The San Francisco call., 1908-05-10

perfect harmony. Ana talk abeuE team
work. The play altogsthsS' ef q
crack football tsam In . riss % ffv4asd
purposes compared with the comhfnsd
EFFORT necessary 10 make Q gaassd &C
Magdslena bay.
The target 10 anchsrsA Ae o. aD@z a
an imaginary triangle. alsng shs bAsa
OF which the cruiser stsAms back ana
forth at 10 knot gait The esntsr q
the base OF the triangle fer I've fnch
gun practice is 1.4oo yards away from
the target. The extremitiss o1 The base
are 1900 yards away. Every rsvelukion
OF the cruisers propeller chAuges Tia
distance and calls for q Correspondents
readjustment OF the direction IN wnAah
the gun Is pointed. The readtuHfmanf
diners with each gun according 70 IL
position on the ship. and for q half
dozen guns to be banging away As ths
same time and all hitting the same tar
get in about the same place calls for
mathematical Iegerdemain that more
resembles black magic than scientific
calculation.
The Albany reached the range los
men short of it's full complement A
few days before practice was begun all
hands had been vaccinated and IN the
majority OF cases the vaccine had
taken" Nearly everybody knows how
sore that process makes the victim.
Picture yourself with one OF those ex-
quisiteiy painful vaccination arms.
Imagine a game rougher than football
and prize fight combined. Then think
OF taking that arm into that game and
you have some idea of the conditions
under which the Albany's men went to
their task, and under pitiless tropical
sun. at that.
Uncle Sam has few secrets that all
the world may not know If it takes the
trouble to find out. Experience. how
ever. has taught the advisability OF
silence on certain matters. and one OF
the official secrets is the exact degree
of proficiency shown by the men behind
the guns. None of the figures published
are oficiaI- The ofacial figures are
known only TO certain officers on each
ship. Their report goes to the navy de-
but men who remaip discreetly dumb in
unofficial talkfests. The men on the
ships know In a general way the result
of their work and it Is from them that
the public acquires its knowledge of
the scores. Navy oficers are not al
lowed to give out scores. but occasion
ally they relax to the point Of confirm
ing one OF these general estimates or
admitting that IL Is approximately
correct.
These figures OF the work done at
Magdalena bay by tho AIbany's port
inch battery. commanded by MID
shipman Charles A. woodruff, are ap-
proximatsly correct. They are not.
was assured by an oficer. exaggerated.
Out OF 144 shots fred by this battery
while the ship was steaming at speed
OF 10 knots an hour 1876 were hits. OF
the first ss shots fred IS were hits
Midshipman. now Ensign. WoodruR
fred the first six shots himself. The
time IN which this record was made
was not divulged. but IL a general esti-
mate OF the record made by all the
guns on the Albany; the cruisers bat
terry includes 10 inch guns and 10
3 Founders; the score averaged 10 hits
per gun per minute.
I asked one Of the officers what in
his opinion was the factor thar con-
tributed to the Albany's success. He
had told me OF the disadvantages under
which the men worked. How they had
gone on the range worn out by six
.months of vitiating service in the
tropics and they were further handi-
capped BY sore arms from vaccination.
He said:
It was simply splendid team work
The men in the hreroom. who kept up
a steady supply OF steam. the engineers
who maintained the revolutions OF the
wheel at a regular speed. the navigator
who laid the ships course. the quarter
masters who steered. the men who
served the ammunition all contributed
equally with the men actually behind
the guns. A break in the chain any
where might have meant miss or no
shot at all. They all worked together.
and God bless them. they're the fttest
bunch Of lighting men that ever cleared
a ship for action"