Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-05

sci that promises utility in actual warfare
AT the beginning of the nineteenth cen
fury our vessels of the Constitution c,ass
were armed with long twenty-four Founders
on the gun deck and ty-tWo-pnunder
carrcnades on the quarter deck ana fore
castle, the latter weapons having little
penetration. but great smashing power
The frigates built from 1921 to 1917 carried
long tn .rty-twO-pounders and short eight
inch guns. The explosive shell was used
for the first time during the war with
Mexico though in 1899 experiments were
made with hollow non-explosive shot,
which was found to possess great smashing
power with low velocity. II 1899 Ericsson
brought to this country a twelFe-inch
wrought iron gun strengthened by the
shrinking on of the best American three
and-a-half-inch wrought iron bands. but
tie explosion of a gun of this Kind on the
Princeton in 1874 (by which were killed Sec
rotary Of State Upshur, Secretary OF War
Giimer, Captain Kennon and Colonel Gardi-
Eer) gave a setback to the Introduction of
heavy guns upon American ships, and 1t
not until the civil war that guns as
large as eleven-inch were used on our war
ships.
Armament and Men.
The armament Of American men-of-war
in 1885 consisted principally Of eleven and
nine-inch smooth -bores and eight-inch
Misunderstanding rifles. AS late as $50 there
was no plant in the United States capable
of making forgngs for a modern rifle Of
more than six-inch caliber, while steel
shafting, torpedoes armor and machine
guns had to be purchased abroad. Today
American machine shops are turning out
guns of up to sixteen inches caiber and
articles of the above enumeration which
are the admiration of the world. A Yankee
invention which makes possible a reverse
motion in the turbine engine will probably
give us fifty-knot vessels Of the Viper
class, and the late Lieutenant Haeseler's
breech mechanism for the eight-inch gun
enables this powerful weapon to fire six
sho.s {. Minute.
Remarkable, however, have been the
improvements in the ship itself, in the pro-
pelling power in the armor and in the gun
1t is the man behind the gun" who offers
the most satisfactory development to the
American navy. In the year 1900 the crews
of American ships were principally COM
posed of ignorant, ill-disciplined landsnen
from the hackwoods and fishing fleets On
almost every one Of our national ships at
the beginning of the nineteenth century the
and the majority of these foreigners were
English. There is an old story apropos of
this in the navy. 1t seems that an Eng ish-
man met an American girl in Paris shortly
after the war of 1912 and began Grafton
on the greatness and invincibilty Of his
country. Why" said the fair American
did you know that we captured thirteen
English warships In the recent war?'
Yes, said the Briton, but you must Pc
member that half your crews We're COM
posed of Englishmen." "Ah" inquired the
lady, weren't your crews all Enslish?"
Today nine-tenths of the American crews
are native-born, two-handed, patriotic
young mariners, who have been trained to
the sea In institutions of the United States
anu who are better educated in the re 1uire-
neents OF their profession than the men
who commanded the English ships in he
glorious naval war Of 1910