The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-04-15
GUN ACCIDENTS
UNNERVE SEAMEN
American Marines Lead World as
Marksmen but at Fright
full Cost.
Naval and Ordnance Experts Face
Problem Of Protecting
Own Men.
Missouri Disaster Cited In Oppo-
sition to Further Efforts for
Supremacy.
New York Sun Special Service,

New York Bun Special Service
Chicago, April 15.-Walter Well
man in Washington special to the
Record Herald says:
The appalling disaster on the bat
tleship Missouri has caused consterna-
ton throughout the navy. Naval Off
GERS fear rapidity of gun fire has de-
Veloped to such q surprising degree in
our navy that the lives of our gunners
and ammunition handlers are serious
ly jeopardized.
The United States navy leads the
world in accuracy and frequency of
fire from big guns, but at a frightful
cost. SO great is the hazard of acct
dent under the new conditions that IL
Is declared the gunners and magazine
men are in g. state bordering upon de-
liberalization.
They are brave fellows, who will
not hesitate to risk their lives in battle
IL need arise. But they are becoming
more and more timorous about facing
the dangers which they know Turk in
the turrets and the handling rooms,
with heavy guns fired every forty or
fifty seconds, where in consequence
hundreds Of pounds Of powder out Of
the magazines are liable 10 ignition IL
anything goes wrong.
Problem Confronts Experts.
The naval and ordnance experts are
now confronted with an important and
a. serious problem:
Can men, guns and ammunition
handling methods stand the terrible
strain which this rapid fire entails?
Are the gun forces being over
trained and becoming too dangerous
to our own ships and men to warrant
the continuance Of the system?
This is the fourth serious accident
to guns Of our battleships in about a
year. Three Of them were attended
by serious loss Of life, that on the Mis-
souri, exceeding all the others COM
bined. ...-... .s.,.... ....... ....
While every officer is careful not to
imply any censure on anyone, and to
regard the calamity as inevitable In
view Of the still meager knowledge
that even the most advanced naval Of
ficers have Of modern WarshiDS and
their guns, the theory most generally
accepted Is that the disaster was
caused by the premature ignition OF
the powder charge by fragment OF
the canvas bag or by a grain of pow,
der still smoldering when the new
powder charge was rammed home.
Powder in Canvas Bags.
The powder charge for a modern
gun is encased in a canvas bag. Wher
q gun is to be fired the shell Is frs
put In and then the powder charge
$50 pounds for a 12-inch gun, In foul
bags Of ninety pounds each. -
In the old days Of the smooth bore
and breech loader, burning black pow
der, the gun was swabbed out to pre-
vent any fragments remaining in thu
gun when the new charge was put in
but the modern theory is that the sho
which fits closely to the bore drive
everything before it, and therefor
there Is no danger of a smolderinl
fragment being left.
Officers are of the opinion, however
that the theory has not been abso
lutely established. They think 1t no
improbable that a fragment of smol
dering cloth could lodge behind tn
shell which would not be detected 1
the haste of loading and firing. Tha
fragment might be large enough t
set fire to the new bag and cause it
contents to ignite.