Evening star., 1898-05-07
ADANGEROUS POSITION.
The Captain of Ship Must BE IA
Brave and Heady Man.

OF all on board, the man who stands
in the greatest peril is the captain. In
the battle ships and cruisers his position is
in a cylindrical box of steel, placed just
under the bridge, we'll forward, which is
called the conning-tower. The armor of il
is thick enough ordinarily to resist the
penetration of heavy projectiles. 1t con-
tains the speaking tubes and electrical
wires whereby he communicates with the
guns, engines and helm, and sometimes
apparatus whereby he Is enabled to fire
the guns himself after they are laid upon
the enemy. Ills field of vision is limited to
what he see through little horizontal
slit on about the level of his eye. In point
of frightful responsibility no situation in
the world can compare with tnat which Is
occupied by the man who stands in that
tower and directs the movement OF his ship.
After the conflict cnce begins The din about
him will be something ifcfernal. Upon
him the fire of the enemy will be concen-
tIaled, and upon the exterior of that steel
drum in which lie is shut up there will be
a continuous hail of iron and steel. Shells
will burst everywhere around il, and 10
that babel Will be added the roar of the
force blast under the engines, the ire
mendous reports of the heavy guns, and
the oin of the quick fire and machine guns
in chorus. In such circumstances as this,
aided by such knowledge as he can get by
looking out through the little peep-hole in
front Of MIN as well as the smoke will let
HIM the captain must control the tremen-
dous forces under his command, and his
decisions matters of seconds.
Nobody now believes that captain who
finds his vision through the slitS of the
tower cut off by smoke, will stay thus
shut up. 1t is extremely doubtful IL 1t
will be physically possible for him to re-
main there after the shells commence to
hammer it's sides and burst against 1t, and,
in event the intense anxiety and
know clearly what the enemy is doing
will inevitably lead him to take his chances
in the open. Conning-tower or no coming
tower, his duty is to place himself at what
ever point ne can manage his ships to the
best advantage, and this he will certainly
do. Lord Charles Beresford, with grim
hunor, has suggested that the captains
safest place is not In but behind his con-
ning-tower, because then he has two
thckneSSes of steel between himself and
the enemy. don't you see?' but while con-
ning-tower armor may resist penetration,
ii Is by no means certain that the whole
structure will not be swept away by the
first heavy projectile which squarely hits
it.
AS for the admiral, there is nowadays no
rigging for him to ascend, and he would
be promptly blown out of it If there were.
In fact, alter a fleet engagement has be-
gun, there Is no place for him at all. He
has no business in the connipg-tower, no
business at the guns He cannot very
cE Geek. 1t has been proposed to build
separate armored tower for him. or to take
him off the flag ship, and put him OH a
small, swift vessel, SO that he could choose
his position an0 conveniently give his or
ders by signals. The difficulty with this
would be that the enemy would concen-
trate his fire on that tower or ship with
the certainty of sinking the latter, and
rendering the former uninhaDitable. The
problem therefore, is still unsolved.
Against the effect Of torpedo II II
gets to the hull, there is no safeguard.
The heaviest battle ship is just as vulnera-
BILE as the lightest gunboat. The best that
can be hoped Is that the destruction will
be limited to a few compartments, SO that
those remaining intact will be sufficient to
keep the ship afloat. But this only puts
off the evil hour. As the vessel becomes
water-logged, her speed falls on and her
maneuvering capacity is reduced, SO that
the enemy may then pick his position of
advantage and. shatter her with his guns
or administer a coup de grace with another
torpedo.
Altogether the prospects of ones coming
out of naval engagement unhurt are far
from bright. Even the wounded stand a
poorer chance than was the case in the old
wooden ships. How the surgeons are to
get at them with the vessel divided into
q honeycomb OF compartments with no
direct interconnection where they can be
conveyed directly from the guns without