New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-10

The control Of the seas Is gradually win
ming the war for the Allies. and again IS
coming true what Admiral Mahan pointed
out in so brilliant n manner in his famous
book No doubt the collapse OF Russia will
lengthen out the war and make US take n
greater and greater burden on our shout
ders. But it must not be forgotten for an
instant that tho loss OF the control OF the
seas would absolutely prevent US from being
Of any assistance whatever TO our friends in
France.
Primarily this control Of the seas has been
due to the overpowering force Of Englands
navy, for while the other Allies have helped,
England has borne tho lions share of the
work at sea. Whatever faults have been
committed, ii is fact that England's battle
feet has kept the German battle feet from
doing any damage to the Allies, even il, as
l understand it, the Jutland battle was not
wholly q feather in Britannia's cap. That
England has allowed SO few raiders to es-
cape speaks volumes for the efficiency of her
blockade.
Line-of-B Battle Ships
A hundred years ago and more the battle
fleets consisted Of what were then known as
line-of-battle ships, huge sailing vessels, with
three tiers of guns, enormous spars and great
crews, but the ships were as unwieldy as
could be. OF course, IL such a ship was able
to bring her guns to bear on frgate, for
example, she would simply destroy the latter
craft by her empowering gunfre. But in
contests with each other the oaken. sides of
q 30 and
q great deal Of battering, and naval engage
ments lasted often for a very long time, the
feet usually winning which was best handled
from a nautical point of view. One of a few
such ships built by US, the Vermont, was for
many years receiving ship at the New York
Navy Yard She was begun in 1918, and had q
very checkered career. What is left of another
74-gun ship, begun in 1917, is lying off River
side Drive, and is the home of our naval
militia. She was originally called the Ala
bama, then the New Hampshire now she is
the Granite State, and hundred years old.
During the Civil War the new Ironsides
alone could be called, possibly, line-of-bat-
tie ship; we built no others until the new
navy came along. To-day a battleship, or,
as they are now called, a dreadnought, some
times even a superdreadnought, is an enor-
nous man-of-war, very heavily armored, with
great speed, great maneuvrng powers and
with tremendous battery. Everything about
such ship is gigantic, and everything is
constructed with the very greatest care and
skill, from the guns ia the compasses.
An Extraordinary Craft
Taking one Of our very latest ships, the
Pennsylvania, as an example, she will be
found to be a very extraordinary craft. In
the first place, she measures 900 feet in length
(equal to the length of nine ordinary pas
senger cars), 81 feet in breadth (within
three feet as wide as Fifth Avenue), and she
draws close on to 80 feet of water; that is
to say, the portion Of the ship under water
is as high as q two story and attic house.
She displsces, as the term goes, 81 400 tons;
that is, she weighs that enormous number of
tons-31 400 tons is equal TO the weight Of
300 large size locomotives.
On her decks, beginning from the forward
end, are two turrets, one behind the other
on the centre line Of the ship; coming
tower, that is, an armored tower in which in
battle the commanding officer and others are
stationed TO handle the ship. Then come 9
tall lattice mast, single smokestack,
great derrick-like structure, another mast and
two more turrets. The second and third tur-