Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-15

which will discharge the big eighteen-inch
Whitehead torpedoes. These torpedo tubes
are on the broadsides just forward of the
beam. and their firing stations, placed above
the discharges, are protected against the at
tack of raIid-fre guns up to the s1X-pound-
en- All turrets will be under electrical con-
troll, will also be the ammunition hoists
for all but the very smallest or the guns,
and especial care will be taken to so VEN
tlate the turrets to carry off promptly
escaping powder gases and to make these
places habitable as possible in the heat
of battle, especially In warm weather
All of the armor for these ships Will be OF
the strictly up-to-date Krupp kind, which
means the case-hardenfng process of the
older Harvey method carried farther into
the plate, yielding a resultant defensiveness
about 30 per cent greater than that by the
older method deemed amply sufficient
but a very few years back.
Without going into details, the wind-and-
water region will be guarded by contin-
uouS S-foot belt Of armor, which, through
distance of 1872 feet amidships, will have a
maximum thickness of eleven inches:
thence TO the bow and to the stern it will
gradually taper to a uniform thickness of
four inches. To penetrate that belt armor
Mt its greatest thickness a shot would have
to strike with the destructive energy of
14.OD tons TO the square inch-a force sell
dom left the largest armor piercing shot at
probable fighting range. Above this water
line belt for distance OF 245 feet amid
ships throughout the region occupied by the
six broadside 6-inch guns the sides will be
reinforced by 6-inch armor. A protective
deck. reaching from bow to stern. will be
of nickel-steel, ranging in thickness from
an inch and a half to three inches. This
Will cover over the engines, boilers and
magazines, while broad belt of celluose,
just above the heavy water-line armor will
guard the stability of the ships by auto
matically plugging all shot holes admitting
water The turrets for the 12-inch guns
vi he 11I-t oh
or face plates two inches heavier. All of
the S-inch guns will be sheltered behind
walls of inches. with face plates half an
inch heavier Between each pair of 6-inch
guns, housed behind walls of 6-nch steel
there will be stout splinter bulkhead of
2l2-inch nickel steel. The object of these
divisions is to localize the effect of an en-
emys bursting shell: each guns crew really
will fight in steel-bound stalls. and as
butchery there must be. they are to be
moved down only in squads of half dozen
at time
Ready for a Long Fight
The 14-pounders are to have shields, but
the rest of the small pieces will be mounted
without protection.
Slowed away in her shell rooms and mag
azines each ship will carry nearly six hun
dred tons of ammunition, enough to put I'D
long and unpleasantly warm fight
The ships will be driven each by two
triple-eXpansion engines, actuating twin
screws, and capable of developing 1900
indicated horsepower; that is, 400 horse
power Tor every knot of speed If each
ship were driven by gigantic clockwork that
power would be represented by a great
metallic weight of 623, 900 900 pounds falling
through space at the rate of one foot a
would be los feet square
Steam for these powerful engines will be
supplled by twenty-four boilers of the mod
ern water-tube type and at q working
ID Z.H fn th0
"A shot in any one Of those great cauldrons
would entail a frightfu loss of life and
Tor that reason and the safety of the yes
sci IS motive power well, they are pIaced
wei! below the water line and beneath and
behind stout walls of tough steel The
boilers will be grouped in batteries of four
In SIX separate water-tight compartments,
whlie the engines will be in two similar
Water-ught compartments. Powerful fans
Will do their best to make these nIaces toll.
erapie "hen running under pressure but IT
uoesn take a very vivid imagination tn
picture similarity between these nIscac OF
their best and the traditional abode of the
wicked in the world to come Life down
there Is a pretty sore trial in time even of
peace, out during the stress of conflict IL ia
worse than that of those exposed to shot
and shell above, for they can know but III
le or the tide of battle. while practically
certain of an awful death boxed in haIow
In case the ship should founder IT takes
pretty courageous man to face these odds
ana give That unremttent service to those
nea6fnl 70
maintain the steam demanded by the greedy
engines in their feverish rum
Hundred Feet Below.
The only monument to the faithful nor,,
OF these men is the fleeing pillar of smoke
that rises from the tops of the tall tunnels
10 bear testimony to that weary, wearing
lolI IN the depths hundred feet below
AS Is common in all our most modern
shlps, wood will be used but sparingIy. and
all of that not directly exposed to tho
weather will be e-proofed Galvanized
IRON, iasteIuiiy futted or ornamentally
pressed will do service for the erstwhiIe
carving, and a coating of pulverized cork
ana white paint will supplant the gloss and
poilsh we were once familiar with Thou
s thnil OF electric lights. however, will add
thelr comforting glow and do much to add
10 the Spartan-ike simplicity that has he
come necessity-relatively-o the modern
hghtins snip OF the heavier sort
Each one of these vessels will no the
nome OF 100 persons, and 100 pretty exact
ing persons at that Even Jacky is pretty
particular about his comforts today, and
ne mas even taken to discussing high
Jeens, as he Is pleased to term the theory
OF health. Uncle Sam has not made his
Jackies gentlemen. nor has he presented
each with a seal ring, but he has done
lot TO make happy and healthful within the
possibilities OF fighting machine. Great
olstiillng plants supply them with a bounty
OF the purest water; large ovens will bake
them the soft bread dear to the sailor
heart after the weary years of the Jaw
breaking hard-tack; and big refrigerat-
ing outfit will yield them the cooling eouiya-
lent OF two tons of ice a day That thew
may be cleanly, there will be a number of
well ventilated wash and bath rooms, fitted
with shower baths and supplied with both
lresh and salt water-hot and cold That
they may always look natty, there will
be the additional innovation Of a steam
laundry capable Of handling the toRs of
seventy five men day
Drug shop and Sick hay.
There will be large sick bay in addition
to the usual good-sized drug store or dis
pensary' carried on ships like these and 1t
Is purposed to fit up an operating room,
with all the appliances common to a mod
ern surgery, n the shape of x-ray appa-
ratus. glazed operating table. and the like
There will be the usual heavily armored
coming tower and the later protected sig
nal tower, while the chart house to avoid
magnetic disturbance of the compasses and
the splintering of woodwork when under
hre, Is TO be made of bronze. There will be
the usual electric signal codes for each of
the masts. and six big searchlights for
peering into the gloom of the darkest night
Auxiliary engines of many sorts will save
the muscular tax on the crew. The
UNIFORM height Of twenty feet of the
ships above the water from bow to stern
i