Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1911)
0 irrn Sunday oregoman, poutxaxd, November 12. ion. Imposing Array of Fighing Craft Drawn Up for Review in California Waters and Fleet Again Proves Its Ready Nobility and Readiness for Service Represents Value cf $50,000,000 and Carries Between 8000 and 9000 Officers and Men. RESPONDING readily and without bitch or untoward Incident to tho call for tuimblf and review, tho Pacific Teat of tho United States Nary hu again displayed Its splendid mo blllty and readme for actual nee. Tho nnit atato of preparedness In fact has been shown by tho wholo American Navy daring- tho past fortnight In tho two maamlflcent renews In Atlaatlo and Pacific It took only a few hoars to assemble the bis; Pacl9c fleet. Tho flotillas steamed from their several points of temporary rendeavoue to ths reviewing point eft San Pedro quickly and la tho best of form. And when tho superb IjAPSriALLING THE . FCiragPjn " "' ". : ? . - -. 1 gfp . fi r i '. j I f "" v. . m- . 'i : ' ' ' . 1 C J il .ft ' J 1 - a I - " "" '" ' j i ? ii .'i'i 1 C . ; 1 rr .1 . ,. . . 11 11 ii J.ii.1 isasimisnisi.iii rum ism J - 7 ' " T -V' ' ' ' ' - I ' ' , 1 .5 L i k-. I II I THE BATTLr!Mio I I rar v -7:. .;-Vi NjL I J .rr.iL. fleet, forming a great rectangla with four columns and six rows of flghtlnr craft, passed In review, ths hearts of thousands of Americans wers thrilled at tho sight. In itself ths Paclflo Test is not a srreat fighting force as modern arms das go. Put It has proved Itself a real force, and when backed op by that tre mendous naval power lately assembled la Atlantlo waters, seercs well able to meet any emergency that m'-ght arise. It Is tho presence of such fleets that are greater factors for peaca than tho most earnest of peace conferences, many aver. There were Si ships tn ths fleet when It was assembled Intact off San Pedro. These boats were Immediately afterward scatttered. moat of them en route to Ban Dlevo. But It was dls- played that should occasion require few wireless messages would bring" about prompt reassembly. Not a vs sel was found under-manned. Improp erly eo,a!pped or Ineffectively officered and handled. Almost every sort of modern fighting craft was represented In the naval col tmn that was reviewed by Admiral Thomas, commanding ths fleet. There was i battleship, armored cruisers, pro tected cruisers, torpedoboats. destroy ers, submarines and a full complement of supply snips and coLUers. Hero la the list Battles hip Oregon. Armored cruisers California. Wast Virginia. foata Dakota, Colorado. Mary land. Washington. Protected cruisers Raleigh. Clncln natL Ounboat Vlcksburg. Torpedoboat deetroyers Whlppls.Hon- klna. Hull, Trnaton, Preble. Stewart. Lawrence. Torpedoboats Parrasrot. Rowan. ubmarines Pike. Orsrapua. Submarine tender Fortune. Transport Buffalo. Supply ship Glacier. Collier Prometheus. Naval tog Iroquois. Parent salp of torpedo fleet Iris. The total value of this fleet Is close to ',.00.09 and between (00 and 004 officers and mea are required to handle the boata. As givtnr soma Idea sf ths scops of thm Paciito fleet a summing up of ths displacement of the various larger boata gives a total of ies.ot tons. This Includes only tho battleship and cruis ers. Tho pre ad old Oregon has a dlsrlacs ment alone of 14.3SJ tons. The Wash ington heade the list with a displace ment of 14.400 tons. The other Ave armored cruisers of he fleet each show a displacement of 11.100 tons, while tho protected cruisers show a displace ment of 1111 tocvsv I The. little torpedo boat destroyers T&avs but 433 tons to their credit, while tho submarines register but 110 tons. To bo sure this fleet Is not looked upon as ablo to aiTord full protection to ths Pacific Coast should a formidable foe appear. It is merely Intended as a fores to meet ordinary emerg-encles and to act as a first lino to hold things tn check until reinforcements might ar rive in tho event of something serious la ths way of a foe. But the batter ies are powerful throughout and for Its els there Is no doubt but that ths fleet could cops with an sven greater fores. Herewith Is shown tho g-uns that make tap ths heavier batteries of tho fleet: Jfo. of Caliber Ouna lS-lnch. breerh-leadlrjg 4 10-Inch, breech-loodlnf 4 8-Inch, breech-lo.dius' 2S 4 Inch .................306 6-Inch S4 4-Inch s -Inch ... 63 Total .' 