Evening star., 1918-07-07

la1s. BY Frank @. CARPENTER,

N$%%$***%$%**<***~*$***$*
r.tCopyrisht. ls1s. BY Frank @. carbentsr.1
Il l~ QUINCY. Mass.
- HAVE come to Quincy to tell you
something Of what the Navy Is
doing to protect our mighty
bridge of boats across the Atlan~
tic. That bridge already stretches
from our country to France, and 1t
ts being widened each day. It is a
moving platform Of steel. concrete
and wooden ships rising and falling on
the billows of the ocean. The waters
y crosses are swarming with SUBJ
marines trying to break 1t. and about
our only means OF protection is the
little war vessel known as the de-
stroyer. which tracks down the sub
marine and blows It out of existence.
The destroyer belongs to the Navy.
and it's construction Is under the
Navy Department, which has prom
1sed that we shall lead the world
In this class Of vessels within the
next year.
Little has been said about the new
ships made for. the Navy. am not
permitted TO give all the details. but
Secretary Daniels tells me that we
have three times as many naval yes.
sells as when war was declared. and
that 800 of various kinds have been
contracted for or begun within the
past year. We have built new ship
yards for this purpose. and have
added enormously to the government
establishments already in use. we
have been rushing the construction OF
I-A<k nI ry1tto n n a.
ing wonders in the various branches
Of naval construction. @
Is /. ~
= But first I want to say little
more about the destroyer. 1t Is the
greyhound Of the sea, for, 1t is faster
than almost any other vessel that
bounds over the ocean. Or might
better call it the bloodhound of the
Atlantic, for its business is to scent
out the submarine and drag It down
name would- be the Watchdog Of our
transports, for it is responsible for
the soldiers safe arrival in France.
The destroyer guards the ships az
they cross the Atlantic. It is armed
with guns for attacking the he. snbmn, q n :
OUTRAGE them. It will fly even
faster than one OF the torpsdoes
when started by submarine on It's
message Of death. Indeed. destroyer
has been known to overtake tor
psdo and explode II With q single
The destroyer has also strangely
shaped guns for shooting depth
charges. TheseN charges are bombs,
and they are shot In such way that
they drop in q triangle about the
ID - GAx sxyaA y. hA ~AA -
and. exploding. cause Its destruction.
In some cases the explosion Is
brought about by q rope attached to
the bomb. As the bomb sinks cork is
pulled out. and the explosion occurs.
Other depth bombs have glass bottles,
pressure Of the water, and others, I
doubt not, have time fuses which set
them of at just the right moment.
The destroyers have also torpedoes
which they can send forth against the
cruisers or battieships. and they will
great naval engagement. Their guns
will have but little effect upon the
armor plate Of the dreadnaught,
which Is q foot or more thick. but
= single torpedo. may cause the
greatest gunboat to sink.
). will not give you the details Of the
destroyers we are building. All mat
ter concerning them is among the
war secrets; but will say that the
average size of the vessels now on the
and that their speed approaches that
Of fast express train. They are
built for quick action. and their steel
wallS/Ar like paper in comparison
with the thick armor plate OF our
huge vessels of war.
where the new destroyers are built.
It is the headquarters of the Fore
River shipyardS, which, here and at
Squantum. SIX miles away. are con-
atructing a large part of the new
order fixed by the government. The
two plants lie on the south side of
Boston bay so near the city of Bos-
ton that the big guns of our Navy,
IL mounted in the customhouse tower,
could easily blow them out Of exist
ence. The plant at Quincy is founded
upon shipyards which were in exist
revolution. The plant at Squantum
..as risen out Of a swamp within a
few months. Both are among the
wonders of modern shipbuiliing con-
etruction. Together they are known
as the Fore River shipyards They
Corporation. and are allied to the
Bethlehem Steel Company. the billion
dollar combination. which, under the
United states government, is now
dragging forth iron ore from the
mines of Chile, Cuba and the United
States and Transforming it into de-
stroyers, submarines cruisers, trans
poAlI HrA DsschaSlt sessels cor carry.
ing food and munitions across the At
lantic. Among it's establishments are
three enormous shipbuilding plants.
One is the Union iron works at San
Francisco, another the great ship
yards at Sparrows Point, Md. and a
third the Fore River yards. OF these