Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-12-22

The Frightful Devastation That May En-
sue In Future BATTLES.

sue In Future Battles.
We are still blindly cropping when
we dream of the naval warfare of
today or tomorrow. All we actually
know is that the penetrative powers
which we assign to our guns are
entirely mythical when tested in
actual practice, and that we have
no reliable data by which we can
correct and make proportionate
scale.
Near or far, however, it needs no
gift of prophecy to foresee some of
the things that will happen under
present day conditions. Increased
range will merely prolong the early
stages of an action. Sooner or later
all unarmored portions of the bat
tleships. will be blown to pieces;
wreckage of top hamper will grad
ually block the guns; shot holes in
the tunnels will reduce the speed
and make the engine room an in
ferno Of heat. Two hundred degrees
T, may be looked for there, and it
will have to be endured as best it
may. The water line is little likely
to be hit, but rents just above it
will be plentiful enough where there
is no armor, and if there should be
any sea on the tons of water thus
shipped will seriously affect a ships
speed, if indeed it does not capsize
her. The electric lights will break
down. There will be nothing but
oil lamps to pierce the choking
blackness. Fires may be looked for
here and there. 1t is the opinion of
many naval officers that-at any rate
in duel--no captain will be able
to stand the strain of this for long;
that by mutual consent the ships
will steam into close range, anxious
to finish the matter without further
delay
I What will happen in such a case,
with the ships SO near that no gun
can miss, so near that no armor can
withstand the fearful impact, the
imagination cannot really grasp.
The devastation such an engage
ment must produce is too tremen-
dous for a fanciful conception. 1t
has one bright side-its endurance
must be very short. There are those
who think that upon one side or the
other panic will seize the crews;
that men will spring overheard
rather than endure the strain. 1t
may be so. 1t is question of dis
cipline and of how far discipline
will hold.
The real danger of a modern sea
fight at long range lies in the am
munition question. After such a
battle ships, perhaps still quite I'M
subdued, will be left with empty
magazines. The biggest ironclad
cannot carry enough for more than
a few hours vigorous cannonade.
Curiously enough, saving a few
torpedo officers-to whom the ques-
ton may well present itself with
special vividness-no one has yet
considered the thing that, before
all others, may cause the torpedoist
to fire too soon. 1t is the thought,
Suppose am killed before l get
my chance!"
The average torpedo man expects
to get killed when he attacks. With
him the question is, "Shall be kill
ed before can fire or after2" The
more anxious he may be not to die
without having done something the
more likely he is to fire at too great
a range.
Every step taken in invention
thrusts the brave but unframed sail
or more and more into the back
ground. In addition to q dauntless
courage the ideal seaman of the
future must possess more scientific
skill than is needed in any other
walk in life and an absolute immu-
nifty from nerves.-Fred T. Jane in
Forum.