The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1904-07-07
roRPEpoEs AND WARsHIPs.
n,,in;on of a French Admiral Regard
ing Their Respective Ehcacy
in Action.

Look at what happened at Port Ar
thur. People are inclined TO Judge tne
operations there merely by the some
what uncertain statements that COME
over the cable. Everything is credlteo
To the torpedo. The torpedo boats just
now ON top, and. with the assistance o.
a little imagination. part OF the sue,
cess of the Japanese may be attriDu..u
To submarines. Can 1t be seriousi'
thought. even admitting that all the re-
norris of damage done by torpedoes are
trne that the Japanese boats wcuid nave
been able to perform the tasks assigned
IN them If they had not been supported
by a powerful fleet? What couio the Ut
tie things have accomplished II they hao
heen left to their own resources! Ihes
would soon have been short OF coai,
their crews would have been narasseu
and worn out, and they would ineVitaois
have been destroyed. says Admlrai MAJ
tarne, of the French navy, In the MAIN.
The attacks of torpedo boats are ies'
dangerous than they are generaiiy ".
lieyed to be. In order to be successful
many boats must be employed. lucy
must be handled with vigor, which can
only be expected from men peiiec'is
fresh and they must be steered with eA-
traordinary skill. Their attacks are
extremely difficult in daylight and are
very hazardous at night. Now TINS IS
contrary to the opinion OF the pupiie'
but it is true. In daylight by losing one
half of its number, fiotilla OF TORPEDO
boats might do serious injury to Meet.
At night its chances OF success wouia
he reduced. because then the conditions
would be very much more unfavoraoie-
Certainly, If a feet were to travel al
night in any order with its unities
grouped. it would facilitate an attack
from torpedo boats. But in time OF war
that is not the way they go. And more
over, the torpedo boats do not always
succeed in reaching the proper distance
for discharging their torpedoes.
am not an out-and-out and exclusive
partisan of the battleship; on the con-
trary, l am convinced Of the utility OF
torpedo boats and submarines. These
little engines are destined to play very
Important part in naval warfare; but to
render them effective, they must be sup
ported by a powerful naval force AND
that force lies In the battleship and the
armored cruiser.
The really redoubtable engine is The
gun. Sufficient attention has not been
paid to- what happened at Chemuipo.
The Japanese began to fire at the Variae
1t a distance of about i've miles. and
their shots told. That is noteworthy
fact in which there is q profitable lesson
1t is necessary now to multiply artil-
lery practice at long ranges. In the
French navy We have q trained and de-
voted personnel whose professional
value is universally recognized. Very
well. 1t Is necessary to increase ten
fold that value by constant practice
The English, who obtain remarkable re-
suits from the frequency OF their pfac-
tice. have made heavy gun firing per-
feet sport. Let us initiate them.
Tell your readers that the battieshiT
does not mean 30 much money tossed
into the water. In order to obtain the
best results, q feet must include al
unities possessing tactical value. and
In q wisely determined proportion.