Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-09-02

oAilo III tHiS VIII, anu tIlt l3nuSman
may well imagine that mint running
night and day would be required to
meet the demands for ammunition for
the Yankee fleet. Whitehead tor
pedoes cost $500 each and Howell
torpedoes S2,2OO apiece.
Ammunition for the big guns is put
up separately. Those above 1O-inch
have their powder charge in two or
more sections. This is merely for
convenience of handling, the weight
of that for a l2-inch or 13.inch MAX
ing it almost Objectionable to handle it
in its entirety. The powder grains are
hexagonal prisms, an inch across and
three-quarters of an inch in height,
with quarter-inch axial hole. These
are stacked up side by side, and by
reason of their hexagonal shape fit
closely together, forming a charge, or
section of one. This compact collec-
ton is then tied up securely in silk
or WOODEN bag, either of these soft ma
tcrials being used, for various reasons.
The projectiles on warships, if con-
tanning bursting charge, are stored
in the shell room, or, if without a
bursting charge, in the shot-locker.
With so much powder and shell ly-
ing around waiting for something to
happen" so to speak, it does seem
strange that accidents on warships are
not more frequent. Narrow escapes
are many, however, and seldom the
details of them reach the public ear.
1t is not long since gunner's mate
saved one OF our ships from what
would have been sure destruction.
This is how it happened. Rapid-tir-
ing practice was in progress in the
forward turret. The heavy guns in
the turrets are fired by electricity, the
simple pressing of button doing the
service. The officer in charge of the
turret reached out his hand to press
the button, and Mt the same time the
gunncr's mate made grab at some.
thing on the wall of the turret, and as
the officer pressed the button the
mate was seen to fall like a limp dish.
rag to the floor of the turret. The
gun did not so off. The mate was in
sensible when picked up, and, coming
to, he explained that the breach OF
the block gun had not been locked
and realizing that the officer was
about to press the button he had
quick as flash, grabbed the wires
forming the firing circuit. His action
had destroyed the circuit so far as The
gun was concerned and he had saved
the ship. There was charge OF go
pounds of powder in the gun and a
similar charge lay in the turret pre-
paratory to being served. The pas.
sageway to the powder magazine was
open. Had the gun been fired with
the breech unlocked the brcech block
would have been driven into the
turret, the gases from the burning
powder would have ignited the charge
in the turret, this explosion would
have communicated to the magazine
and the ship with everybody on board
would have gone up like so much
pasteboard. Since this incident the
department has adopted electrical
means to prevent the discharge of any
of the large guns until the breech is
locked. Johnny O'Bricn got a reputa-
ton which he did not deserve for sit
ting on keg of dynamite while smok-
ing his pipe, but there are instances
of greater foolhardiness, and they are
not all confined to the American navy,
either. They sleep on powder and
shell in the Russian navy, they say,
ga fact worth remembering" as Kip
ling would say, and yet the unexpect-
ed has never happened to the cars
sailors.
Speaking of the unexpected, all the
great authorities both here and
abroad, seem to have been notably de-
ficient in their predictions of the en-
counter between the United States
and Spain. National pride made the
majority of the Americans predict that
the starry banner would win, but with
sacrifices of life and property that
were appalling when thought of then,
and yet laughable when considered
with all serious now. Tons of good
paper and oceans of ink were wasted
by these experts in desc riding the
next great battle" For years they
labored in preparing papers to read
before experts like themselves. All in
the same vein and none of them cor
rect, as results up to the present time
have shown. Every schoolboy knows
that not single American ship has
been lost or sunk in this war with
Spain; yet these experts predicted
that they would go down like beef in a
slaughterhouse. Look at this, for in
stance:
The fight had lasted now for nearly
two and Il half hours and the advant-
age was clearly in favor Of the Span
iards. The Texas has been sunk, and
since the torpedo boats of the enemy
had entered into the battle and had
succeeded in sinking the Terror and
the Puritan, the loss of the Pelayo
and Emperador was somewhat equal
lied, and still more so by the mishaps
which had happened to the guns of