New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-23
SAMPSON TALKS OF WAR
THE ADMIRAL'S OPINIONS OF SHIPS,
GUNS AND MEN
FIGHTING VESSELS SHOULD CONTAIN NO
WoOD-UsE FOR THE BIGGEST GUNS
sMOKELEss POWDER NEEDED.

wooD-UsE FOR THE BIGGEST GUNS
sMoKELEss POWDER NEEDED.
fBY TELEGRAPH 70 TIE TRIBuSEl
Roston. Aug. 22-"The Journal tomorrow
yill publish the following:
7. was my fortune to be fellow passenger
,,,., Admiral Sampson this morning on the
pennsylvania Limited from New-York to WASH
,rc,on. | had entered the parlor-car at Jersey
CIV and there were few in the car. AS the
.rol, drew into the station at Newark a great
o,nd OF cheering was heard and 10 those VINO
looked out Of the windows there was visible a
crowd of men and boys yelling Justify much 70
,,e embarrassment OF a slight. mild mannered
man who was trying TO push his way through
% the train. moment later Admiral Sampson
entered the car and. as 1t happened. sank INTO
the seat AT my side
Admiral Sampson was reminded that Admiral
colomb the English naval authority, had said
,ha, this war had taught no lessons In naval
architecture naval strategy
81, he said that" was the comment. he does
M, know what he is talking about. for the war
has taught great many things. For one thing,
il has shown the necessity OF making SHIPS OF
war nreproof 1t won't suffice merely TO make
the woodwork freproof. in my opinion. Tor there
are objections TO the process. and 1t involves I'M
,ooossarv exnense Ships ought TO he built
practically without woodwork at all. and there
,s NO good reason why this cannot be done
After the way in which the woodwork OF the
Spanish ships caught fire. causing the destruc-
ton Of the ships. there can be no question
about the importance Of this change.
The trouble with Colomb may be that he has
ALWAYS been an advocate Of torpedo-boats We
are not likely 20 hear so much about torpedo
boats as we used 10 hear before the war 1t
suggested
Probably not. At the same time. II must
be remembered that torpedo-boets have never
had a really fair test. They have always been
faulty In construction: necessary qualities nave
been sacrificed TO speed. There is no good rea-
son why a torpedo-boat should have a speed or
more than twenty-four or twenty five miles an
hour but il has been thought so important 10
have them speedy that they have been maze
TOO light and in some instances they are httle
better than eggshels. The torpedo-ooat mas
its uses but it ought TO be built according 70
right IDEAS
Il. won't do either TO draw too hasty con-
clusion from the way in which the Gloucester
which was a converted yacht. did UP the Furor
and the Pluton. The Gloucester was hast'y
transferred into torpedo boat destroyer. 1t is
-
How about the big guns? The s-nch and
the rapid-fre guns seem TO have done most OF
the execution both at Manila and at Santiago
and great many people seem TO think the guns
n higher calibre. the 12-inch and the l3-inch'
are NOT Of 80 much account in battle.
THE big guns will always be needed There
IS work which they can do, and which Is out OIL
the question for the smaller caiibres IL nap
pened at Santiago that the S-inch guns and the
rapid- fire guns did great execution hut THIS
was because they could strike the Spanards be
low the belt as 1t That is. the Eight.
ermored portions Of the Spanish ships were ex
posed 10 their FIRE At Manila the Spanish ships
were not heavily armored al all
when il comes TO piercing heavy armor the
hlgh-calbre guns must be brought into action
The armor- piercing capacity OF gun Is almost
exactly proportional TO its calibre For IN
stance an S-inch gun can pierce S-inch arrnor'
a Pinch gun Pinch armor, and so on. Yes
the big guns are needed
Then .here Is the question Of smokeess pow
der. our ships ought TO be supplied with smoke
less powder for several reasons. First and most
important is the great advantage in velocity
With ordinary powder the velocity is something
like 100: with smokeless powder is Is nearer
300 Ships using blast powder are at dis
advantage too, from the fact that when one
gun has been discharged the gun next 10 IL
must wait until the smoke has cleared away
before the target can be sighted. These are
among the reasons why s;nokeess po"uer i
TO be preferred 10 any other.
There were many other things when Aorn'ra
Sampson said. but some Of them IT would n'
hardly proper 10 publish at this Tune. Suiiic'
il 70 remark that nothing could nave ehcecue'
the mastery judgment and the goon 'dst'
which ne showed in every comment ne fnaue
He expressed doubt as TO whe'her II WIu'u y,
feasible 10 raise the Cristobal Colon. He wa
afraid IL was no v TOO late 10 accomplish an!
thing In that direction, and n" oe-cflpeu u,
peculiar position in which the snip lay iiiahl'
IL seemingly impossible 10 hanoie hei' d.1"ouS
She was practically uninjured by our fire. he
commented on the excellent physical CONDITION
OF the men aboard the fleet. and the astoIishii,'
exemption from disease as well as wounds. II
had lust been informed that out OF Twelve thou
sand men on the fleet there had beeh ohi'
twenty casualties throughout the war.
"Rut" he remarked simply, we know no" u
take care OF our men IN the Navy. You see W.
are always on war roofing mat ls' 70 ', va.
We handle ourselves In time or peace WIN a.
much exactness and discipline as In time 0
var our target practice In time OF peace !
carried out with much care and precision a
IL we had the enemy constantly IN slsht anu ;
on In the same way we are SO accus'oiheu y
the distribution OF supplies and the care or IN
sick from long training in peace tndt WheN "d
comes we are ready for anything. The men Oh
some OF the ships In the fleet had been for FL
months without going ashore until they reache
New-York Saturday, and they nave borne "
under the strain OF mOnotOnous existence o
shinboard and of hot climate wonderful
we'll But after all'-the Admiral was steppln
off the train at Washington as ne came 10 TN
point Of his ,alk-'I don't know that the hea
was any worse than this.
TRYING FOR SECOND LIEUTENANCIES.