Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-02-26
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ed that a change had been made in
the turret construction Of the Dele
ware type which is now building,
in that the stage two-stage ammuni
ton hoist had been authorized. He
said this change had not been made
with any idea of additional safety,
but because greater speed was pos
sible. He declared that not a sing
lie accident on American battleships
had been due to the open turret;
that all of the accidents had original
ed at the breech of the gun and that
| the obvious remedy lay in additional
screens between the breech and the
ammunition charges prepared for re-
| loading.
Mr.. Hill directed his attention to
that portion of the Rueterdahl arti-
Gle which criticized American yes
sells for having their armor belt SUBJ
berged while it was asserted foreign
vessels are constructed with the belt
above the water line. After extend
ed ascension it appeared that the
comparison made by Mr.. Reuterdahl
was between American vessels loaded
down for long voyage and foreign
vessels in fighting trim.
Figures were given by Admiral
Converse showing that the greatest
overdraft of any battleship in the
American navy is on the Virginia and
amounts to eleven inches, while her
sister ship, the Georgia, is nine inch
es over draft. In other types, the
overdraft was declared to average
less than six inches. Certain vessels
enroute to the Pacific were said to
carry 1000 tons of superfluous sup
| plies, which if cleared for battle
trim would raise the vessel about
thirty inches. 5<s'A
Rear Admiral Capps interrupted to
say that with bunkers full of coal
for long voyage there is not bat
tleship in the United States navy
that would have less than eleven
inches of her armor belt above the
water. Admiral Converse endorsed
that statement.
Admiral Converse said that Admiral
Togo went into battle with only ten
days supplies on board his ships. He
called attention to the fact that the
articles of war provide that com.
mander shall prepare his ships for
battle, which would mean that he
should discharge all unnecessary
weight
Calling attention to the. sbatetaoshrdl
Calling attention to battleships OF
the South Carolina type, Mr.. Hale
| asked Admiral Converse if he would
not be willing to take his chances on
such ship in engaging any type OF
ship af1oat.
Eyes" replied the admiral with pos
itiveness. He added that he consid.
cred the South Carolina type the best
class of fighting ships of any navy.
Taking up the Reuterdahl charge
that the regulations do not permit
sufficient battle drills to insure pro
ficiency in this regard, Admiral Con-
verse asserted the contrary to be
true. He gave vivid description OF
several maneuvers and teats. such as
voaling at sea and other difficult pro-
cesses. The navy has been built up
to such an extent that now, he thought
maneuvers could be performed equal
to those of any naval power.
! The admiral explained our system
of battleship construction, which he
declared to be the best in existence
incidentally his statement amounted
to a complete Endorsement of the bu.
reau system of construction. He
showed the part each of the bureaus
played in the construction of battle
ships and their equipment and the
care that is taken to make up the
personnel of these bureaus with the
best material in the navy from the
standpoint Of experience and technic
acknowledge.
1t was charged in the Reuterdahl
article there was dearth of torped.
oes in the navy. This criticism was
met by Admiral Converse by saying
that the Whitehead torpedo was de,
signed for use at 80 Oyards and that
a battle would not be given now un,
der 1000 or 5000 yards. so that the
Whitehead torpedo is useless. He ex
planned it is constant race between
armor, guns, torpedoes and all Other
equipments.
Making Earnest Efforts.
| MOfhAr-AnH h uo,. "a