The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-19

| asserts Marine Brown, the New Orleans
put in as much h as the other two to-
gether. The commodore is proud Of her"
| This Is not the first time the superb
| fighting of the New Orleans has attracted
attention. Every time she has gone into
action she has done such~work as to call
forth unstinted praise. Notwithstanding
her guns are less than half the caliber of
! those of the observation-disclosures mounts
nothing larger than six inches-the execu-
ton she has wrought upon the enemy has
been nearly as great as that done by her
big consort What is the secret of the
New Orleans fine fighting abilities? Ac-
cording 10 a writer in the Scientific Amer
ican it is the fact that she uses smoke
less powder. while the other ships are
compelled to get along with the old-fash
Toned brown powder
In the report Of the battle of Manila, it
will be recalled, it was frequently stated
that the American ships were at times en-
shrouded in such heavy clouds of smoke
from the guns that the aim of the gum
ners was more or less seriously
intrefered with. The same sort
Of thing has been referred to
after every engagement off Cuba At
Santiago the dense clouds of smoke hung
like a pail oyer the ships, obscurng the
gunners' and the range-finders aim, while
the Spaniards, using smokeless powder,
had no difficulty in firing at the smoke
patches denoting the position Of the ships,
without their own range of vision being
capped without injury is due to the poor
craftsmanship of the Spaniards, and not to
any lack of advantage in the matter of
ammunition.
The New Orleans, however, is to be ex-
cepted from the number of American yes
sells thus hampered. She Is provided with
a supply of 'cordite" smokeless powder
purchased in England at the time the ship
herself was acquired Thus while the
other vessels were banging away behind
smoke banks the New Orleans, in a clean
and clear atmosphere, was pouring a pre-
else and destructive fire into the enemy
Her gunners could watch their shots, and
were thus able to get the precise range;
and they made the most of it. The per-
Torrance of the New Orleans has con-
clusively demonstrated the advantages of
smokless powder, which Is not only cleaner
but is very much stronger than the brown
powder
Is smokeless powder a new thing? It Is
not. Spains ships are provided with it.
Every navy in Europe has been using it
for five OF six years. The ordnance of the
British navy, of which that on the New
Orleans may be taken as being typical.
burns smokeless powder. Why is not the
American navy provided with this very
desirable explosive? That question can be
answered only by Congress- Notwithstand-
ing the repeated representations which
have been made to that body. 1t has per
sistently declined to make appropriations
for the manufacture Of smokeIess powder
IN quantities for the navy The amount
which is being made in this country is
small, since the private powder comma
MES have not gone into its production To
any extent, and the governments capacitv
is very limited. 1t is to be hoped that the
present war win awaken our lawmakers
10 the Importance of providing the navy
with the very best and most efficient
hghting appliances of all sorts in peace. in
order that they may be prepared fully to
meet any possible enemy in war.