Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1907-02-28
MONEY IS WASTED
REPUBLICAN POLICY COSTING
TAXPAYERS MILLIONS.
Congressional Committees on Naval
Affairs Refuse to Take Advice OF
Experts-squander Public Cash
on Obsolete Armament.

The question of building more bat
tleships is again under discussion in
congress and President Roosevelt in
his letter to the chairman OF the house
committee on naval affairs urges the
construction "of battleships of large
displacement with their primary bat
teries all of one type of big guns AS
the battleships at present in commits
sion will all be comparatively worth
less in a few years, it is most impor-
tant that such new ships as congress
may provide for shall be of the most
modern type and able to more than
cope with anything afloat. The size
of the battleship is not the only thing
to be considered, for it is acknowi-
edged that a battleship of the Dread
naught type would be at the mercy OF
a smaller ship with greater speed n
armed with guns of greater size and
power than the present Pinch guns.
Four IA or 16-inch guns mounted on a
vessel of much less displacement than
the Dreadnaught could stand off out
of the range of her fire and destroy
her, or even a ship with two such
gums could batter the Dreadnaught on
the ancient plan of the bow and stern
chasers with which the ~privateers OF
the war of 1912 were armed, which en-
abled them to stand off and make easy
prey of a ship Of greater power and a
much greater broadside of lighter
guns.
1t requires no argument to prove
that a battleship of 10000 tons, carry
ong four 16-inch guns and having SUI
perior speed, would have the 10000
ton Dreadnaught at her mercy, al
though the latter has ten 12-inch guns
in her %broadside. The faster ship will
always be able to select the distance
she will fight at and would naturally
choose to be where her antagonist
could do her the least harm.
The ship with 12-inch armor Is now
comparatively safe outside of the
range of torpedoes, whose radius is
from 5000 to 5000 yards, because the
present 12-inch naval gun is unable to
pierce Pinch armor at that distance,
but a smaller battleship with laroer
guns and with the necessary speed
might infict such damage as to lead
to her sinking.
1t would seem to be waste of money
for Uncle Sam to continue to build
battleships of the same size and with
the same armament as the battleships
that other nations have already con-
. structed, for, with the constant evolu-
, ton in size and speed and greater ar
mament, such ships are comparatively
worthless before they have a chance
. to ever go into action.
: 1t is demonstrated that guns of IA
or 16-inch will weigh but little more
than the present 12-inch naval gun
and it is not necessary to use such
. enormous powder charges, yet the
= range of these larger guns is superior
: to the 12-inch type. The construction
. of these larger guns is urged by the
: chief of ordnance of the army, and his
recommendation is based upon a Ions
series of experiments, so his conclus
ions must be accepted as correct. Al
= it is now, we are following in the wake
> of England and are throwing away
- millions of dollars every year on ships
and armament that have already
= proved to be of an obsolete type, ant
- yet our p~ottering Republican politi
clans seem determined to perpetuatt
q a type of ships and guns which will
soon be turned over to the junk heap
II They persist in providing for she'll
that experience proves will not pene
10 trate the armor of a battleship at thu
distance that the known range of tor
u pedoes compels the commander OF
II battleship to place his vessel at, moi
~ ~withstanding that experiments hav
o. proved that shells which explode o.
, contact are available and the presen
10 shells in use are comparatively worth
- less.
The committee of the house an
~ senate on naval affairs must wake u
Ia and learn their lesson and not col
tinue in a rut that will bring disaste
Is if we shall be so unfortunate as to Ell
III gage in a war with a first-clasS navs
70 power. Uncle Sam must have the bes
and the most modern ships, guns an
projectiles that the ingenuity of gu
inventors is offering, and the expens
a of experimenting with the new idea
OF offered is but a small matter con
30 pared to the millions we are annual
ID ~expending that are wasted.
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