Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-08-01
casualties on BattIeships More
Numerous Since Destruction
OF Maine Than in 80 Years.
MOST APPALLING HISTORY
s.v If "standing Stone Seneca
chief. and Its Very Pa
thetic Ending.
,,o, correspondence.

Snecial Correspondence
Ivoahington. ID. c., July Whine
al accident on the Georgia, one OF
,he newest of our battleships. wherein
,,rmber Of brave men lost their lives
nowder fash, while the ship was
noded in target practise. sent
will of horror throughout our own
,,rv and sorrow throughout the
.t,.u,yed world. In war such occur
,ences are expected, but In these PIP
IT,, times of peace" to have score OF
us ms, burned to death or wounded be-
,,sa of the explosion OF powder IN
~ turret of a battleship, while prac-
,;sinp the arts OF war, the nation stops
"a Inauire whether the accident could
MT have been prevented and II not,
why not. 80 -. 49, A..
II is a remarkable fact that In the
az Years covering the close of the Civil
y,sr in 1865 to the destruction OF the
battleship Maine in 1898, there were
hui 20 accidents in the navy including
ths total loss of 20 ships. These ships
were lost for the following reasons:
LIST OF SHIPS LOST.
Nv hurricanes or by tidal waves,
which no human power could have
forseen or contTolieu, slh.
BY unchartered currents or on I'M
chartered rocks, six.
BY collision In cases which the mem
of-war had the right of way, and
therefore their officers were not at
fault, two.
The Maine blown up in Havana har-
Dor.
The Rogers burned.
The tug Lyden foundered in a ter
rife gale.
Five ships were lost when presum-
ably the accident could have been
avoided.
MORE APPALLING HISTORY.
This story of 3S years, sad as it is,
covering as II does the reconstruction
period of our history, is even more APP
palling since the destruction OF the
Maine and the Spanish-American war.
In the period between 1898 and today,
there have been more than "a acct
dents and many of them of exceeding
ly grave character. During the past
seven years, there have been 100 lives
lost and AZ injured through accidents
caused by explosions of powder igni-
ton, This is a greater casualty list
IN time of peace than could be shown
by the entire Spanish-American war.
with its big battles of Manila and Sam
increases this total casualty list TO
tully llS officers and men killed and
injured during the past seven years.
Inc most serious accidents of the
surt at target practise were thoye
when occurred In the turrets of the
pas.ieships Missouri and Kearsarge.
mat on the Missouri occurred dur
iis target practise OFF Pensacola on
Aprll IL, 1904, and resulted In the
killing of five naval officers and 90
ehllsted men. II was caused by what
Is technically known to ordnance Of
hcers as powder flare back: that is.
sHses IN the bore of the gun founo
thelr way backward into an omen
natchway and ignited a charge that
vas being raised through the ammu-
hluon hoist This dropped below and
lshlted causing injuries below as well
as above.
AUTOMATIC SHUTTERS.
Four officers and ii seamen were
hlled IN turret OF the Missouri and
oil those stationed below one
oHlcer and Is men were killed
py burns or suifocation by the
ueadly gases resulting from the ex-
ploslon. Fortunately, the powder
,yh was closed by a seaman
VINO shut the door and jumped inside
VI the magazine. thereby saving his
ne After this accident automatic
shutters were placed in the ammuni-
eoh moist TO prevent powder and
gases iinding their way down into the
ammunition ROOM
Two years-to the date--after the
accident on the Missouri. or on April
10, 1906. there was a serious exnlo.
SION In the gun turret of the battle-
snip kearsaree during target prac-
use IN the north Atlantic which re-
suited IN the death of five enlisted
target practise had been finished on
me hearsarge when the accident oc.
CURED, and the men We're loading
men guns. They had taken charge
Gu. OUT OF one of the guns and laid it on
NE deck inside of the turret, Just TO
ene rear Of the guns. One of the gun
rev was using steel bar known as
Shell extractor, an instrument with
a . long iron handle and very heavy.
rue man was shifting this extractor