The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-09-17
WARFARE UNDER WATER
Views of Admiral Melville on
Torpedo Boats.
STILL IN EXPERIMENTAL STAGE.

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 special study
Of the usefulness aud efficiency of tho
submarine type, gave to the New York
Tribune's Washington correspondent
review Of the progress and the small
practical success that have been so far
secured.
Ii is In France that enthusiasm and
public interest most abound. BY reason
OF the great desire of the French ad-
mirulty TO put their naval service on
an equality with that Of Great Britain
and possibly 10y reason Of their imam
clal inability 10 construct rs many
armored cruisers and battlcships as
England the French are hoping that
they can develop the submarine in ad-
vance OF other nations. In Admiral
Melvllle's opinion. they have rs yet
made no substantial progress. At the
recent mancuVers of the French navy
an effort was made by the admiralty TO
approximate as 10 the value Of sub
marine boats for naval purposes. The
official reports have not yet been made
public. one artistic story. however,
that would httlngly garnish one OF
Jules Ncrnes rOmanccs and which was
cablcd TO this country some time ago
rs 10 the unqualified success Of the eN-
pertinent has been proved TO be more
sensational than real.
II is now learned that instead OF
steaming alone from TOulon to Ajaccio
the Gustaye Zedc was accompanied by
steamer which was there 10 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 10y the French adj
miralty, and 1t has even been officially
announced that no more boats of her
character will be built. There Is nOsh-
ing I'm the evolution 10 impress one
with the fact that anything unusual
had been done. To say that this feat
Will do anything 10 convince skeptics
that the submarine boat has been de
veloped to a point beyond the expert
mental stage would require vivid
Imagination Considerable credit IS
due to the commander OF the Iedc, Tor
recent experience In France with sub
marines shows that the crew Of the
boat suffer greatly In every dive II
any duration. About two years ago
the French advocates Of submarine
boats contended that the Naryal an
swered all the requirements that could
possibly be demanded Of this type Of
craft. When the minister of marine
subjected this boat 10 an official test, IL
required 20 minutes 10 submerge her.
In that period the craft could be de-
stroyed by any vessel having n MAJ
chine gun, and therefore success was
looked FOR elsewhere She could even
be run down by torpedo boat destroy
or or any rapidly moving boat
The Morse was then accepted rs the
proper type for the French service TO
adopt. Official tests and experiments
showed that she possessed little more
merit than the Naryal and that radical
improvements would have 10 be made
In her before an efficient submarine
boat could DE secured that would meet
even part Of the requirements demand
ed by the admiralty.
The Farfadct Is the very latest de-
sign the French have produced. and.
although the admiralty have been cX-
pcrlmcntug for months with her. there
is no evidence that this craft is any
more efficient than her predecessor
The French admiralty therefore has
a we'll defined policy in its attempt to
secure submarine boat The design
is still regarded as being in m expert
mental stage The officials are not
welded % the belief that any inventor
has yet secured an efficient fighting
machine. 1t Is recognized that ultimate
success can best be secured 10y pro
erosion. We can safely follow such
q wise anG sensible course. The field
should be kept open TO every designer
and inventor who has given thought 20
the question and who is ready to put
his study to practical use 10y building
a craft and subjecting it to govern
ment tests.
The securing Of an efficient subma-
rine boat therefore seems somewhat
remote. If Edson's storage battery
proves the success its inventor hopes
1t will be, then progressive advance
ment can be expected As the range Of
action 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 a submarine boat
that can be useful in mining and coun-
termlning harbOrs. In work Of this
character the lake submarine boat has
been commercial success. and experts
believe that 1t is equally adaptable for
naval and military purposes.
The Indifference of Russia. Germany
and Great Britain and the failure Of
France to secure practical success with
the cruising submarine boat cOnclu-
sively prove that this type of craft is
still in the experimental stage. The
American policy of first developing the
submarine boat for mining and coun-
termining purposes is in the line Of
utility, conservatism and sound mill
tary principles.