139 All of these g-uns constitute the main batteries, ths g-uns of the secondary batteries running; Into 'the hundreds and comprising chiefly rapid-fire g-uns of small caliber. Another important battle factor is the I torpedo efficiency and strength. Ths two torpedo boats Rowan and Farragut each are provided with tubes for Whitehead torpedoes, the Farragut car. rying two for 18 -inch torpedoes and ths Rowan three, ammo caliber. Then each of the destroyers Is provided with a set of torpedo tubes. For coast defense work the fleet would be of the greatest value, the lighter draft vessels being ablo to penetrate to Inland points on small streams) where a formidable opponent would not dare follow. Despite their small size ths torpedo boat destroyers, known as ths waspa of the navy, are provided with power ful engines and are able to make great speed. Ths destroyer Perkins, for In stance, has engines with an aggregats horsepower of 12.000. The others of the wasp fleet range from T600 to SJOO horsepower. ' This la mors horsepower than that possessed by many of ths nnarmored steel vessels. It is an odd fact that the diminutive Truxton with Its 433 tons of displacement Is equipped with almost as powerful engines, so far as actual horsepower is concerned, as the great battleship Oregon with her 10, 188 tons of displacement, the Oregon's engines having 11,037 horsepower, while the little Truxton boasts 8300. This superior speed is essential to the smaller craft, of coarse. For It Is upon speed that the destroyers must depend. It falls to these craft to slip head-on. into close range of an enemy, launch a torpedo and then return, ex posing only a few feet of rapidly mov ing target space. The armored cruisers, too, have tre mendous engines, such vessel- of the Paclflo fleet as .the Colorado having engines with something better than 26,000 horse inter. The Colorado's ex act horsepower is . 26.837. The South Dakota has engines with 28.542 horse power and the California 29,000. Ths unarmored cruisers, such as the Ra leigh, have horsepower about ths 8000 mark. ' In recording- the cost of these Tea sels amazing figures must be used. It would make a pauper of a Hirst-class millionaire to build a single first-class cruiser, while the average man could hardly save enough In ten years to pay fox a single shot from one of the 18-tnch torpedo tubes. It cost 16.341.764 to build the Cali fornia. The Colorado cost the coun try 85.692.142. tho Washing-ton 18.148, 802. and the West Virginia 85,729,067. The Oregon, when put afloat for the first time In 1892, cost 86,575,032, and a fortune has lately been expended In bringing the craft up to date. The cost of an ordinary unarmored steel cruiser, such as ths Raleigh la a big) fortune In itself, for the Raleigh cost $2,199,729. The cost of the gun boat Vlcksburg was 8388,750, while the torpedoboat destroyers oost some thing over $286,000 each, the cost vary ing only a few hundred dollars on each craft. The cost of the submarine Pike was $170,000. Ths cost of a single torpedo for one of the 18-lnch tubes is approximately $5000. The cost or modern naval battle runs rapidly Into the millions of dollars. I In the face of that great American fleet that was reviewed off New York, the Paclflo armada, of course, Js of little consequence. But for that mat. ter it can be regarded as little more than a first line which can be readily re-enforoed from Atlantlo waters, es pecially after the completion, of the Panama Canal. An idea of tho size of the Atlantlo battleship division alone can be had when it Is known that they are in of. fenslve and defensive power more than twice as great as the combined navies of Italy and Tnrkey, while the dread noughts alone are greater by far In every respect than all the battleships that King victor Emmanuel and the put on the sea at the WOMAN MAYOR TALKS ABOUT HER JOB HEX I took tho oath of office I did so with a solemn reso lution that I for ons would faithfully discharge the duties of Mayor." says Mrs. Ella Wilson, Mayor of Hunaewail. Kaiu In a recent Inter view. -I realised clearly this oath did not mean the letting down of tho bars to graft, although It Is frequently In terpreted that way by some of our po Utlcal men. No loyal citizen would be guilty of such an act. for It is no worse to steal a dollar from a beggar than to betray tho government of which yon are part. "On entering my duties as Mayor pathways of roses did not await me. Instead. I found my way barred by technicality after technicality brought forward by my opponents. "My best efforts were given to solv Ing these problems, which belonged t the Judicial and not tho executive de partment of the city government. This was a sosree of annoyance to me.' AU this labor could have been spent la making Hunnewell a better place. We learned to our regret that ths Council which bad been elected was not In sym pathy with my reforms, and several members were radically opposed to women In of lies. They Intended to combat my administration; If possible make It so nnpleasaat for ma that I would resign. "They were probably anxious I should fall, so this could bo need as a cam paign Issue against woman suffrage. The first regular session of the Council was to have been held the first