The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-05-19

an the first place the United States Is
c-,dI;ed with nine Instead OF twenty
sey.n ships, or just one-third OF the
shlns that are actually engaged in or
available for the West Indian waters.
Two OF these ships omitted arc battle
sh,ps, one the Oregon, OF over 10000 tons
displacement and about seventeen knots
fpeed, carrying q heavier armor-plerc-
lax armament than any ship in the
world to-day; the other the Texas, as
nearly eighteen knots speed and armed
with twelye-inch guns, o ship presenting
The most stable gun platform OF any
vessel In our navy.
"Eyen after excluding eighteen out OF
the twenty-sever ships which on the
Engineers basis Of calculation should
nave been enumerated, our contenpor-
an finds that the United States ships
k,ye tho larger total displacement, H.
90 tons, against $500 tons, but the
writer, proceeds TO discount this super
,dty. BY proving that our feet Is rela-
lively cumbersome and slow. This he
does by throwing in the speed OF the
DIN. Spanish torpedo boats in striking
an average speed for the whole fleet, by
which naneuver he reaches an average
speed Of 1851 knots 70 the Spanish fight
Ing line,
in order to render the comparison
strongly favorable to, Spain and keep
down our average speed, not a single
torpedo boat Is credited to the United
States, although we have eight OF these
cat, actually employed in Cuban
waters.
Having worked out a disadvantage
In speed against our navy, the Engineer
proceeds TO prove that in gun fire we are
hopelessly outclassed. This 1t does by
making the, false assumption that we
have no. or practically no. heavy rapid
fire guns In u navy, and on this as
SUMPTION, coupled with the fact that the
Spanish ships are well supplied with
npEd-fre guns. he figures out a total
energy OF gun-nre OF over 100000 fout-
tons for Spain. as against 1,120,323 foot
tons for the United States. In order to
make this grossly erroneous Showing
The Engineer has evidently not only fail
ed 70 credit us with the forty-two rapid
fire guns carried on the ships given in
is table, but It has entirely left out OF
the table the four cruisers, Cincinnati,
Montgomery. Marblehead and Detroit,
which carry forty rapid-fre guns OF s.
Inch callbre, as well as heavy secondary
f~ap!d.tire batteries. These four ships
are as much entitled to be included in
the comparison as are the protected
cruisers Alphonso XIII and the Lepan-
TO. The fiction that our ships do n0t
carry rapid-ire batteries IS an old one
with the Engineer, and, judging from
the persistence with which it reappears,
IL IS as popular as it is abiding.
Another curious fiction which is con-
sanity cropping put Is the idea that the
United States monitors are not available
In The fighting line. II our contempor-
aty could be present In the preliminary
skfrhishes Of the war 1t would. find that
cur monitors are very much alive, n
o. them having steamed into MatanZas
ha.eor and dropped twelve-inch shells
WIN precision into a battery which fall
"a even 10 get her range; and another,
sso engaged In the blockade Of the Is
.aad, having chased and caught a 1000
@n Englsh-built liner that vas en-
ueavoTing TO run the blockade.
our modern monitors are not to be
Whiounded with their earlier proto-
Vpss. They carry complete Harvey
e~tl oelts, MIN to fourteen inches thick;
ssven 10 fourteen inch Harvey Rteel
ua'oet'es and turrets, and ten and
,%eve-inch modern high power rifles.
y may surprise our contemporary TO
gam that even on the monitors are TO
W lOunu hDI-nrtas ~ fn,tr- tp n n tN rt1-
sas suns. They have moved with the
ntTIs IN all the operations OF the war,
sGl any Spanish fleet that hopes TO
,ase The blockade will have TO de- 20 ar
w penetrating the Harveyized turrets
SUI resisting the ten and twelve inch
e. ~ o! our coast defense monitors.
~ drawing up dur comparative table
sMe meets We have followed the only
-. Il ana logical ours and separated
': sn'ps into classes. Any other COM
,a;soh Is entirely misleading, as In the
Soe OF the article referred TO, In which
VIC .otpeGn boats, whose total displace-
ssnt IS only 1000 tons, are allowed to
a. q, ! snc average speed Of the whole fleet
n ~; ~ tons) up to 1901 knots an hour.
i, Dtstlcshipa we have Ave times the
IN nacement. higher average speed, ten
sn- !he number OF guns. and nearly
er% times the energy OF gunflrc. In
49, we have over 1000 tons more
r,tss easement slightly higher average
llSHo ~ per cent more guns, and over
J a.. '" toot-tons greater energy OF gum
s,.,, Il IS only in torpedo boats that
di.n,. u stronger. having double the
easement, two and a half knots
e,sa eF average speed. more and heavier
.,s,a, ana seven or eight times the
runss ., sunhre. The greatly superior
ts r,e. OF the torpedo boats Is due to
t0s, ina most OF them are torpedo
m to1 s,foyers and carry heavy batter
te snc express purpose OF sinking