davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08
7EJ7'ne the NEcHAnyN - q G0n GKK1adf.

entire length. and shrinking on various
hoops till the whole assembled gun looks
ike an elongated telescope, are the princi-
pal stages of interest, but constructing the
carriages. testing the mounts modelling
and adjusting the sights and countless
number OF other activities are required be-
FORE the gun can be covered with heavy
OH ana sent to the storage house or shipped
to the waiting vessels
me material used for building naao.uat-
eTs is what is known at the navy word 90
open-hearth nickel steel fuid-compressed
forged. oil-tempered and annealed. Nickel
steel is found more serviceable as being
more ductile and more elastic and of great
er tensile strength than carbon steel When
this material comes from the great steel
companies it is rough-bored and turned the
tubes within one inch of the finished di-
menslons and all other parts within a
quarter OF an inch. These great forgings
are at once carefully weighed and minute
~ examined. Measurements are taken to
discover whether they will work out to
finished dimensions, and parts are assem-
bled' being the aim to put into one gun
only such forgings come from one plant
Naturally the lathe is the imperial tool
which has most to do with gunmakng and
In the long gunshops at the yard there
are the most ma jestic lathes to be seen any
where. The section of the building on Dahl
gren avenue. nearest the entrance of the
yard, is known as the north gunshop.
Here are located eight large tathes for the
turning and boring Of the thunderers. In
Washington no gun larger than a thirteen
Inch has ever been made. and the probable
ity is that in the future only The twelve
inch will be built up, 1t has become the
standard gun.
Overhead and extending on into the long
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08

clear 1t Is swabbed out with wet swabs on
ionS poles. Then the craneman, with his
eyes rlveted on the foreman, moves the
crane slowly with It's dangling sixteen-ton
burden until the jacket is exactly over the
gun-tube which has been placed upright In
the pit. This is the psychological moment
Every one. bystanders and workmen, Is
anxious.
There is but four-hundredths of an inch
play all around the tube. If the jacket
binds. when lowered there Is no end of
trouble, delay and expense. Steady nerves
are needed to center the jacket The heat
from the baked jacket Is almost unen-
durable and the red faces Of the workmen
who steady it with asbestos gloved hands
blister.
Another adjustment and the Jacket ia
centered.
Down bend the foreman's fingers
The reel unwinds. and the jacket first
slowly and-then rapidly. drops until it
brings up suddenly on the end of the tube.
1t Is customary now to jacket the big
guns right up to the muzzle For eighteen
hours the mass cools, fastened by water
circulating inside the tube Then when
the contraction ceases it has npped the
tube so closely as actually to compress It,
and practically the tube and Jacket have
become one piece of steel.
When tight rubber band is slipped
over stout piece of cardboard bent so
as 10 make hollow cylinder the same
play of forces is seen in the construc-
ton Of big gun. The tension of the
rubber prevents the card from springing
open, and the tension of the card resists
the compression of the rubber Techni-
cally this is known as initial tension and
varying elasticities" 1t is only by this
means and the extra energy Of the great
hoops, layers of steel bands that are con-
tracted upon the jacket in much the same
manner as the jacket upon the tube that
the tremendous pressure of the explosion
of a gun charge is overcome.
There Is moment in the making of a
gun that tests are not applied and when it
is unders TODD that measuring machines
capable of indicating the twenty-thousandth
of an inch are employed the degree of ac-
curacy which is ordinarily demanded can
only be imagined.
The whole process of making these thun-
derlng peacemakers is of but recent inven-
ton. 1t was, according to some historical
accounts. at Crecy in 1916 that the sturdy
English used the first cannon-strange 1T
tie spitf1res that threw a three or four
pound stone ball a hundred yards or so.
But even then they dealt a dea thblow to
knighthood and feudalism. Ordnance in the
course of five centuries made some advance,
but between the war of 1912 and the civil
war there was not much change. Gunlocks
and shell had been thought out and rifing
and breechloading were slightly employed.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08

