Arizona republican., 1899-04-22
MINES AND OVERWHELMING
Navy Department Will Establish a
 Course of Instruction.

Washington, April 21-The navy 1 department at an early date, it is 1 learned, will establish a station for a
 special course of instruction for off
 cers in laying out mine fields and in 1 counteImining. The instruction, it is said will be under the supervision Of | the bureau of ordnance. and will be l essentially practical Several sites are
 in contemplation for the new station. | Tiverton, New London, and Pert
 Royal being prominently mentioned. The first consideration is to find a body of water permitting of good mine work, and which is net frequented to
 any great extent by merchant craft. Rear Admiral Sampson, 1t is under
 stood, has personally urged the estab- of the above nature. It was found
 during last summe*, when the ques-
 ton of forcing an entrance into San
 tiago harbcr was under contemplation,
 that very few officers of the fest had
 any actual experience in mine work.
 y,
 who were fully qualified to take charge of operations, but they had had exceptional advantages over their brother officers. u is n-rw proposed to give every officer of the navy an op- portunity to post himself in this par ticular line of work. 1t is not sufh- cient, the experts say, that an officer have a good theoretical knowledge of how to destroy mine fields. He must Ge master of every detail involved in the construction of torpedoes, the lay ing Or planting of them, their ccnnec- tions, care required to preserve them, and tho methods used in picking up and firing them. An examination made of the mines planted by the off cers of Admiral Cervera's fleet in San tiago harbor showed that only a small portion of them could have been ds- pended upon to render efficient service had the attempt been made by the United States fleet to force the en- trance. According to the report made by the American officers the theoreti- cal knowledge of those who selected the firing stations, planted the mines and weighed the questions of prop erly defending the channel was fairly perfect, but in the vital point of a practical knowledge of how to pre- pare and plant these mines they were deficient
 In the protection of United States ports the laying of mine fields is en- trusted to officers Of the engineer corps of the army. The work Of 7coun- termining or destroying the mine fields of an enemy is the work of the navy. The English are considered to- day the most expert of all people ill the important work Of countermining. Their naval crews are constantly trained in this duty. British lests ed by depot vessels, which carry large quantities of gun cotton in such shape as to make it suitable for counter mines or for mines proper.
 The English resort, as a rule, to rushing fast steamers or picket boats in over mine field, dragging behind them open boats filled with counter mines. The counter mines are se- cured uol the end of spars and the spars and counter mines are all connected one to the other As the counter min ing vessel rushss in the counter mines are thrown over the stern, much after the manner of a fisherman heaving over his net. When the end of the string of cCuntsr mines is reached the entire line is fired off electrically. The effect is to destroy all the harbor mines located within the zone of de- struction