Monday la May. Xegai notices wore posted designating a room on Main street. These were Ignored by the Council. Instead of meeting with me they convened In a bedroom on the sec ond floor of a large hotel. "Early la their session a messenger was sent hastily to me where I was then waiting in the room stipulated in the notices, with word that I must turn ths ordinance and clerk's books over to them. Their demands were Ignored. "In June a second attempt was made to get a meeting. I waited aa hour and a half, but only two came. The bus! ness could not be transacted. "Immediately a letter was mailed by ms to Governor Stubbs. He turned ths matter over to Attorney-General Daw son with Instructions to Investigate, and the investigation was msde. Each Councilman received a letter telling him what he must do. " 'Be present at ths next Council meeting and transact the city's busi ness In good faith or suffer tho pen alty of the law.' "The law is such the Attorney-General can bring ouster proceedings or prosecute under tho crimes act. The penalty Is $1000 fine or one year In Jail or both. "This advice was too much for this jovial body. They were all present at the next meeting. Tbey opposed every thing. My appointments were read. I could not get them confirmed. (It hss been rumored that I desired Mrs. Rose Osborne appointed Marshal. This Is untrue. An office that requlrea phys ical strength Is not a woman's position.) -Whst was I to do? "Sanitary conditions were poor, ram bling and bootlegging going on. and my hands were tied. I boarded a train for Lawrence, the home of Governor W. R. Stubbs. On my arrival I went directly to the Governor's residence. I found a splendid type of executive. "He said: 'Ton go back, appoint your Marshal. I will see to his pay.' I did so. and very little or no bootlegging or gambling now exists within the border of the city to the best of my knowl edge. These "evils' must go. This pro hibitory lsw can be enforced If the proper officer la behind It. - "It has ben reported that I said I I bad learned that politics is not woman s game, and I was ready to quit. Such statements are false. No remarks of this kind were ever uttered by me. I wish to reiterate, I mean to stand stanohly for good government. and will not quit nntil my term ex pires. I may be a candidate for re elections "HunneweU has been run by a fao tlon that has not been exacting as) to tne requirements or tne law. "Neither the judges nor the clerks of ths Election Board were sworn at the election of 149. "The offloers elected as the result of that election have had charge of the municipal affairs nntil the first day of May this year. "Whoever beard of a City Treasurer serving without bonds T We have had Just such aa experience right here In HunnewelL "Our last three Treasurers have not been bonded. The first of the three went Into bankruptcy. He left the town and tho office was vacant. "The books and documents were passed to the next men, who was hon est. He resigned. "The third candidate Is still serving. but only tn name. I have Instructed him emphactically that he must pay no money. "My appointment was Professor 13. i A. Clark, Superintendent of the Public Schools. The Council refused to con firm him. "The present Incumbent claims the office on the grounds that be has right of office until a successor is appointed and confirmed by the Council. A man or woman who Is anybody or floes anything la most certainly going to be vilified, criticised, misunderstood. This Is a part of the penalty given them for distinction. After all, the final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure contumely without' re sentment. "All great political leaders and re formers have been severely censured. Many times these criticisms may have been Juet, but nine cases out of 10 have been unjust "No President has been so unjustly censured as our beloved Lincoln, yet he never resented criticism. "This faultfinding is a contagion which spreads rapidly among a class of every municipality. If you live in a city. In heaven's name, use your In fluence la making that city a sanitary, moral, law-observing place. If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally dlspkrage, change your citizenship to another corporate town, and when you are no longer a resident censure to your heart's content. But so long as you are a part of it, do not condemn It. "Fully four-nftha or the criticism of fered by the violators of the law are of this kind. 