But even up to 1877 the standard guns of
the navy were the smooth bore, solid cast
IRON Dahlgrens which the sailors called
| beer bottles and which. burning nine
POUNDS OF powder, fired a shot Of about
ninety pounds. Some of these ant!n1res ira
actually still afioat
1t was only in 1884 that a hoard CON,
ABROAD to examine the gun factories az
England, France and Russia made such ra
porls mat the establishment of a modern
navy gun factory at Washington and an
army gun factory at wateryliet on tbs
fudson, was secured. Now with the thous
anus OF machines and the shifts Of skilled
niachlhists, the United States has some
thlhg 10 say as to gunmakinP which ia
not disclosed to every tourist who entars
gate. S'''
IN IN the great quadrangle or gun carriage
shop the problem of absorbing blow OF
4o,ooo foot-tons by the springs of the car
rlageS must be worked out. At every mo-
meht IN every shop whether the resound-
ing FOUNDRY where 5000 pound brass cast
lnSs shower the air with fire. or the forge
shop where seventy fve-ton hammers shake
the foundations, or the quiet Of the drafts
mans rooms, there is always present the
ann TO perfect, to surpass and to keep quiet
IN order that peace may be dictated author
itatively
Including the yOkes. the breech mechan-
lsrns, the accessories and the spare PARTS on
the average a standard twelve-inch gun
costs approximately $G5 OOO; an eight-inch
gun, $4,000. and a sx-inch gun, $1,000
and 1t has been found that the government
with improved machinery can make its
guns at one-third the cost paid under con-
tract to provide firms And yet with even
this reduction the life of gun is an i'm
portant question with the navy. The prob
lem of erosion is in all probability the most
perpleXing difficulty before the minds of
gun experts.
When a gun is fired the chemical and
mechanical forces Set into action corrodo
the bore. 1t is Softened, and the rush Of
the powder gases at the base of the pro-
jectile gouge out the lining. 1t has been
proven at the yard that the eroded gun
may be bored out and new barrel in
serted but the process of refining is long
and tedious. With the necessity Of target
practice the question of the number of
times high-powdered large-caliber gun
can be 1red Is an anxious matter. 1t Is
now estimated that twelve-inch gun may
be fired 300 times without serious Injury,
and yet, even in peace, the bureau OF ord
nance petitions Congress that the gun fac
tory may be kept busy making reserves.
When the big peacemaker is temporarily
out of commission there must be In storage
successors able to make emphatic utter.
ance. 1t Is for that reason that the lathss
are kept turning and, with the regularity
OF clockwork, on comes the night shift
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08
rEK@gf N.AD1 10 Lift d Big Gun

carrying two tools on the opposite sides of
the nat front end. This affair Is then built
up with white oak into complete cylinder
slshtiy larger In diameter than the fin
lsneo mole. When forced into the opening,
the cut being light, the bit is under ire
mendous pressure and Is held most rieidly.
After every job it is necessary to repack
the bit, the same wood being used with adj
dltional lining of wood, and in the first re-
Innings even of paper.
For the sake Of accuracy when a gun
tube or long hoop is being bored USUALLY
1t is cut out half way from one end and
then reversed to minimize any possible err
ror. AS boring cannot be done as ac-
curately as turning, the bore is always cut
out first and the turned piece made later to
suit the measurement of the hole. That
method secures a perfect fit
X
But neither boring nor turning ever
reaches such a pitch of excitement in the
gunshop as the moment of shrinkage By
custom, shrinking hour is usually o'clock
in the afternoon.
Il have shrunk some thousand or more
jackets in my lme,'' says the foreman.
land always at o'clock, and 1 have never
had an accident. I am not superstitious
but I don't see any use changing the
time
Shrinking on a great Pinch jacket is
an event, and never fails to arouse even
the veterans of the shop.
The shrinking pit is forty-five feet deep
In fact, there are three wells, one in the
center twenty-five feet deep, the two on
either side being forty-fve The guns and
jackets are heated in three vertical fur
naces, In which crude oil Is used as fuel
No flame touches the gun.
1t takes from thirty to thrty-six hours to
heat up large Jacket, which may weigh
as much as $4,000 pounds. When the pyro-
meter which aIords an accurate knowl-
edge of the temperature. registers TOO to 500
degrees Fahrenheit, the jacket is suffl-
ciently baked. and then it is ready for its
hnal resting place over the tube At the
signal of the foreman the big overhead
cranes wheel over the pit. The smaller
one lifts the lid Of the furnace and swings
1t to one side. Then the great 110-ton crane
comes into position: Its great shackle Is
lowered rapidly, and the men, every one Of
whom Is automatically perfect in his special
duties. with iron rods adjust the chains
At the motion Of the foreman-he merely
tips upward the fingers of his outstretched
hand-the great jacket, with a mighty
humming and rafting of the crane, begins
to rise out OF the furnace. When it is once
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08

