Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-01

divers first went down and closed all holes
In the shell OF the ship with timber, can
vas and cement. or other material: shut ali
the watertight doors that were accessible,
and then put powerful pumps at work to
empty the water from the hull In the
case, for instance, of the battieship Peres-
viet, TWO salvage steamers were placed one
on each side, and their powerful pumps
were assisted by centrifugal pump and
three pulsometers which were on board the
ship Itself. When all these pumps were
working together the enormous amount Of
1900 tons Of water per hour was pumped
total displa of the ship at her nor
NAL draft. The Peresviet was immersed
seven feet In the mud, and as she lifted the
divers, OF whom there were twelve squads,
went carefully around the ship, closing all
openings into the hull From June 30 to
July the ship lifted 31k feet, on July she
lifted three feet more. at which time she
her normal draft. In spite of the fact
that twelve holes made by eleven-inch
mortar shells were visible In the upper
DECK. OF which four pierced the protective
Geek, and although four large holes were
reported by divers as existing below the
armor deck. one OF which was eighteen
inches deep by seven feet long, II Is evil
dent that no vital injury was done to the
snip, TOR after being raised she was taken
to 6asebo, Japan, under her own steam.
The same feat was performed with the
armored cruiser Bayan, and the battleship
Poltava was also found to be navigabIe
under her own engines.
As matter of fact, the condition of these
ships, as revealed by the Japanese, con-
firms the statement made to the editor Of
this paper by several Russian officers that
the effect upon a warship of high explosives
whether exerted by the SHE'LL the torpedo or
the submarine mine, Is strictly local The
plating, framing or what-not that comes
within the immediate radius of the ex-
OlOSiya blown N or or
by the energy of the gases or the flying
fragments; but the structure of the ship
as whole Is not affected
Neither the vessel itself nor its en-
Etnes are thrown out Of line or wrench
ed, or twisted; and hence the best an
swer to make to the increasing range Of
gun and torpedo, and to the hidden men,
ace OF the submarine and the mine, is to
multiply the subdivision and still fur
Their localize the effect of the blow.
Enormous Gain in Strength.
In conclusion, we draw attention to the
enormous gain in strength of the Jap
anese navy, due to the inclusion of these
captured and relocated Russian ships The
work of new construction was carried on
during the war to an extent that more
than offsets the Japanese losses The bat
teships kasuga and Katori, the most
powerful af1oat, each carrying four IL s
and four los and twelve 6s, will be COM
pleted early in 1906, or, say. two years
from the beginning of the Russian war
and the Japanese themselves completed
three twenty-knot cruisers of about 5000
tons displacement. Five battlesh hips three
coast defense ships, one armored cruiser
and two large protected cruisers of the
late Russian fleet have been added to the
navy; and it is probable that in the case
OF the battieships the Russian arma-
ment Will be replaced by much more pow
erful guns of the wire-w wound type of
Japanese manufacture. The speed OF
these ships is high, and they may be con-
sfdered, when rearmed, as being well up
to date. The increase of the Japanese
navy by accretion, during and after the
war, is as follows: In battleships there
Is an increase of 6I,45G tons, or 80 per
cent: in coast-defense vessels an increase
of 1924 tons, or IFS per cent; in; ar
mored cruisers there is an increase of
1880 tons, equal to 10 per cent; and in
protected cruisers there is an increase of
16,440 tons, or 30 per cent. The total in
crease of the whole navy IN tonnage
alone IS 10S,320 tons. which is an increase
of As per cent on the total tonnage with
which Japan went into the war. This
places her ahead of Italy, and brings her
into fifth place, or next in rank to the
United States