The herald., 1898-07-13
In Technical Knowledge and Skill It
Is Ahead of Americas


While the American navy is electrically
the best eqApped in the world, 1t has no
supplementary staff with sufficient tech
meal knowledge and skill to take hold OF
the electrical side OF operations in fighting
time. In this regard England is ahead Of
us, for with electrical resources, both In the
army and navy, much inferior to our own,
she has organized an electrical engineer
volunteer corps, which is already In train
ing. 1t is singular that this corps should
owe its origin to our own superiority in
electric naval appliances. Such, however,
is the fact. At the time Of the Venezuela
agitation, when Great Britain was con-
fronted with the possibility of immediate
war with America, its government was so
impressed with the manifest advantage
held by the United States navy from its
exceptional electrical equipment that 1t
gave a free hand to Major j. Hopkinson,
who now commands the London corps, and
instructed him instantly to take whatever
measures he thought necessary for the or
ganization of competent body of electri-
cal men who would be available for active
naval or military service. Pending the
decision of the authorities at Washington
in regard to the establishment of a similar
body in this country, it is interesting to
note some of the lines on which the London
corps has been formed. The corps is armed
with the Lee-Metford rifle The training
Is divided into two kinds, military and
technical. The military work consists of
infantry drills, musketry, etc. The tech
meal work includes every application of
electricity to war, with the exception of
teegraphy, and such other work as will
be useful to an electrician or engine-driver
in carrying out his duties, such as signal
ing, fighting, loading, printing and con-
Meeting UP submarine mines, certain
amount of boat work, and knotting, splice
ing, etc. The work Is carried out partly at
the headquarters in London, but mainly at
defended ports. In order to become eff
cient, each member must attend a contin-
uous training at defended port for at
least eight days each year. In addition,
seventy-eight hours technical work must
be done each year-forty-eight after pass
ing as experts" Each working day after
the first eight of continuous training counts
as six hours, each full day counts six hours,
each half day four hours. The remainder
may be made up in periods of one, one and
half, two, two and half, three and three
and one-half hours. The capitation allow
ance Is S25 An allowance of SIPS is made
for whole day, sixty-two cents for a half
day, but recruit must attend forty
a trained man" twenty, an expert" ten
hourly drills before earning these allow
ances. During the continuous training
each member earns $1.25 day. The whole
of these allowances will be devoted to the
maintenance in camp and the remuneration
of efficient members. Before enrolment
each candidate must be passed by medical
officer. Every member is enrolled for three
years at least A member leaving before
completing three trainings is liable to a
penalty. Any member who serves for
three years and is efficient In each year
practically will be put to no expense, as
he will have incurred no penalties, and the
cost of his uniform and camp expenses
will have been refunded to him. While
many of these restrictions would be inap-
plicable to the conditions obtaining in this
country, others may prove to be valuable
as suggestions when our own electrical
corps is taken in hand.-Boston Evening
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