The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-05-31
BAD WORD FOR MONITORS.
GOOD Only for Harbor Defence, an Eminent
Naval Officer Declares

The most effective. shot fired at the bonn
pardment OF Matanzas, according to all
accounts, came from one of the monitor
Puritan's 12-inch guns. 1T was a bulls.
eye, lair and square. The advocates of the
monitor type pointed to this engagement
as good illustration of it's effectiveness.
but since then naval. experts. without
detraoting from the value Of monitors for
harbor and coast defence, have been point
ing out the limitations of these fighting
ships when employed in offensive opera
tions When the Puritan was at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard few months ago
one OF her officers said:
Il am firmly convinced that in har-
boz fight. where we might select our
position in shallow water, we could whip
any battleship afloat. The Puritan draws
SO much less water than battleship that
we could run her we'll inshore. Our guns
are powerful and our armor is heavy.
Moreover, the Puritan is a small target
compared to a battleship.
In the last number of the Army and
Navy Journal an officer whose Judgment
Is entitled to the greatest weight, says:
'At last have been able to make up
my mind Oh the monitor question, and I
think it is the mind Of every one in this
squadron, and that is, they have but one
use, VIZ. for port defense. They are an
unmitigated fraud for general war pur-
poses. l give this opinion as one founded
on considerable observation.
"Ths great difficulty as a fighting
machine with the monitor is that
IN constant and quick adoption to the
surface of the sea every movement is re-
peated, and the vessel is thus naturally
made most unstable gun platfor m, a
Iactiwhlch know is totally at variance
With the ideas of those who favor them;
but we have seen too much of them to
know otherwise, and it is, besides, in
accord with all theory. The Terror, for
instance, makes twenty -one oscillations,
while the New York makes eight. There
could have been no better illustration,
however. OF this instability than the other
day at Matanzas. when the Puritan was
Hiring at fort 1000 yards away in mod
crate sea; one Of her 12-inch shells struck
not more than 1000 yards from the ship.
line person who fired the gun is not to be
blamed; the movement is too quick for
any ordinary man to meet.
besides this fact of being such a very
poor gun platform, there is the inhabita-
pllty, which makes life aboard of them
at sea simply hell; they are hot beyond
SUPPRESSION lone man died day before yes
teroay IN the turret OIL. the. Amphitrite);
they are hot, and while at sea, even In
THIS dead calm, there is no place for the
crew 10 go except on the superstructure
ana this is very serious thing to be con-
sidered.
-, line battleship is everything which
tne monitor Is not, excepting that she
oiers a larger mark but this is nothing.
because the upper works which make her
bne larger mark can be shot away without
injury TO the actual floating power of the
snip OF TO her heavy guns; but these same
upper works have the advantage of giving
6he pat5iesh1p the power of carrying not
only neaVy ordnance, but a very powerful
secondary battery, which the monitor is
incapable OF carrying, as there is no place
When one attempts to compare the
Puritan, which is our best monitor, and
most comfortable, with the Iowa, it is to
Dc recognized that really no comparison
can Dc made. The Iowa is great, almost
lmmovabie rock. carrying battery not
oHiy much greater in nominal rower but
vastly greater in actual.
81 do not think that We g, on have
Yooeei TO pulld any more OF t. monitor
type; what we have should be RELOCATED