off1cers.''
 
 Human Alligator Society. 1 According to the mail news from the 1 west cOast of frica a "hlrnan alli0a-