Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-28
NEEDS MANY MILLIONS
Admiral 0'Nsil Submits Estimate of 3d.
182,806 for Ensuing Year.
MAKERS REDUCE THE COST or ARWoR
Not Many Inventions OF Importance in
Cans and ships for the Last
Year Are noted by the
Admiral.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2T,-Admiral O'Neil,
chief Of the naval bureau ordnance. in his
annual report made public today, says that
the ordnance bureau wants SIS, 1s2. sos next
year. Of which amount $40. 900 is to be
devoted to arms and ornaments for new
ships.
The gun shop at the Washington navy
yard during the past year turned out 2S4
guns, prepared sets Of f~orgings for 146
more and has sixty-five in course Of man
ufacture. The bureau Is preparing a new
type Of gun, 80 calibre, in length, Of a semi
automatic character. to replace all guns
Of this slze nov in use IN the navy.
Admiral o'Neil says that for the FIRST time
In years the mAnufaeture Of armor has pro-
crossed in q satisfactory manner, 1872
tons having been deilvefed at the various
ship yards during the year, with prospects
Of largely increasing the deliveries.
No Improvement worth speaking Of seems
to have been made IA the quality Of armor
Of late. Guns, powder and projectiles have
each made q decided advance, rendering It
all the more necessary that there should
be Improvement "a ths quality Of the ar
NOR, but none Seems to be in sight at pres
ent. 4
Recently the arrnor manufacturers voiun-
tarily made a reduction Of 10 shilllngs per
ton on the royalty for the Krupp process.
With the exception Of ignition and she'll
powder, no black or other than smokeless
powder has been purchased or msnufso-
tured for the navy since the Spanish Amert-
can war. All new ships beginning with
kearsarge and Kentucky have been supplied
with outfits. Of ~smokeless powder and, in
addition. some thirty of the older vessels
have been thus supplied.
Admiral O'Neil finds that the best way to
Illustrate the tremendous development of
artillery 10 late years is to cite two cases,
that Of the six inch gun and the twelve
inch gun. The former used to weigh only
four and One-tenth tons, was only thirty
calibers ID length, with a muzzle energy OF
the 277s-foot tons and a practicable rate
OF hre Of two and one-half aimed shots per
minute. The new type is fifty calibers In
length, uses smokeless powder, weighs
eight tons, can be fred eight times per
minute and has q muzzle energy of $3.50
foot tons. In other words, It is 500 per
cent more powerful than the old gun,
The twelve-inch gun shows an increase
In energy over the old gun of 35K per cent.
Admiral o'NeiI says that no such rate Of
increase is looked for in the near future.
Renovation of Batteries.
the batteries of the older ships and it is
said that new batteries will be placed on
Baltimore, New York, Newark and Albany.
It is recommended that Philadelphia be
given a new battery OF six-inch guns, which
would Mt IL for many years more of serv-
ice. The bureau is considering the FEAST
bility Of replacing the present turrets OF
Oregon, Indiana and Massachusetts with
new elipticaI-balapced ~turrets, adding ma.
terially to their efficiency.
Admiral O'Nsil has much to say respect
ing speed against armament. He. argues
that a ship Is naturally a compromise be-
tween various necessities and says:
All nations are afiicted with the speed
craze at Intervals ana this country Is no
exception, and unless each. OF new vessels
can eduaii, or beat the worlds record they
in Difference TO public sentiment the tend
ency Is to design vessels Of the highest
which they are intended, and in conse-
Quence enormous sums OF money have been
expended by several countries In producing
trifing value for hghtinE purposes, and to-
day It requires no little moral courage on
popular element OF speed to other qualities,
no matter how important the latter may be.
Policy Of the United states.
Admiral Omen further says:
Il has lways been the policy OF the
United States TO provide 1t vessels of all
to 80 arm them that they shah be superior
to foreign vessels Of equal class in that re-
spect, and that sentiment still prevails,
and, while we. haye, in a few instances,
gubordinated all other elements to speed. It
Is not likely. 70 occur again, and the con-
census Of opinion at the present time is IN
favor of s applying large percentages OF
weight for armor and armament rather
than to assigning IT FOR the purpose OF at
taining the last possible fraction of a knot
o., speed Ths BUREAU, is convinced that no
mistake has been made In the adjustment
Of speed, armor and armament Of these
vessels. The best vessel 10 not necessarily
the one that. can most quickly get in or out
Of battle or Keep out OF battle, but Is rather
the one that can remain in battle the
longest after II gets there.
IL is safe to say that any vessel OF this
class. OF equal displacement, having q
higher speed. Is deficient In some OF the
other important qualities which these yes
sells possess,
OF submarine boats the report says that
no important developments have taken
place during the past year. either here or
abroad. though quite q number Of those
vessels have been built or are in course OF
construction. The seven boats ordered for
the United States navy are nearly finished