The Savannah morning news., 1902-06-01

r. .tsre may come at any moment COM
.,,+e revolution through the dicovery
- some agent of propulsion that will
do away with coal and the steam en-
zine At present the slowing of ma
obinerv and the carrying of coal in a
s. .,easure controls absolutely the con-
function of our ships. The room oc-
o,nied by these two all-important ele-
.,ents is enormous and dictates ar
4 bitrarily construction along certain
f lines Venturing on the future moth
,no nositive can be laid down because
r.e do not know how long the present
svstem of fuel and machinery will en-
dure. The use of compressed or hque-
cod gas. or gas made on board ship
in boilers or vessels, is possible de-
,.elonment which will save weight and
mon and simplify boiler arrangement,
a oven with steam boilers and engines as
thew are now. The nineteenth CEN
Il +urv was the age of invention. The
4 human mind to-day is in state OF
intense activity, and developing by its
oxnerience during the century just
closed 1t is fair to presume that
If will bring forth new inventions at
a much more rapid rate. AT this time,
II however. there is not in sight anything
that would give us even clue as TO
what we may expect in the way OF
new driving power. Electricity, liquid
air compressed air, gas, or any one
of a dozen forces may be developed
Il over night, so to speak, in manner
that will compel the complete remodel
B ing of our enginery both on land and
eea Naturally this would bring
tvne of war vessel entirely different
from what we have at present. But
nation to be abreast of the times
cannot speculate in future develop
ments. It must take advantage OF
+bs hest existing conditions and work
I'm to them if it desires to control at
sea. So far we have done this admir-
ably in the new American Navy.
Expert Opinions Differ.
For a generation past the creation
nj a battIeship has been as conven-
tonal as the trimming of a hat. me
trimming may be varied mere anu
there and the shape slightly altered
Int the frame always remains about
the same. The battleship has been OF
slow growth, and there have been few
radical changes. Take the "Ironsides'
and the Monitor" from composite
of the two on steel brought up TO
the time of the "Inflexible" in armour
and gun, and you will be surprised TO
note the similarity. Yet the two types
were 20 years apart The 'lntiexlple'
barring modern guns, does not olIer
greatly from the pattleshlp VI 'H
present. a.
Hence it is in the factors going TO
make m the battleship that we must
look for the probable changes that
will he made in the vessels them
selves. AS to these faetors naval
opinion in America, at least is rad
81 icany divided. Pick out five OF the
# Brightest officers of the service
tleship should have hlgn
freeboard or only enough for sea
1vorthiness; whether she should nave
turrets at all or only barbettes; wheth-
er speed or armament is the most I'M
nortant: and it is quite possible thaI
one may get five different opinions
FL This does not mean that battlesnlps
are inefficient. They are all gooo anu
the merits of particular factors must
4 be proved in the supreme test OF pat
a tie No nation can have too many pat
81 tleships if it aspires to world power.
1t has been asserted by eminent con-
structors that we are approaching AT
era where armor will be suborolnateu
entirely; that the battleShip or the III
ture will depend upon speed and qulch
handling for defensive purposes. PeI'
sonally l doubt this very much. looR
to see a constant development OF arm
OR. an increased rather than a decreased
protection. The tendency has beer
right along to protect more and more
and ultimately, l believe, there Will DC
on a battleship no exposed parts Wnere
men are stationed. Those who sug'
gested the sacrifice of armor IN the
interest of speed forgot that the f1rs
duty of a battleship is not to insure
her own safety but to destroy her OPP
ponent. She is essentially tghtlne
machine.
Fight to the Death.
Battleships are like prizefighters
they go into the ring to fight to finish
and realize that they must be prepared
| to take many good blows in return fol
those that they deal if they want vic
| tory. Armor being a measure or en-
III durance, the more a ship carries tn'
better she is to take blows and the
81 better able to administer punishment
81 at short range-the most effective
FL range. The armor and the gun have 81
far kept pace with one another yer!
well. The plate can be made thlcl
enough to resist any gun, but to-day
such plate is too heavy to carry, 81
the gun is perhaps ahead.
From the time that explosive smells
IL hrst came into use armor became I'M
perative. In the days of solid shot 1
made no particular difference whether
vessel was pierced or not, unless a
the water line. The shot seldom hi
anyone inside, and the holes made II
the vessel were plugged up with com
paratVe ease. Even chain shot wal
not fatal to a sturdy vessel, nor i'm
paired seriously her fighting qualities
but shell carrying a high explosive il
different proposition. If one of thes'
pierces a vessel it practically means
obstruction to all in the neighborhooC
Where the shell strikes, as we'll as thu
Danger of fire. Therefore it is neces
SaIy to take protective measures tina
VIII explode these shells on the out
sIue' and such protective measures arr
found only in armor, and even in
creased armor. If there should CONT
81 time, when there is discovered a pro
!eeule that nothing can resist, or tina
III IS so powerful that protection agains
1t would involve armor of such thick
ness as to make battleship an iner
mass then we may expect to turn from
aInor and depend upon an overwhelm
ing battery, but at present nothing o
Inc kind is in sight.
Danger to the Gums.
However, we are only at the thresh
noid in the matter of explosives. Their
Is certain to come more rapid develop
ment along these lines. Also we ma,
b. tpnndentlV look for a striking adVanp