south gunshop and the breach mechanism
shop are the runways of the big cranes
Three electric travelling cranes have re-
spectively main hoist capable Of lifting
40 tons, % tons and 10 tons Each has an
auxiliary hoist respectively Of s. 2La and IN
tons. over all is an additional crane rum
way supporting a 11O-ton crane Oested to
12O tonS, with 15-ton auxiliary hoist.
There is thus no difficulty in swinging a
great gun weighing rs tons up and down
the long shop
No. 1 lathe is the prize piece of the
north gunshop. 1t is capable of turning
or boring a gun of 16-inch bore or less, and
can turn gun 81 feet long and bore for
81 feet. On this lathe. which has a bed of
rs feet 3A inches the gigantic monarch.
the 16-inch gun, capable OF hurting a ton
OF steer distance of twelve miles can De
easily made
Seven other similar lathes range down the
north gunshop, and then the shrnkage pit
Is reached. Beyond the pit Is the long
space known as the south gunShop- The
lower end of the building is devoted to the
breech mechanism shop
The south gunshop Is 427 feet IL inches
long and is devoted almost entirely to the
construction of guns from 8 to 10 inches In
diameter. It contains fifteen gun lathes,
together with number of other large
lathes for turning various parts of the
breech mechanism, also a rifing machine
and other apparatus.
The breech mechanism shop proper. the
last $50 feet Of the long factory, Is de-
voted to the asseNDbling OF parts. Here
$50 or more machines are lined up along
the sides and here guns up to the ten-inch
variety are brought down to have the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08

There is some difference between these
newly ordered vessels, believed to be dis
ttnetly superior to any other battle@-.p
hitherto designed and the old Indiana.
TLa Delaware the name selected for one of
the new terrors will be $40 feet in length.
with a beam of s5ls Her displacement on
trial will he 10000 tons, and the mean
draught ~ feet The speed demanded IS
2l knots What is pertinent about this
sea-going gun platform. which Will require
a crew Of 500 and cost 100000 complete,
is that her main battery viii consist of ten
twelve-inch guns. and the secondary battery
OF fourteen hve-inCh guns. together with
twelve minor pieces. In comparison with the
Indiana. which. like her sister ships the
Massachusetts, the Oregon. and even the
Iowa, was regarded as a last expression in
battleship development in its day Qs93). a
meaning Of the word "dreadnought" can
be asCertained
The Indiana is 34s feet in length. with a
beam of 6sh4; her displacement is 10. 2Ss tons
and draught PA feet Her speed is 155
knots. With an armament of four thirteen
inch. eight eight-.nch and four sx-inch guns
Tor her main battery, and twenty-nine minor
pieces for her secondary battery, she has
never exceeded a collective muzze energy OF
over 1S2 .OnO-foot tons. on the new Delaware
the collective muzZle energy will equal 400
OO0-foot tons. In other words. in little more
than ten years the fighting power OF the
battleship has more than doubled 1t is
quite impossible TO estimate the amount
of destruction possible from a concentra-
ton OF ten twelve-inrh guns. Nothing now
nfioat could Withstand 1t.
To provide these modern big guns for
navy conceived upon this new basis is the
special object of the Washington gun fac
tory. The manner In which the work is
being rushed since the Spanish war and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08
TiNIHING the INTERIOR
~ 4 L Inch Gun

not eN'-rtiug tie world-famed gunshops
o. IT, E.lpps. IS the finest in the world.
Experts IN naval affairs now give the
In, . States navy the second place among
the nations Of the world, Great Britain far
ahead 10y a long lead and Germany.
Franc. Japan, Russia and Italy steaming
SO cus- after the Stars and Stripes that
IT is doubtful whether Germany. France
and Japan at least may not oyertake her,
or whether the lad is not already merely
Usttr of opinion. 1t was Admiral
G!eay,s who said some years ago:
- ,ps are built to carry-that is to say.
shsr- are simply gun platforms furnished
wit. motive power for transportation and
Irul.azatiou.' And Secretary Moody once
reported that It requires practically as
rlu.. time To manufacture the armament
Of .ajtieship as To build the vessel. I'm
G.. -, csc circumstances it is easily COM
pve.rrs5ole that with the contracts given
a. lat. as June - 10 the Newport News
Cumrauy and the Fore River Company
tor Two improved Dreadnoughts of 10000
tons. the gun factory at Washington is now
busy for twenty four hours a day.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08

