El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-07-06


~ to Quincy to tell you something Of
what the navy is doing to protect
our mighty bridge Of boats across
the Atlantic. That bridge already
stretches from our country 90 France.
and it is being widened each dag 1t
lis a moving platform Of steel con-
crete and wooden ships rising and
falling on the pillows of the ocean
The waters IL, crosses are swarm
ling with submarines trying TO break
it, and about our only means Of pro-
lection is the little war vessel known
las the destroyer. which tracks down
the submarine and blows 10 out 1t cA-
I istence The destroyer be.5nss 10
/ the navy, and its construction l5 ur-
Ider the navy department, which mas
promised that we shall lead the world
in this class Of vessels within ne
next year
Little has been said about the rev
Z ships made for the navy 4 am noL
permitted TO give all the detallsa uut
] Secretary Daniels tells me that we
! have three times as many naval fes-
: sells as when war was declared, ana
Z that 500 various kinds have been COM
I tracted for or begun within the past
4 year.
We have built new ship yards for
this purpose. and have added enor-
lmously to the government establish
fmeuts already in use We have been
rushing the construction Of battle
ships and cruisers and are doing Won
ders I'm the various branches OF naval
cray Hound Of the Sea
But first I want 10 say little
more about the destroyer. II IS the
gray hound Of the sea, for it is faster
I than almost any other vessel that
I bounds over the ocean. Or I might
better call it the blood hound OF the
Atlantic, for its business is TO scent
out the submarine and drag u down
to death. or perhaps a stlll better
name would be the watch dog of our
/ transports. for it is responsible for
{ the soldiers safe arrival in France
The destroyer guards the ships as
they cross the Atlantic IT is armed
with guns for attacking the subma-
riues and il goes so fast that % can
OUTRAGE them It viii fly even faster
than one Of the tOrpedOes when start
ed by a submarine on its message OF
death Indeed destroyer has been
known to oVertake q torpedo and eN-
plode it with a single well aimed shot
The destroyer has also strangely
shaped guns for shooting depth
charges. These charges are bombs,
and they are shot I'm such way that
they drop in triangle about the
submarine as 10 lies under the ocean.
and. exploding, cause its destruction
Bombs Are Most Effective.
In some cases the explosion IS
brought about by rope attached %
the bomb. As the bomb sinks a cork
is pulled out. and the explosion oc-
ours
Other depth bombs have glass bot
ties. which are made 20 explode hy
the pressure Of the water, and others
set them off at just the right mo-
The destroyers have also to-pedoes
which they can send forth against
the cruisers or battleships and they
VIII probably have a live part I'm the
next great naval engagement Their
guns viii have but little effect upon
the armor plate OF the dreoduouEht
which is a foot or more thick. but
single torpedo NAV cause the great
est Eunboat TO sink.
I VIII not give you the details q
the destroyers we are building All
matter concerning them is among the
war secrets, but I VIII say that the
average size Of the vessels now on
the sea IS about 1000 tons. more or
thar Of fast express train They
are built for quick action. and their
steel walls are like paper in com
paris0n with the thick armor plate
Of our huge vessels OF war.
Fore River ship Yards
Quincy is one Of the chief places
where the new destroyers are built
To IS the headquarters Of the Fore
River sllpTards. which, here and lr
SGuautum. six miles away. are con-
strucuing a large part OF the new
order fixed by the government The
two plants lie on the south side ~
Boston bay so near the city Of Bos-
ton that the big guns OF our navy,
could easily blow them out OF eEist-
euna
The plant at Quincy IS founded
upon ship Yards which were in exist
ence at the time Of the war OF the
revolution. The plant at Squantum
few months Both are among the
wonders Of modern shipbuilding con-
strUcuon- Together they are known
as the Fore River snip yards They
belong 20 the Bethlehem Shipbuilding
corporation. and are allied % the
Bethlehem steel company, the billion
dollar combination, while, under the
United States gOverum emit. is now
dragging forth iron ore from the
mines OF Chile. Cuba and the United
stroTers submarines. cruisers. trans
ports and merchant vessels for carry
Ing food and munitions across the ATT
lantic-
Among it's establishments are three
enormous shipbuilding plants one
is the Union Iron works at san Fran
cisco. another the great ship Yards
at Suarr0Ws Point. Nd. and a third
the Fore River yards or these the
Fore River yards are perhaps the
largest. They are the equal if not the
superior, Of any other shipbuilding
plant i'm the United States.
$4,000 Men Are Employed.
Take the works here at Quincy. +
They had been building battleships.
cruisers. submarines and merchant
vessels before the war began. and at
that time were employing between /
5000 and 5000 men. The plant now I
has more than IS. 000. and 90 is work I
ing them fin two shifts dav and nirht /
As 7 left the works this evening I
the whistle for changing the shifts f.
broke ont on the air and an army Of T
men and boys poured forth from the ]
wards They came out OF the shops I
by hundreds. fillinE the streets from I
wall 20 wall. making me think of the i
crowd at an inaugural procession CT /
the rush % a fire.
Within the space or ten minutes I
there were something like 5000 men I
0n the streets, while thousands Of !
others were coming back 90 their \
Jobs 7 seemed to be in the midst % I
Pm army. Everywhere 7 looked were D
husky rellows EoinE, % and from
work. They crowded the street cars I
.hev loaded down the motor buses
and not a few Of them mounted their
lWn motorcycles or automobiles 60 j
-de 20 their homes
The scene was impressive To gave
ne some idea OF Uncle SANS ship
1uildinE army which is now en-
'amped at our industrial centers all I
iVer the country That army NUM-
'ers almost 1000. 900. and some Of the
most skillful and expert OF its trained
ueu are right here at the Fore River