Evening star., 1898-03-31
THE MONITOR AMpHrrRIrE.

AMPHITRITE.
were right, this people could take its own
time and deliberately prepare to make war
1t would not have to fall down on a lot of
old iron, but could avail itself of the latest
inventions and appliances and buy. or con-
struct what We could not buy l am in
cl.ned TO believe that before We had spent
as much money as We might be disposed to
put up in preparation the other party would
back down.
Security Of Seaports.
20 1t appears to be settled that the
armored cruiser of great speed and large
1oal capacity will enable us to damage our
enemy more effectively than could be done
by massng squadrons of battle ships
against his. For this reason, it does not
appear to be necessary to maintain squad
rons or battle ships. We can safely leave
the struggle for preponderant sea power to
other nations less fortunately situated, if
re2el attack.
How, then, can our seaports be made alb
solutely secure? For the inner line of de-
tense, the newspapers inform us every day
or so, We have 10000 600 men capabIe of
bearing arms About half of them have
volunteered already, although the state Of
Texas. assisted by the navy. can take
Cuba and not get overheated. and either
Massachusetts,, New York or PENNSYLVANIA
y
duty In the present emergency, and not
miss them. 1t may be said in brief, that
with the splendid body of officers Of the
regular army and their troops as a nucle-
US. we can on short notice organize, arm
and send tc the front hosts of intelligent
citizen soldiers, the sons of the men who
on either side made history a little more
tnan thirty years ago. The second line of
detense. consisting of coast Notifications
ana mines, is in the hands of the War De-
partment. There cannot be much doubt
tnat II Is getting proper attention. Especi-
any as all the cities along the shore are
calling vigorously for more guns and more
ships.
Adequate Weapons Needed.
The outer or naval defense is yet weak.
This country in all its history has felt that
IL could depend upon the personnel of the
navy to do its duty. The land rings with
Its praises today. We should be just as
we'll as complimentary. We expect much
OF them. They have a right to adequate
weapons. 1t is apparent that We are not
prepared to cover our seaports effectually
against serious attack nor even against
depredat1ons of an active enemy. We have
many coast cities, both on the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans, and not ships for. them all.
They should be amply protected. not only
because of values i'm Them but as a matter
of national pride and as duty we owe to
our fellow-citizenc.
Our navy at present consists of six bat
tie ships in commission, five battle ships
On the ways, five doube-turreted monitors
lot OF single-turreted monitors with
smooth-bore guns, eleven armored cruis-
ers, two protected cruisers and a number
Of gunboats, etc.
The Battle Ship Described.
What is a battle ship? Briefly, it con-
sists of hull of three-quarter inch steel
armored from a short distance below the
water line to the main deck with steel
plates varying in thickness from II to IS
inches. The main deck is lightly armored
with steel plates. Upon il, concentrated in
the waist, are placed heavily armored tur-
rets containing the main battery, and
above them protected superstructure for
nshter guns. The main deck is. say, IL
1eet ana the Superstructure 2J feet or more
above the water. The hull then presents a
target 10 feet high and, say, $50 feet in
length, and the battery a target - feet
high and, say, 100 feet long. These are
necessarily estimates, because it is not a
suitable time to ask the Navy Department
for the exact figures.
The enemy's fire would certainly be con-
centrated upon the mass am;dships when
at short range. 1t is not yet known what
would be the effect upon it of repeated
shocks OF heavy projecties, but it seems
probable that something would have to give
way. So far the gun has usually been too
much for the armor on the testing grounds.
The battles between the Chinese and Jap
erese can hardly determine the matter for
us. There are differences in ships and IN
guns as Well as in men behind the guns
which must be considered. Better ships
and guns and heartier races than those
two would test the battle ship in an At
lantic sea fight.
Again, the concentration of so much
weight ami6ships suggests that the strain
ing effect of rolling and pitching in heavy
seas and the continuous shock of great
steel bolts might be too much for any pos
< tOfh of
familiar with their record but believe
some experiences of the Indiana, New York
ard Texas tend to sustain this objection
Complications to BE Met.
The battle ship is at once gun platform.
a ram and torpedo boat. This looks like
too many functions for one ship: too much
complication, too much machinery 100
many chances for accident in battle She
carries divers and electricians, torpedo ex-
perts and guE cotton, sixty or more en-
sines, usually five different calibers of guns
and, of course, ammunition to correspond.
The commander Of battle ship should have
nerves of steel and the omniscience of Jove.
L have neard that when Gushing blew up
the Albemarle he took his place IN the
bow or the launch and handled four or more
lanyards, one to Iaise and shove forward
the spar carrying at its end the torpedo,
another TO guy it to the right, another to
the left and another TO explode the thing.
Perhaps he had one or two other little mat
ters on his mind. 1t is said that each fan
yard was pulled at the right time and with
the intended effect. He must have held
some of them in mis- teeth. Men who can
do business on that plan, under fire. are
scarce. The captain of the battle ship has
too many springs to pull when in action
Fashions in battle ships change too fast
They cost between $4.00D.OQO and $5OO0,0O
Five million dollars Is too much money
and 400 to 800 too MANY good men TO haz-
ard in one ship in storm and battle. They
get behind the times too soon, considering
the price. Battle ships are built on new
plans every year and are frequently altered
while in process of construction. Some of
their repair and reconstruction bills are
very large. England CT Chile builds an
Improvement upon our last, and We forth
with must have something faster, larger
and every way better. The result Of that
sort of compe tition may easily be that in
few years We will have avery expensive
lot of old iron on hand. The Maine was
pronounced behind the times, although only
four wears old.