Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-08-21
CRUISER yEsUvIUs.
HER VALUE HAS BEEN cONcLuslvELY
PROVEN. 81.

Naval Officers VIII" Formerly doubted Now
Her Strongest ALyoca:rs-Iroo of Her
Efficiency Gir"n AT sa~nlingn->h May
Throw Gnncottou at 1iavnnn's Aorro.
Some OF those who have not believed
IN the yallcsf the dynamite cruiser We
suvius as an instrument OF naval war
fare are no." among her stroscst adj
Vocates since her wonderfully effective
work against the defc,,srs OF Santiago.
Admiral Sampson reported that the
ship mad thrown charges of guncotton
ashore with the most satisfactory re-
suits and that her value in operating
against Qualifications has been OF the
highest character. n
For years, ever since the completion
Of the vessel. i'll fact, the navy has been
divided as TO her usefulness in war
time. and until soiEe practical expert
ments could be made it was argued
that it would be foolish TO build more
ships Of her type. She was one of the
early ships completed for the avy II
the fastest in the service for many
years. but she was always regarded as
a failure except by d few officers who
had tested her IN. had the amrlest
confidence that sli- would do every
thing she was ~desisned for.
Her one great dcfect is her inability
to turn RAPIDLY. brt this is owing to
her extreme length and narrow beam.
1t is official, for her to turn in ii radius
Of less Than 400 y"rds, although pro-
vidcd with twin screws. Naval officers
l,t,,. r;.+,.I 500 t.,,t 49, a 49,, Il .r.k
is the fact that her three tubes are
stationary and can De trained only by
the ruddc:. To train them therefore
is sometimes Il difficult matter III heavy
seawuy. Down OF the Cuban coast,
though, the reports show that she has
mad apparently little trouble in hitting
her targets and backing out of range in
short order. Wy.
No opportunity has been afforded
until the present, her advocates say,
to prove the real efficiency Of the ship,
and the trials that have taken place
heretofore were of such Il nature as TO
prove nothing eNcept the accuracy Of
her fire. several years ago an EXTEND
cd series OF trials was conducted OF
Por, Royal and elaborate reports were
alade to the navy department.. and the
conclusion reached was that the Ncsu-
vits vas not OF riuch value To the
navy. Sow all officers are willing to
admit that she is Il wonderfully et-
l.rient boat for certain classes of work
aud that her tubes :ave lone more de-
strictioa Ia the outer harbor Of san
tlacn than Il hOInbaruluen by the en-
tire feet could hav" accomplished In a
day. While it is at expensive process
Of iniiirting destruction, the experts
agree that it. really costs far less than
iii ing many broads:ics or heavy Shells
against tnrtiticatio"s~
liz" tubes of the Vcsuvtus are Of Is
inches ca!iDrc. but She has never yet
fired tile full charge they are capable Of
throwing. Sub-cali!,rc charges of 5, 8,
and l0-inch proj9"tiles. containing
from 200 to 500 pounds of guncotton,
were used i'll the attacks on Santiago's
defenses, and it is not regarded as
probable that higher charges will be
hereafter used by the ship. y
Captain SiSsbee is one of the strong
est believers in the Nesuvius in the
navy mex 10 Observation-Disclosures
Scaion Schroeder, who commanded her
for several years. One of the first
messages sent TO the navy department
af,c. the Maine disaster was a request
that the NesI:vius be at once ordered TO
Havana. If there was to be II trou-
bic with Spain it was thought the We
suv!Es could do more effective work
by tossing several projectiles OF gun
cotton into the city than larger YES
sells could in II bombnrdmcnt. The We
snvins was 1T once prepared for SER
vice. "" ....