Evening star., 1901-08-24

they stand about to watch the indicator
cards and see that 1t Is done. When 1t is
considered that the United States govern
ment proving course off the New England
coast is only fifty knots long, and that IN
Gle Sans ships steam it over twice to prove
their merit. the difficulty of having deep
sea room enough to run a vessel twelve
hours on a stretch and all the time at
eighteen knots an hour must be evident.
The Twin Screws Record.
But there is a way to overcome this diff
Guilty. The modern battle ship is nothing
if not piece of machinery. and machinery
well geared, like figures correctly totaled,
never lie. So they will run the Retvizan
over the measured course, and knowing the
exact distance from mark to mark. will
keep record of the revolutions Of the big
twin screws until the time comes when
carefully measured space is covered exactly
at the required speed.
Then the time will be ripe for the main
test, and for twelve hours the ship will be
forced onward over a course laid anywhere
in the sea that gives the required area OF
deep water, and throughout the revolutions
OF the propellers must average at least up
to the turns that were found necessary to
make the contract speed.
The coming first trial Of the big battle
ship is called preliminary, or builders
test but 1t is much more interesting and
far more important than the final accept
ance trial of twelve hours. for 1t really
shows the qualities of the ship for the
first time, and In addition every gun will
be tested. a feature totally eliminated
from United States war ship trials Their
guns keep silence until long after the ves-
Sci Is in commission, then the firing trial
is ordered.
A Terrific Battery.
The Retvizan carries terrific battery,
and the big guns are novel to American
eyes, for the Russians manufacture all
their own heavy ordnance at the Obrukoff
works. They are really modification Of
the famous French Canet type, and have
practically the same style of breach block
and like all such weapons are fired by
electricity and loaded by machinery, ex-
cept for the pushing OF the shell into the
yawning breach.
There are four twelve-inch, twelve six
inch and twenty Ihree-inch guns in the
main battery, while the secondary group
is made up of twenty forty-seven mill
meter Hotcnkiss capid fire cannon Every
one Of these has to be tested, not because
the Russians fear the efficiency OF the
guns themselves, but to enable them to
learn just how the carriages and the fit
tings stand the strain, and also what sort
OF a gun platform the vessel Is.
Therefore .he Cramps will man the ship
with q crew from their yards, all Of them
skilled engineers and firemen, and Captain
Stechensnovitch, the future commander
will take aboard gun crews made up from
the one hundred or more men who are
here as part of the crew that will take
the ship home
Success or Failure.
Once compasses are adjusted the nose
OF the Rstvizan will be pointed out Of the
Delaware capes to the open sea, and she
will be run slowly to the deep water that
lies just beyond the Five Fathom banks
perhaps sixteen miles off shore. Their
between the northeast and southwest. light
vessels Of the bank, known to be just liz