'Many women fear this publicity. Consequently they are contented to mother boys and girls of this great country, but do not think' it their duty to help make the laws that govern them. "I have been asked the question: Mayor Wilson, do you have any time for your housework Well, a woman without the love of home in her heart , is not a real woman. I have been ac cused by my friends of being overly tidy. "Duties of home have always been an easy task for me and have never taken all of my time. "The greater part of my life has been given to the church work. I have been associated with the various lodges of which I am a member Eastern Star, Rebekha and Royal Neighbors. Very recently I finished a three months' course .with the eminent pianist and teacher, Rudolph Callahan. "Should you call at my office almost any morning, you would probably find me reading letters that come from all parts of the world. Most of these are answered personally. "Another question I often hear Is, "What do you think of a woman In politics, Mrs. Wilson?" - "Men are able to prosecute Targe commercial enterprises and still devote much time to the great political ques tions of the day. Usually these busi ness men are successful. If their Inter est In politics does not' affect their business, why should a woman' Inter et In politics affect her household? "Women are more sympathetic and conscientious than men and Just as in tellectual. "Men have tried to govern here In Hunnewell and, have failed, and the balance-wheel turned, - just as it will be reversed in many other towns after I have succeeded here. v 'My office means much more to me than Just the simple Mayoralty of a Kansas town. If women can do good work In office here they can do good work elsewhere, and the men must ad mit It. "This lesson will go out from Hunne well. The men and all persons opposed to women in office will see that some of .their ideas have been wrong." , Sultan could present time. The displacement figures of this mightiest of all American armadas reaches the magnificent total of 586,388 tons. A fleet of 18 Lucltanias would not total in displacement figures as many tons as the American ships fea tured in the big naval show, whereas It would take more than 30 Kaiser Wilhelm II's to balance the scales if the ships under Admiral Osterhaus were to be weighed In tons. There were, in All. 102 In line, rang ing In size from the mighty Florida and Utah of over 21,000 tons to the little submarines of the Stlngay type, whose tonnage is computed by hun dreds, and not thousands. Of battleships there were 25 in the Atlantic marshaling. There were two dreadnoughts of ths Florida, two of the Delaware, and two of the South Carolina types. Then the splendid ar ray of first-class battleships of the Connecticut type, numbering, all told, six ships the Louisiana, the Kansas, the Vermont, the New Hampshire, the Minnesota, and the Connecticut. Then the type that is represented by the Idaho and the Mississippi, five of the Virginia type, being, besides that ship, tho Georgia, New Jersey, Nebraska,, and Rhode Island, and of the Missouri type, and including that vessel, the Ohio, and the Maine. These are the ships upon which the United States would rely in time of war to do the actual fighting. The ton nage of these battleships Is 381,812, and the broadside of the big guns they could fire would mean a hail of 13 inch and 12-lnch projectiles weighing approximately 113,000 pounds, while a broadside of all guns of all sizes would total at least 150,000 pounds df steel. As to those runs, it Is Interesting to note that when the ships lined up for the great review there were on all of them eight of the 18-inch type, whlcn is now abandoned in the newer shins In favor of the 12 and 14-Inch types, and i oi tne xz-inca, every one of which represents the very latest In naval ordnance of that type. AOO to the total of battleshlns the two big armored cruisers North Caro lina and Washington, the fast-flying scout cruiser Salem, the unprotected cruisers Des Moines and San Fran cisco, a fleet of gunboats and at least five flotillas of torpedo boat destroyers and torpedo boats, eight of the newest and finest submarines in the world, and a fleet of splendid naval auxili aries, and you will have the fleet that gave New York first call on the great est naval show, that has ever taken place in this country. On these ships (counting in the bat teries of 13 and 12-Inch guns on the battleships), there are about 1600 guns. 972 of which are or the three-inch and larger types. Here is the list: Caliber. ' Number. 13-lnch ...... , ot. .... ot.'. .............. 8 12-lnch 124 10-loch 8 Blnch 12 7-lnca i 8S -Inch 144 5-inch 80 4-Inch 32 8-lnch t. ..StiO Total 973 If every one of these guns were fired at the same time, it would mean in cold figures projectiles of all sizes that would weigh between 190,000 and 200, 900 pounds. In target practice scores of 100 per cent are not uncommon in the United States, and so it does not take a very wild Imagination to figure out what would happen to any other port or na val force If this avalanche of well- directed steel were turned against it.