The Washington herald., 1915-08-29

in an uninterrupted stream. They are
used to the exclusion Of almost every
other form OF transportation and are
operated- to their maximum Of ca
pacity. speed. and endurance until
they break down. evidently with no
special effort at any time to preserve
or reclaim them.
The first of the new fourteen-incll
| navy guns has ben tested at the In
dian Head Proving Ground. It 10 nifty
! calibers long, fve calibers longer than
any other fourteen-inch navy gun. and
Is more powerful gun than the ff-
teen-inch gun on the Queen Elizabeth,
OF the British navy. Instead OF max
ing a model gun, the Bureau Of Ora-
nance was SO positive that the plans
for the new gun would stand the re-.
quired test that the entire thirty-six
fornia, Idaho and Mississippi were or
dered.
The expectations Of the Bureau of
Ordnance were fully realized, as tn
power. pressure and velocity of the
gun in the test comply in every re-
spect with the specifications. In or
dering all the big guns, instead Of
experimenting with a model, the work
of arming the California, Idaho and
the Mississippi will be advanced hve
or six months. 1t is the first time
that such large number Of big guns
has been made from plans without the
construction Of a model or expert
mental gun.
The inspection of the vessels of the Sec
ond division OF the torpedo flotilla of the
Pacific Fleet recently showed the vessels
to be in a very sanitary condition, but
their living and messing compartments.
fire and engine rooms, and deck space
showed high temperatures which had q
very debilitating effect on both officers
and men. In going down into the fire
and engine rooms 1t was necessary to
protect the hands with waste to prevent
blistering on the ladder.
The engine-room temperature was as
high as 40 degrees; that in the fire room
1871: that on deck under awning los; that
in the compartments 81. These tempera-
lures were not steaming temperatures.
but were obtained while the division was
at anchor in Pichilinque Bay. and the
days on which the record was taken were
cooler than many of the days during the
summer.
During the day, especially in the after
noon. the iron decks were so hot that the
feet were burned through the shoes. and
the compartments were too hot for the
men to stay below decks. The conditions
were pronounced by the inspecting off,
GERS as a menace to the health OF the en-
tire ships company. and 1t has been
recommended that hereafter destroyersl
cruising in the tropics be equipped with
double overhead awnings and out-rigger
awnings for the full length OF the ship
on both sides.
The maintenance Of health is difiicult
on board naval ships which are kept un-
duly long in tropical waters, but the |
exigencies OF the service are considered |
as justifying whatever risks and discom-
forts it necessarily incurs in that direc-
ton. 1t has been found efiicacious to ad
periodical doses Of quinine as a
protection against malaria, which, with
out such treatment, has been found to
develop rapidly. This demonstration
showed the absolute necessity Of the ad-
Of this prophylaxis.
In some places great annoyance is
caused by the prevalence OF large num-
Der of mosquitoes and other small in
sects. despite the fact that a ship may
be we'll screened against such an inva-
sion. Periodical liberty was found to be