One of the most interesting phases of the
boring, when the nature of the steel material
on the lathe Is remembered, is the use of
the packed Bit" All the boring is done by
bits. The start is made by cutting out
from three to six inches Of the bore with
the ordinary lathe tool, then the "hog Bit
which is a semi-cylinder of cast iron hol-
lowed In the middle and having hard tool
screwed to one front corner Is used It is
possible on some of the lathes to make
cut one inch deep, the feed being 3-1OO of
an inch and the speed seven feet per min
ute. But all the finish-cuts are made with
the packed Bit" which Is made of wood.
That is, the bit is fiat forging, or possibly
steel casting. with a cylindrical shank
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08

breech mechanism and sight mount1ngs
fitted. Larger guns than these usually
have their sights fitted upon them after
they have been placed in the turrets
aboard ship. The great continuous gun
shop is the heart of the gunmaking plant
Here the thousand or more workmen toll
IN three shifts throughout the twenty-rour
hours. with the result of two and three
hundred guns a year.
In order. the processes Of building I'D
a big gun, and, for that matter, the smaller
guns as well. for it is all much the same
thing, are the boring Of the jacket, the
turning of the tube the shrinking of the
Jacket upon 1t and the subsequent turning
Of the exterior, followed one by one by
the shrinking on Of the hoops. Each hoop
is turned after it is shrunk on. Then fol-
low the boring of the built-up guns, with
the finishing of the powder chamber, the
cutting of the thread for the screw bore,
the rifiing of the gun and the attachment
of the breech mechanism.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-08

with the rdmors of war, ora war to be
avoided by fleet demonstrations maybe
imagined from a statement of Admiral
Mason in his latest annual report as chief
of the bureau of ordnance:
The total shipments from the yard. ex-
elusive of material shipped to and from
the naval proving ground, amounted to
2o.611.127 pounds being an increase of TO-
442.G6S pounds over the previous fiscal
year"
AT the gun factory also, as in the new
Delaware. requirements have been doubled
Criticism since the disasters in the tur-
rets of the Massachusetts. the Kearsarge
the Missouri and the Georgia has been
aimed at the construction of the turrets
at the fact of there being superimposed
turrets which require greater hoists of the
ammunition. at the smokeless powder,
which according to some authorities, is as
uncertain as woman but no word has
been raised against the construction of
the big peaoemakers. the guns themselves.
Something over five thousand men are
employed at the navy yard. All their eff
Tort Is a concentration of ways and means
to make the big gun easily handled per-
fectly reporting piece of mechanism. Turn
ng and boring the great tube, jacketing its
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-01-09

Ths aparhe1. like many 0ihgl
Eorlh American tribes, are sun Wor-
Slippers, says seFibner's. Their myths
tell them that the sun Is the all-pow-
eUtl deity, and to it ali applications
are addressed. On going Into battle.
planting corn. or starting on q cattle
stealing expedition. the sun IS asked
70 look with favor That they be-
Iieye In a future world is proved By
their custom Of killing horses and
burying them, as well as their cloth
ing and implements Of the chase. for
life In the future world. Not only
the medicine men but the peopls
claim % hold communion with tie
ChindI, or spirits Of their ancestors.
They are also great believers In
omens, talismans and amulets, but
are very conservative, and it Is with
difficulty that one gets them To dIs.
cuss things supernatural. They will
not talk about God among their own
people with familiarity. and scarcely
At all with the white man.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-01-09
spriRhtliness unapprsciatsd

A traveller relates that the steam.
or was nearing the completion OF a
very rough passage. and most Of the
passengers were silent. sad and
thoughtful. Only one gay and sprfghf-
ly individual looked as though an
earthquake hadn't suddenly swal.
lowed up his frieCd and all his world.
Iy goods. Look here" he said
dancing nimbIy about. I'm all right.
II you chaps just brace up and be
cheerful. you'll feel all right" He
did hoEnplpe and . Jig. and one Of
his fellow passengers raised his head
long enough to say: George. viii
you DO me q great favor-a very
great favor possibly the last favor
! shall ever ask OF you?" why.
certainly. old man! What can ges
for you!" Nothing. | simply bee
Of you to stop dancing. II shakes
the boat So"
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-01-09

