Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-04-15
sATTLEsHlPs COULD NOT STAND
BEFORE MODERN EQUIPMENT
New Torpedo ProjectiIs Demanded,
and With II Different Class Of Yes.
sells 10 Rsquired-Fast Cruisers With
Lighter Armor Declared to Be Nest
Effective.
Especial Correspondence. ]


and raised it sharply, whether the
costly battleships of the United States
navy constitute really effective fight
ing force or whether they would be
against one of the most powerful of the
foreign navies little more than so much
junk.
Some of the members of the house
committee have been strongly I'm
pressed with the idea that the navy de-
partment. instead of being abreast OF
the times is badly behind the times and
has succeeded in letting some Of the
foreign powers run far ahead Of the
United states in the matter of naval
development.
That this is one OF the elements in
the decision of the house democrats not
to authorize the construction Of any
more super dreadnaughts this year,
can not be doubted. Not a little skep-
ticisnl prevails as to whether the
United States IS constructing the right
kind Of vessels to get the best results
ard wether the navy ordnance officers
have adopted the wise policy as to pro-
jectiles.
Startling Revelations.
made before the house naval commit
tee by w. s. Isham, an engineer and
ordnance expert as the result of which
there is talk that an investigation may
be ordered into the policy Of the nav!
department with respect to the use or
proiectiles If such an investigation is
made by a committee Of congress IT
promises to shed light on the question
E &c 1n nffn the
costly big battleship under present
methods.
The testimony Of Mr.. 1sham calls
seriously into question the wisdom or
the navy depar1 mentoin two respects.
These are:
First. whether the armor- piercing
shells used now by the navy. to the
exclusion of other shells, are effective"
Second. whether. iii building lot Of
powerful but slow dreadnauShts TINS
country is not permitting itself to lag
behind other nations.
Sensation in COMMITTEES.
The statements made by Mr.. lsliam
before the naval committee have
caused something like sensation IN
that body 1t is true, this is not the first
tim. that he has attacked the naval
policy before the house committee. But
this year, he went into the subject IN
great detail and this is the first time,
moreover, when the committe" was not
under control Of the republicans. most
of them committed to the upholdng OF
whatever nava. policy the adninistra-
ton might adopt.
The navy department fer years has
been adhering to the policy of uslrs
shells that explode only after pcnetrat-
ing the armor of a vessel. This mas
the application Of terrif1cally
high mower to projectiles in order TO
drive them thru armor. 1t has tended
to force the use of such enormous
charges of powder to impel the pro-
iectile that the life Of the big guns on
the battleships now is astonishlnsiy
short
It is declared, in fact. and this as
sertion was made by no less an author
ity than Captain Hobson. that the Dig
guns under the pressure required ~ IL
To. fire the armor-piercing nrotectiies,
would not live for over ro-y-eisht
shots. In other words. big gun wou'd
he put out OF business right IN the
middle OF a battle and. II somewhat
worn from target practice, would last
about half thru 1T.
Torpedo Shell Suggested.
II Ia therefore urged, and this was
one OF the things emphasized IN the
Isham testimony, that the navy should
adopt at least in part, the torpedo shell.
which explodes on contact. He main
taired this would not only be much
more destructive but much easier on
tho guns. The torpedo she'll is IN effect,
an ordinary shell. filed with a power
FIJI high explosive. The japanese, &C
cordinr to various authorities. used
such a shell with deadly effect on the
Russian feet at Tsu Shima. AS mat
ter Of fact. no armor can Withstand the
tornedo shell and II 1t were adopted 1t
would practically mean that the day
~ heavy armor for battleships had
passed.
The testimony before the naval COM
n,,ttee points to the fact the navy de-
with a strange persistence,
ha. refused to adopt the torpedo shell
mr. opermit experiments to be made
,,,h n IN a fair basis. Some expert
ments have been forced on the depart
ment and as the result OF these the
puritan something over year ago. was
sunk as II IL NuO DSch a "ooNSii S"AP'
But the navy officers have. IN spite OF
this showing. stood as stubbornly IN
the way OF the torpedo shell as before.
This is not true OF many OF the line
officers, who are convinced that the
shell that explodes on contact is one
thi. navy must come to If 1t is to be
in position to fight other great navies.
Ljahtsr Vessels Best.
The testimony Of Isham and various
facts brou ght out before the naval COM
mittee Of the house have made some
Of the house democrats anxious to dig
deeper into the naval policy as to shells
and battleship construction. The sns-
picion Is pretty strongly voiced in some
quarters that the armor- piercing shell
Is adhered to because to practically
abandon It would be to admit that it
was useless to equip vessels with armor
40 heavy as now. This would not be
- the interest Of the concerns making
armor plate Also, Il would involve adj
by high ordnance officers that
they had Numbered.
Isham urged on the committee that
q real and thorough test be ordered