New-York tribune., 1905-01-29

* -
y cepted by the officers of the blockading fleet
their actual condition. If so, the reason for that
Hard aportl" incident at the beginning OF the
fight is obvious: if the Spaniards were twenty
knotters" and empowered as published they would
have surrounded and sunk the first cruiser or un-
armored vessel that approached them
The vital proposition of getting at the enemy and
getting away again cannot be cried down the wind;
like the ghost of Banquo, it will not down quote
letter of mine written in April last, that further
states my position
Regarding the subject of boilers No matter what
kind of boilers these ships may have had or how
thoroughly they constructed they could not have
remained efficient for the hrst year, because the re
men, coal passers and the entire engneroo personnel
ND to the engineers had experience whatever III
firing any kind of boilers. The hremen had been
taken the Captain stated directly from the country
We know the result. While the engineers, rule,
were educated far beyond the class of experts who
ordinarily run engines they unable to train the
men under them, because they had not had any eN-
pcrience as hremen themselves. Nor was there an
intermediate class of people, in some other naVles
to help the chief engineers
I'VE have found the same trouble in navy
The English navy, the best equipped OF any in this
world with engine-rOOm artiCerS, stOkers and handy
men, has had its trials and tribulat1Ons
'Al sorts of schemes have been attempted to over
come these difficulties. English writers now suggest
that all dock laborcrs be trained stokerS, 50 that
whenever expert fremen wanted the Admiralty
number of bows about fourteen years of are under
instruction as stokers. What must the United States
navy expect except trouble, therefore, II the English,
with more practical engineers than any other country
can boast and larger army OF Worknen to draw uPon
confesses to constant Encouragement!
''An these complications have arisen from the
adoption of water-tube boilers; and, as have ire
ouenIv said if such boilers to be used 1t IS lnds-
pensable that the engine-rooms be equipped with
trained men.
THE troubles of the English and French with
defective boilers and incompetent stOkers have induced
MANY of their writer's naval subjects to assert that
the man behind the shovel is more important than
the man behind the gun What is necessary IS to
get within effective distance in the quickest possible
time To accomplish this, the boilers must have BEEN
originally, of superior make and kept at
high standard of efficiency. In
a general way, the introduction OF
s. /. . !. !. . !. .
water-tube boilers has revou-
~AN tionized naval engineering and
~ has had extraordinary effects
80 HA upon the capabilities of
~ ~ NJ ship or a fleet One British
~ n1IRA G&l Admiral describes the pending
@NE NY III contest over the best type of
|<sA " lexS ~ boiler for war-ships The
"W| HN Battle of the Boilers Some
- IN of the best English authorities go so Tar
6NTXMxW as to say that battles of the future
%STEI will be decided by the boilers in the hold,
not by the guns in the turrets or on deck
Until recently, comparisons OF strength