Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-09-26

lgainst are. All spare wood has been
lettisoned, and fire and collision par
les stand to quarters. Watertight
loors are closed and at each a man is
stationed. and collision mating is
,repared--'Upper deck quarters; out
collision mating would be the order.
steam pumps are also In readiness.
each ship has been marked by dis
inctive band of color round her fun
iel for In the smoke Of battle, you
know, 1t is good to know your friends,
iunnery instructions have taken
,harge of the barbettes, which contain
he great 12-inch guns. and the cap
aims OF the smaller weapons are at
heir posts.
Whether by quickfirer. shell room,
Or torpedo tube, every man. through
months of training. has learned his
place. Even the band knows Its sta
.ion-it is to collect the wounded.
Guns are loaded and the ammunition
loists seem to be In order; and sup
plies of drinking wgae4 sre arranged
along each deck.
"The coming tower is the brains of
he ship, and the captains place of ac-
ton Is there. 1t is the cynosure of the
snemy's guns; the post of signal honor
and acutest danger. Beneath him is
10000 tons, mainly steel. and before
him is the something he has either to
burn, blow up, or sink.
sight for 5000 yards" wings down
the tube. and the game OF long bowls
commences. The two great forward
guns eoar out welcome, and the
mark the damage. First shots, how
ever, are pure speculation, and too
high or too low is generally the YER
dict. But before the ammunition hoists
can jerk up more food. the distance
has decreased, and $500 yards will be
the sight. BY that time the work Is
warmer, for some of the smaller guns,
the sixinch and l2-pounder quick
frers. are being worked by sweating
crews. Already, too. the Via Dolorosa
to the cockpit Is marked by It's sig
niflcant trail. Ammunition Is being
flung up 20 rounds at time to be
spent as fast as guns can speak, for
70 a ship in the midst of the work
everything has ceased to exist but the
enemys hull in front OF it. BY this
line small casualties have overtaken
he ships. With the best OF good for
une she cannot hope to escape being
hit somewhere. The mighty, yet deli
cate mechanism OF a battleship is vul-
! lerable at hundred points. Batteries
IRE working with diminished crews,
hydraulic ammunition hoists are
smashed, and consequently supply par
ties are passing up shot by hand, and
forward stoker fire brigade is ex-
tinguishing small fires.
THE fleets are now but 500 yards
apart, but the best gunners being dead,
accuracy of fire will have diminished.
Possibly, too, the fighting line will
have been replenished by staff addi.
tons from stokehold or magazine, for
modern battleship carries no re-
serve Of men. Now, though the range
is hazardous, the luck of the torpedo
IhiohI 10 oSlOhhPbOu Ny lH6 cuSIly.
Rendered desperate, the losing bat
tlest&p must now resort to its last
weapon of offense, the ram. On the
first bugle, Prepare to RAM all guns
are laid on the bow and made ready to
pour broadside on the opposing ship.
Every man not working the quick.
firers must protect himself from the
enemy's projectiles and take cover.
Granting your opponent, however, un-
impaired engines, ramming is a con-
summation infinitely difficult to
achieve. Miscalculate your distance by
a score of yards, and, missing your
mark, your adversary's 40 tons of steel
itself must be showing into you. And,
further as fact, the torpedo will
even prevent navigable ships coming
too close together. Nor is 1t fair to
say will many ships surrender. For.
though it's vitals be torn and bare,
only absolute destruction can put all
its weapons out of action. Defeat
must mean not retreat, lat annihila.
ton"