Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1908-03-01
NAVAL CRITICS
ENL-|GH 7 EN-
SENATORS
CHANGES SUGGESTED IN
WARSHIP CONSTRUCTION
One Officer Declares Recent
Fatal Accident on BattIeShip
Missouri Could Not Have 0c-
CURED on Foreign Vessel,

IBy Morning journal Special Leased Wire !
Washington, d. c., Feb. 29-The
senate committee on naval affairs to-
day heard the statements of the naval
officers who have been quoted as
Criticising the construction of battle
ships and upon whose authority it has
been suggested the charges made by
Mr.. Rueterdahl were based. Lieuten-
ant Commanders f. X. Hill, Carl r.
Vogelegesang and Captain Bardley A.
Fiske We're questioned concerning
their views on the naval construction
and Rear Admiral Capps asked ques-
tions and commented on their testi-
mony as they proceeded
Commander Hill explained that he
thought the battleships should be con-
structed to carry alt the coal possible
The ships he said, have their water
line fixed by estimating but tWo-iifths
of their full capacity of coal which
allows the speed trial to show the
greatest speed possible
81 think, he added, rarely have any
Of our ships in service shown the
speed they developed on the trial
trip" Foreign ships, he said, have
the same weakness in this respect, but
foreign constructors are correcting the
error
II want enough coal on board to
chase the enemy after fighting him
he declared, saying the battleshipa
should have all the coal possible with
the water line fixed with view OF
accommodating it.
"The new ships of our navy he
said, "if provided with full load off
coal viii have seven feet and SIX
inches of armor below the water line
and six inches above it,
Rear Admiral Capps interrupted
with a question which was followed
by a statement by him contradictory
to much that Mr.. Hill had said. He
declared that the practice of English, /
Japanese and American constructors
is the same, certainly for the past ten
wears Ategardng the water line and i
the cdal carried, If there was any
difference, he said. the japanese pro- /
vided for less coal,
The tendency in the American navyI
had been to provide as large bunk
ers as possible.
Lieut. Commander Nogelesang, a .
member of the turret board that eX-
amined all the turret ships on the At
antic coast six months ago, was to
,",.aI seraration hetween tbo turrets
nroner and The handling rooms on bat
tleships which does not now exist and
,e,.a,, bag existed I'm tbe. service. The
safety shutters mad proved to be cum
bersnmo and ineffective
Renlving to question, he said he
believed American turrctz to be infer
ior to those of foreign ships. He
thought a disaster such as that on
the Missouri which lost sixteen lives
could not have happened on a foreign
shin The flare back would have been
avoided by the method of construc-
ton OF the turrets of those ships
'If YOU can propose anything 10
render a turret absolutely safe" said
Admiral Capps you will earn the
undying gratitude of the navy dep rt-
ment. / personally believe thai 1t
will be impossible to make any aat-
tleship immune from danger du.ingi
times Of battle"
Admiral Capps added that the acci-
dent on the Missouri would not have
occurred had not the ammunition been
brought out in a way never cOntem-
plated by the regulations.
Captain Bradley A, Fiske testified
that he had little experience that
qualified him to comment on the qucs-
tion of the proper water line and tur-
rets
"Yct you might be put in command
OF a ship?" asked Senator Tillman.
Later Mr.. Tillman remarked that
The witness had never been in a bat
tie to which Captain Fiske replied he
had overlooked the battle of Manila.
ooh that was murder" said Mr.
Tillman.
at did not look that way before it