Exploring Cadiz Is the threading or
labyrinth. much Of II as intricate as
the older part Of Boston. and with
streets so much narrower that few OF
them permit the passage OF carriages
in opposite directions.
The place seems rather modern In
spite Of having been founded 1l00
B. G.. for Il has been destroyed and
rebuilt 50 many lines in It's tragic
career that tombs and their contents
are the only reminders Of lis Phoeni-
cian origin. Distant Impressions cg
dazzling white are toned down BY
stroll through lts shadowy, wellpayed
byways. as the succeed fronts are
often In bright colors and have glass.
inclosed balconies gay with flowers
and draperses. One misses the spa.
eious courtyards and general air os
roominess that mark the residences
Of Seville. but even that city makes
no such striking displays Of marble IN
interior decoration -stairways. doors,
columns. brought from Italian quar-
ries, IA modest houses also, are wit.
nesses Of the days when Cadiz was 4
richer city than London, Track
News.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-01-09

There are several conmon sense
ways u obtaining sleep. says the
Worlds Work. One Of them Is the
application Of cold wet cloths to the
back Of the head and neck. This
treatment win not be followed by q
reaction II it is continued for Z mum.
Der Of minutes. and II osten works
surprisingly well.
Another way Of solving the prob
lem Il to soak the feet In a hot bath
until the veins become dilated with
blood; or the whole body up to the
hips may be given a hot soak. With
some people. 8 two or three minute
hip bath 10 the most effective rem
edy. Others find help in q few slow
exercises, which do not Jar or excite
the system bur simply bring some "a
tigue to the big muscles OF the trunk
and limbs. Friction Of the skin, es.
pecially OF the lower part OF the body
Is another means
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-01-09
cArs 90 sAck 70 vie LIFE.
Forsaks EnvIroas Of Civilization ana
Live In Woods.

An interesting study Of animal ma
ture is found by pcssum and coon
hunters Of this city In the 1000 or
more acres of dense timber OF the
Marmaton river bottoms. west OF
town. II is found that many once
tame house cats are now lnhabiting
the timbers. as wild and more fero-
cious fighters when treed than any
other species OF animals which hunt.
era are apt to encounter In these
woods.
Nearly every hunting party spend
Ing . night IN these woods comes mp
with cat that has gone back to the
Wild" The superstition Is that these
cats have been tempted to the woods
BY the field and wood mice and other
prey upon which cats like 10 feed an6
that they gradually become accustofn-
cd to Wild life and make their home
there. Frequently party Of hut
ers has chased cat haif q uighs 70
have an exciting nght when the doga
finally cornered Il
The cats thus returned 20 the na-
tive nfe Of their species are said By
the hunters to grow considerably
larger than their civilized kyothera
and sisters and 10 be able &c engage q
whole pack Of dogs single ehanded. =
Fort Scott Tribune.
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-01-09
aLeoaoL 80 80 III
Good cuslity and Large Quantity
taken Fram Bulb of Sean.

E. H. Plumaehsr. cousul at Mara.
caibo. Odds another chapter to the
utilization OF waste products. says the
New York Herald. He writes as fol.
lows concerning a valuable new meth
"a for securing a native illumihant
and power producer in the tropics:
In q letter written By Don Enrique
Sanchez. Of BucaTamanga, republic Of
Colombia. to the newspaper FL Mer-
curio de Bogota. I see the following
interesting information: Don En-
rique Sanchez states that after many
scientific laboratory trials It has been
proved that from the bulb Of the cot
fee bean a good quality and large
quantity Of alcohol can be distracted.
Up to date the bulb has been useless.
II Is we'll known 10 us here IN the
coffee-growing districts that Of the
coffee pod only the coffee bean haa
been OF value. II 1t is true that from
the bulb q good and sufficient Quanti-
~ Of alcohol can be extracted By dis
tillation It Is Of the greatest benefit
to all coffeeproducing countries. aa
the alcohol viii be used for illumina-
ton and for any other purpose Most
Of our interior towns and houses are
Illuminated BY petroleum. which has
to be brought from the United States
in boxes and shipped on mulsback
over high mountains and bad roada
to the interior at great expense.
The import Of petroleum 70 the cof.
feegrowing countries will suffer
greatly and also the revenue Of the
tlsons. as a heavy import duty Is coi-
lected. especially in Venezuela