The sun., 1908-02-22
TIE REUTERDAHL CHARGES.
Mr.. Charles ID. Brewer Thinks That I'm Part
at Least He Has COnTuted Them.

To TIE EDITOR OF The sUN-Sir: In tho
editorial Touching on the Reuterdahl
Charge" In The SUN Of February II you
referred to an article written by me which
appeared in HarpeT's Weekly OF February s.
In this editorial you stated that what pur-
ported to be a reply to recent criticisms reads
to US more like a confirmation in all really
important matters. and your editorial ended
thus: so far the Reuterdahl charges stand
without entire or partial confutation."
What may have appeared the really i'm
pOrtant matters" to one may have well been
considered the reverse by another. or the
two general classes Of charges in the Reuter-
dahl article those really important" or
should say most important. were to my mind
the charges relating to the defects in the
vessels rather than to defects in the admin
istrative matters of the bureau system >:
for in addition to what may happen to the
vessels in action II they are as defective as
charged Is another most important cOnsid-
Grafton that VI the charges were not true
and we permitted those beyond the seas
to believe them to be true We should nullify
to a great extent the purpose for which the
vessels were built and maintained. namely. to
insure peace when possible by making our
enemies believe US too dangerous to be
attacked.
Coming to the alleged defects in the YES
! sells, the consensus OF opinion seems to be
belts, II as low as charged, would be the most
serious. lhe charge Mr.. Reuterdahl made
was that of all our battleships not one
when fully equipped and ready for sea-"
there are several questions which at once
's eoHsdeTed oN deT First How ioS nuch arnoT
above water does the design show for normal
| draughtl SECOND, How much deeper will the
| armor sink for the fully loaded condition.
| or in other words, how much extra weight
Is to be provided for between this and the
\ first condition? Third, How much. II any,
were the designed calculated weights ex-
ceeded by the builders for the vessel. or in
other words. what is her light condition; I. e..
! with no coal, water, stores or ammunition
aboard? Fourth. What was the draught OF
| the vessel at the time the observation was
cult CUTIE to obtain. What were the actual weights
| aboard at the time OF observation and how
were those weights distributed?
In the article wrote. after fully consid-
| erinR these questions. though not named
| in the same words, | replied &C length for
ships. Six lsJ OF these stated. for all con-
ditions in which they WOULD go into action,
would have he tOH Of .SeT Ss Ss
between II and % inches, and three II and
~ inches this ~ inches was a. typographical
The trip to the Pacific was a most ex-
| traordinary one, as we all know. and most
vogue, loading in the case OF the New Jersey
that brought a Is, 900 ton vessel to 1880 tons
nearer TO the 1000 ton Drsadnought class
II
The impractica bility OF adopting a sug-
| Kestion to reduce weight for a commander to
| throw his coal overheard to tighten his vessel
/ has been successfully shown. but there will
| never be occasion for such an exDedient No
| commander would allow his vessel to be SO
loaded when his ship was liable to be called
into action.
| that mis- observations we're made when the
| shps were getting ready for this trip to the
Pacific. It would explain his charges Of
| alleged submerged armor belts. IL would
| also explain In part his figures for the heights
| of the Eurret guns and the br0adsde batter
| les.
That the turrets do not form an open shaft
| to the magazines showed by calling to mind
| the automatic shutters at one part OF the
| shaft and the passing scuttles between the
| magazines and handling rooms.
| Thought that In my article succeeded in
| reducing the alleged size Of the turret ports
| in providing twenty-One vessels with sub
| merged torpedo rooms, and in providin z
| az least a sufficient number OF ammunition
! holsts to compare favorably with certain
] British vessels. I ask you to note partlcu-
| larly the fourth paragraph. as follows: This
article is intended a. comment rather than
| q compet answer to Aforesaid charges.
| comment on some OF those which are true,
Snd. an answer 20 those which are not consid-
| cred Justlned. CHARLES B. BREwRR.
cTHWYD, Pa. February IS.