The San Francisco call., 1904-04-08
Ia the Worlds NaaieS.

lie on March le was DullN pS NiSNSAN'
Sens & Maxim at arrOw-in-Furness.
She was one Of the second group OF ten
submarines. which embody considerable
improvements on the first ten boats
built on the Holland plans. The boat
was 100 feet in length and ten feet
beam. cigar shaped and had been sub
jected to more experiments than any OF
the rest, and her officers and crew were
thoroughly familiar with her workings
or the eleven lives lost one, Lieutenant
LOTUS c. o. Mansergh, was the son Of
the late Major Mansergh. and 81 years
OF age: Sub Lieutenant John p.
Churchill was the son OF Rear Admiral
Churchill and p years old. The crew
consisted Of two engine-room artifcers
TWO stokers. three petty officers and
two able seamen-
The work Of raising the sunken sub-
marine has been given to Stockholm
salvage company, which has contracted
10 place the boat in dock at Portsmouth
for s12.500 The first attempt failed.
two and a half inch hawser swapping
in the effort TO cant the boat into an
upright position, and all depends upon
the state of the weather. In this con-
nection il is curious 10 note that the
u-recking company, with its usual fore
sight and enterprise. had put in at
Portsmouth a week before when it
heard OF the maneuvers that were to
take place. so as TO be ready if any
thing in their line turned up. AS 1T
happened the services were wanted,
A ,1-.r 1,ac a1zrn n
pliances of its own. depending solely
,ipon private enterprises of that sort,
and the contracts usually go 10 the
Swedish company or to well-known
Italian wrecking concern. Another
curious coincidence is this, that the
diver who first went down 10 locate
the sunken submarine is the same man
who two years ago went down twenty
fathoms in the North Sea TO salvage
the destroyer Cobra.
The number of court-martials in the
British navy for ls0l-02 was so small
as TO make a very creditable showing.
The number tried was 32l out of a
total force Of about 10000. and Of the
GIG offenses charged 500 were against
discipline There were no cases Of
murder perjury or forgery, but there
were lOl cases Of theft and embezzle-
ment. one hundred and seventy-two
charges were made for striking or at
tempting TO strike an officer, siXty-two
for behaving with contempt against an
officer and sixty-twO for conduct pre-
judicial 10 good order and naval dis
oipline. The corresponding figures for
court-martials and Offenses in the
United States navy for 1901-02 have not
been published in detail, but the total
number Of offenses was $50, with a
total force Of less than 10000, which IN
creased TO zoos during ls02-OS.
The recent accident off Guantanamo
IN which the battleships Missouri and
Illinois collided seriously damaging the
latter ship has been inquired into by
a board Of naval officers. The board
finds the accident due primarily TO the
steering gear Of the Missouri breaking
down. and that the subsequent efforts
made by the commanding officers failed
TO prevent the Missouri from ramming
the Illinois. Both captains are praised
and further proceedings are not recon-
mended. Admiral Dewey and Secre-
tary Moody approve or the boards
recommendations, but the President is
said TO be desirous of convening a
ceurt-martial in order TO fix the re-
sponsibility. The failure Of the Mis-
souri's steering gear is the latest but
hot unusual occurrence of the kind.
The Illinois ran aground in the harbol
of Christiania, Norway, July Il, 1902,
because the steering gear broke down,
ad similar defects have developed in
the Indiana and Massachusetts,. All
these ships are fitted with a combined
steam and hand steering gear, but the
latter has either been found equally
useless or else proper expedition has
rot been exercised in utilizing the hand
steering gear when the steam gear be-
came disabled.
The court which acquitted the CON-
rllanding officers Of the Missouri and
Illinois of all blame for the collision
states that 'the Missouri was an un-
drilled ship, newly placed in commits
sion, introduced into a squadron OF
evolution without previous experiment
tai work TO determine her tactical di-
ameters Cor varying helm angles. OF
other tactical qualities" The court
erred in this particular extenuation. as
records show. The Missouri made her
speed trial October q. 1903. and at the
end Of the trial made the usual tests
as 20 steering, stopping, backing and
other trials. The ship was put in CON-
mission December ], 1903. and left the
United States for Guantanamo Febru-
ary J. Up to the day of the collision
the officers had been over three and q
half months aboard the ship. a period
sufficient for every one TO familiarize
himself with his particular duty Navi
igation by book alone is uncertain az
10 results, but when prescribed orders
regarding accidents of the kind related
are ignored or only partially complied
with il is luck rather than good sea-
manship that saves the ship from utter
destruction
Senator Frye's bill providing that al
military and naval supplies shipped
abroad shall be carried in American
bottoms does not meet with the ap-