The Lamar register., 1898-08-17
WHY DEWEY WON.
Naval Exhibit at om.hs which In a Meas
ure Explains the Peat

ure Explains the Feat
Since the welcome news OF Admiral
Dewey's remarkable victory at Manila
ON the Ist OF May was published
throughout the civilized world, II has
been a matter for wonder everywhere.
not less in the United States than in
Europe. that the American gunners
were able TO destroy Il Spanish squad
ron In n Spanish harbor without the
loss of u single American life. When
history repeated itself at Santiago two
months later the wonder was intensi-
He'd.
In the Government Building at the
Trans Mississippi Exposition is an eN-
hibir which In measure explains the
mystery. This is naval range finder,
the Invention Of United States naval
officer. Up to date no one outside OF
Uncle Sans service has been able to
discover how IL is operated. The in
strument is shown in II glass case with
various other nautical paraphernalia.
and OF course the attendants refuse To
answer questions as TO its method of
working.
In showing the enormous advant-
ages to be derived from the use of this
Instrument one of the naval officers In
charge of the exhibit says:
"It Is a fact that no other navy has
any means of finding the range that
does not involve a mathematical cal
culation. This implies good deal of
time lost, and In most cases they find
IL quicker 10 get the range by actual
experiment The Spaniards, for In
stance, have to fire several shots be-
fore they can get the range Of one of
Uncle Sans ships. If their first shots
fall short they try again and then
they are apt TO overshoot. and by thar
time the position of the vessels may
have been altered and they are still 1T
sea, Meanwhile the officer in the con
ming tower OF the American ship has
located them almost exactly with this
instrument and reported the range by
telephone TO the various gun captains.
This has only consumed few seconds
and while the Spanlards are still try
ing to get their range the shells from
the American guns are sweeping their
decks.
The peculiar thing about the instru-
ment-" continued the officer, ''is that
while it is one of the simplest things
in the world TO anyone who knows its
secret, the most expert mechanic or In
ventor might examine it as long as he
wanted to and still be unable to dis
cover how ii works. This is why rep
resentatives of other navies have been
completely baftied in their efforts TO
find it out. They have range finders
of their own, but none that give the
same instantaneous and accurate re
SUITS. As long as they can be Kept in
the dark we will be able to outshoot
any nation on earth, even If there was
no difference in the skill of the gun
ners."
There is another advantage in the
use of the instrument which amounts
to considerable in the course of half
dozen naval engagements. 1t costs
81 800 to fire pair of 13-inch guns
once. If the Spaniards go into a fight
they must fire at least two shots to Sc
cure the range. Frequently these do
not answer. and they go ON shooting
$3.50 charges in the air, while every
pound of powder that goes into Unit
ed States gun is utilized. The ability
of the American gunners to obtain the
exact position of the enemy before Il
gun is fired saves thousands of dollars
In ammunition in every engagement