The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-10
ARMOR BELTS
 ARE TOO LOW More Testimony in Navy
 Investigation. REAR ADMIRALS ON STAND They Give Their Views on Battle
 ship Construction. A Letter From secretary Meteaif |. Read, Declaring American Bat
 tIeships superior to Those of other Nations.


 was adduced today before the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs. which IS investigating the criticisms of battle-~ ship construction. showing that the To- cation of the armor belt of American battleships was too low.
 On the other hand, letter from Sec retary Metcalf was read declaring It to be the opinion of the board of con- struction and Rear Admirals Evans and Brownson that the belt lines of the battleships Delaware and North Da- kota were right. The Secretary in his communication took occasion to de- clare that American battleships were superior to those of any other navy.
 The witnesses today were Lieuten- ant Richard D. White. Assistant In- spector of Target Practice. and Rear Admirals George c. Ramey and c. F. Goodrich. Lieutenant White was the first to take the stand. In reference to the location of the armor belt, he said that if 1t were possible for ship to get into action at the designed load draft. the present location would be about right. but 1t was his observation that the ships had greater drafts than those designed. He thought the drafts would be still greater under war con ditions. Ills opinion was the same as that of Commander Sims. who Is the in- spector of target practice.
 Turret Oammtructaen.
 Cncerning the construction of turrets he said, that safety demands that the turrets proper shall be structually separate from the ammunition handling room. It might be possible to con strnct direct hoist so that the hand- ling room could be isolated. He pre- ferred the two stage hoist and declared that the shutters. now in use .n the di- rect hoist are Most insufficient" Des- cr:bing the shutter. he said, it is so constructed that grains Of powder could easily get through the slit for the lift rope in the event of an accident overhead.
 Chairman Hale read . letter from Secretary Metcalf stating that after the plans for the ttlashaps Delaware and North Dakota had been approved. an ofiicer asseutenant Commanders HID recommended that the arinor belt should be raised thirty Inches. The department offered his criticism to the board on construction and the original designs were declared to be right. The oficer made rejoinder and the mat ter was then referred to Rear Admiral Brownson and Evans. who also deciar- ed that the belt was correctly located. Secretary Metclf called attention to the fact that the Delaware and North Dakota are to be equipped with two stage hoists, and There is moi ground for further contention as to the loca- tion of the armor belt"
 Answering general criticisms. Secre- tary Metcalf said:
 ''Our ships are not inferior, type for type, in their own period of construc- ton, to vessels of other nRvies. On the contrary. I concur in opinions ex- pressed. abroad that our ships are su- perior." .s-.a
 Admiral Remey's Views.
 Rear Admiral George C. Remey, re- tired, told the committee he would To- cate the armor belt with reference to the proper load water line when the ship is equipped to go into battle. He thought it the duty of a commander of a battle ship to have full stores on board if possible in going into battle. He excepted coal, but thought the bunkers should be at least two-thirds full. He said he never had believed in the open turret and thought the guns should be completely isolated from the ammunition handling rooms Though unfamiliar with the hoists now used. he said he had no hesitancy in endors- ing the interrupted hoist. He opposed sacrificing safety for rapidity of fire.
 Admiral C. F. Goodrich, commandant of the New York Navy Yard. was the next witness. Interest attached to his testimony for after the publication of the Reuterdahl article he said in an in- terview that he had called attention years before to such defects as were al- leged by Reuterdahl. He asserted that he believed the American ships to be good and that they could be made bet ter. He was asked by Mir. Hale If he would subscribe to- ReuterdahPs state- ment that if our ships went Into action they would be no better of than the Russian ships when they went Into bat tie with the Japanese.
 "Oh, no sir" he replied. his positive manner indicating that he thought there could bO no comparison
 Interrupted Hoist.
 In regard to the location of the ar- nor belt he said he concurreo apso- lutely in the testimony of Rear Admlfai Remey. Later the witness said Aamlr- al Remey expressed his view also In re- gard to the question of ammunition boists He thought the interrupted hoist better than the direct type. It was evident that Admiral Goodrich was saelxing to precipitate a controversy. He was asked about the German navy in sticking to the eleven-inch gun. The Admiral said the twelve-inch gun was better than the eleven-inch, ana the thiFfGen-l inch. He was about to leave the stand when Senator Tillman called attention to the fact that Commander Sims few days ago gave the name of Ad- miral GoodriIh as one of the men who would corroborate him in the declara- lion that the Department would not ae- cept of1cers' criticisms.
 The Admiral looked annoyed
 Have you made reports to the de- nsrtment criticizing any matter of con- struction?" asked Mir. Tillman.
 q have" replied the Admiral. and answering other questions said he had criticized the location of the armor
 .swhat do you think about it7'' ask
 "I think just as Admiral Remey does. I have adopted his expression, '' Eaid the witness cautiously. Pressed for more definite replies. the witness said he thought the aFmor belt too low. He thought the waterline should approximately divide the armor belt with half above and half beioW the water line. It was suggested by Chair man Hale that chance would have to