The San Francisco call., 1906-10-21

Is welded and riveted over her sides
until, ready for launching. she wears a
coFsage OF olcven-inch case hardened
steel weighing some four thousand
tons Arrayed thus and Weighing in
bridal trim a round ten thousand tons,
finely lined and perfectly poised. she
gracefully answers a sudden powerful
touch generated by an electric button
and launches down the ways. Then
comes the most important feature OF
the entire pro gramme-the installation
OF her turrets and guns. of heavier
'arHlor belts, OF vast boilers and en-
gines which may develop $500 horse
power, and the thousand additions
necessary TO natriculated battieship.
i has been asserted t:iat these costly
agents OF destruction or protection in
war and of patrol in peace are too
fiimsily built. that they would shake
themselves to pieces and would be
surely destroyed IL grounded. Expert
eHce has shown these predictions 10 be
ashore and sustained heavy damages,
but have been saved, repaired and re-
stored to active service. Swift ar
nored cruisers have not shaken them
selves to pieces. but have remained in
tact, though their propeIling machinery
has been relatively more powerful than
that OF any transoceanic liner. Facts
OF this calber have routed prophets OF
pessimism: criticisms formerly frequent
have now been practically silenced. and
designers Of merchant vessels have
benefited in many ways by the daring
initiative taken by the architects of
war.
1t was with the Crimean war that the
sge Of the ironclad really was inaugu-
rated. and tt is one of the strangest
features OF history that Russia, which
today has no standing in the naval
world. was the pioneer and inspiration
OF modern naval warfare. Prior to 1854
inventors had dreamed dreams and
seen visions. suggestions had been ad-
vanccd and failures secorded, but fifty
two years ago the visions and sugges-
tlons were materialized. At sinope, In
1853, the first damaging effect OF shell
fire on wooden vessels was shown in
action. Turkish squadron number
ing seven frigates, pair OF corvettes
and as many steamers, was anchored
under the guns of q battery In Sinope
Straits. The Turks were not EXPECTING =
Russian attack and knew nothing OF
the sleeping destruction in the smooth
bore shell guns necking the Russian
battery. They were swiftly and utterly
annihilated, and a new note of war was
sounded.
II reached the ears of Napoleon III.
who in September OF the foIlovvins z vear
with arnlor. They were OF 140e tons
displacement. 81 feet long and OF only
5 feet draught. Sheathing each timber
hull was en- iron belt OF armor 4 inches
thick. His vessels. had some deck pro-
lection above the batteries. and beasted
the germ OF what has come to be known
as the coming tower-a bullet proof
iron shelter for the pilots. His heavy
sullen vessels we're soon copied by Eng
land Then came our MerriMac and
Monitor. and no period ON human rae
ord has Witnessed changes so nuner-
Gus, so startling and SO far reaching as
the succeeding one OF forty odd years
If we shall re2iize that In Its broad
sided impressiveness we must approach
and examine the newly launched battle
ship of today. Scanning her massive
body II is difficult to realize that she
has greater bulk below than above the
water. Her submerged body measures
24A feet. leaving 20 feet from water to
deckrail. SIS feet 8 inches TO military
topmast and les feet inches to signal