The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1901-09-09

Fighting Machine Yet Secured-In
His opinion France Has Made No
Substantial Progress-says Reports
OF GustnNe ZeJe Exaggerated.
The recent startling reports as to the
performances OF submauN" boats at
the French maneuvers huv- increased
the agitation at home and abroad Of
the question Of the utility Of these yes.
sells for naval purposes. Rear Admiral
Melville, who has made a special study
of the usefulness aud efficiency OF tue
submarine type, gave to the New York
Tribunc's Washington correspondent
review Ut the progress aud the small
practical success that have been 50 far
secured.
1t is n France that enthusiasm and
public interest most abound. By reason
OF the great desire OF the French ad
miralty to put their naval service on
an equality with that of Great Britain
aud possibly 10y reason of their Gnan.
Cial inability TO construct as many
armorcd cruisers and hattleships as
England the French are hoping that
they can develop the submarine in ad-
vance of other nations. In Admiral
Mclvllc's opinion, they have as yet
made NO substantial progress. At the
recent mnncuvors Of the French navy
an effort was made by the admiralty to
approximate as To the value of sub
marine boats for naval purposes. The
official reports have not yet been made
public. one artistic story, however.
that would 6tngly gnruish one OF
Jules Ncrnes romances and which was
cahled to this country some time ago
as to the unqualified success OF the eX.
pertinent has been proved TO be more
sensational than real.
1t is now learned that instead OF
steaming alone from Toulon to AjacciO
the Gustave Zedc was accompanied by
steamer which was there to tow the
submarine. Very little stock In the
success Of that evolution Is taken 10y
naval experts since IL Is well known
that the whole design OF the boat has
been condemned by the French ad
miralty, and IL has even been officially
announced that no more boats of her
character Will be built. There Is moth.
ing in the evolution to impress one
with the fact that anything unusual
had been done. To say that this feat
will DO anything to convince skeptics
that the submarine boat has been de.
veloped TO n point beyond the expert
mental stage would require n vivid
Imagination. Considerable credit is
due to the commander OF the Zedc, for
recent experience In France with sub.
marines shows that the crew OF the
boat suffer greatly in every dive OF
any duration. About two years ago
the French advocates OF submarine
boats contended that the Narval aE.
swered ali the requirements that could
possibly be demanded OF this type of
craft. When the minister of marine
subjected this boat to an official test, IL
required 20 minutes to submerge her.
In that period the craft could be de-
stroyed by any vessel having a ma
chine gun, and therefore success was
looked for elsewhere. She could even
be run down by a torpedo boat destroy.
er or any rapidly moving boat.
The Morse was then accepted as the
! adopt Official tests and experiments
showed that she possessed little more
merit than the Narval and that radical
improvements would have to be made
IN her before an efficient submarine
boat could be secured that would meet
even part Of the requirements demand
ed by the admiralty.
The Farfadet Is the very latest de-
sign the French have produced, and,
although the admiralty have been ex-
pcrlmenting for months with her. there
Is no evidence that this craft Is any
more efficient than her predecessor.
The French admiralty therefore has
a well defined policy In Its attempt TO
secure a submarine boat. The design
Is stlll regarded as being in an expert
mental stage. The officials are not
welded to the belief that any inventor
has yet secured an efficient fighting
machine. 1t Is recognized that ultimate
success can best be secured by pro-
gression. We can safely follow such
a wise and sensible course. The field
should be kept open to every designer
and inventor who has given thought 10
the question and who Is ready TO put
his study to practical use by building
a craft and suDjecting it to govern
ment tests.
The securing of an efficient subma-
rine boat therefore seems somewhat
remote. II Edison's storage battery
proves the success its inventor hopes
IL Will be, then progressive advance
mont can be expected. AS the range of
acton is very small with the present
| type of electric motor and storage bat
teries, the usefulness of the craft is
naturally limited.
Fortunately for this country our ma
val and military experts are more IN
terested in finding submarine boat
that can be useful in mining and coun-
termining harbors. In work of this
character the lake submarine boat has