New York, May 22. Grimly ma
jestic'' with martial efficiency radiat
ing' from every line of hull, funnel and
fighting top, 15 battleships, including
the first, second, third and fourth di
visions of the Atlantic fleet. Admiral
Frank F. Fletcher ocmmandlng, were
reviewed Monday by President Wil-
son. Secretary . of the Navy Daniels
and other hi,gh officials. The visit of
the fleet to New York is ever an in
teresting occasion, but this- year's re
view aroused, greater public Interest
In view of the marked attention how
being given the subject of national
defense and preparedness.
The 15 battleships in the Hudson In
eluded the Wyoming, flagship of the
fleet. . and the Louisiana. the New
Hampshire, the Georgia, the Nebraska,
the Virginia, the Utah, the Florida,
th9 Kansas, the South Carolina, the
Michigan, the North Dakota, the Dela
ware, the Texas, and the New York.
Poking their noses out of the tur
rets of the Wyoming are 12 of the
r latest model American 12-inch naval
grins. The Arkansas is the only other
chip tn the American navy carrying
this gun and she, too, has 12 of them.
The extreme range of this 12-inch gun
Is 31 miles, which far exceeds the
range of the guns used by the Ger
mans in their attack on Dunkirk from
m. point 22 miles away. The purpose
f the American.' 12-inch gun, how
ever, l not to do battle at such an
-Irrational range, but f.o .be able to
Admiral Fletcher's Career as Naval
- Leader an Inspiration to Americans
Declared by an Associate to Be
Navy His Qualities Make
By H. H. Stansbury.
Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, who
lead the proud fleet of battleships and
auxiliaries in review before the presi
dent of the United States In New York
vjjarbor Monday, by his record as. stu
dent, sailor and Inventor furnishes an
Inspiration to every American boy.
1 . - "Fletcher Is the most resourceful
' man I have every known In the navy,"
said the commander - of one . of the
ships to me yesterday. "He's a type
of the best Annapolis product. The
men swear ly him not only or his
likable qualities, but . because they
know- he Is trusted at Washington.
That makes for discipline, and dis
cipline means? efficiency."
This statement recalled that, at the
time of the taking of Vera Crux, Presi
dent Wilson ; said of Fletcher: "He
. Is a' great sailor, with a touch of
- statesmanship about him. . :
Those who have had the opportunity
to observe Fletcher at work In the
harbor! of Vera Crus as well as at play
In the Hudson river find him the same
at all times. -The moment you look at
him you know that he is boss of the
Job. He looks it. every! inch. - His
modesty of demeanor, his'-considerate
attitude toward subordinates, his quiet
voice, quietness of speech impress ode
as revelatioos of force. As an officer
penetrate 1 Inches of armor at 9000
yards.
There are larger, more powerful and
more expensive guns in the American
army and navy, but these larger
weapons will not fire a projectile 31
miles. These larger weapons are the
14-inch breech-loading rifles such as
are carried by : the battleships New
York and Texas, the latest additions to
the strength of the Atlantic battleship
fleet. The newly launched battleship
Pennsylvania will also carry the new
14-inch gun. The 14-inch gun of this
model is considered a more efficient
Weapon because it will penetrate 12.5
inches of Krupp armor at 9000 yards
range.
, American ordnance experts have
gone from the 12-inch to the 14-inch
gun because they consider it - a ra
tional and logical step, even though
the smaller weapon when fired under
certain extreme conditions will send
its shell a greater distance than the
larger gun. For It must be under
stood that those who are In control of
gun making design in the United
States army and navy look upon Si
mile gun ranges as freakish and with
out real and practical military value.
Battles are not fought at 31 miles
nor even at 22 or 15 miles, and only
in isolated Instances, as at Dunkirk,
where the Germans had reasons of
their own In throwing projectiles' from
a distance of 22 miles into the French
town, would such gunnery be at
the Most Resourceful Man in the
for Discipline and Efficiency.
should, he gives hi orders with
clslon.
He is medium-sized. . broad-shouldered,
with a well-knit frame. He is
deliberate m action without being
slow, but his dark eyes are always
alert and seem somehow to -reveal the
dynamic force which has made possi
ble his record of achievement.
An Acquired saddle BTame.
Fletcher's middle name is half nick
name. He was born in Oskaloosa, la.,
on November 23, 18o5. which happened
to be a Friday. , On this account his
father used to call him "my little man
Friday." When i the lad was seven
years of age his father died, but the
name stuck. He was appointed to
the naval academy at the age of 14,
and escorted to Annapolis by-m older
brother. . The latter, when called upon
to put the name of the youngster down
on the roster of boys entering the
academy that year, wrote, "Frank Fri
day Fletcher.- : And so th name has
been carried along through life. The
bearer has never been able to shake
it off. - - : : -:.
Friday Fletcher, as he ' was now
called, was graduated from Annapolis
June 21, 1875, after a course In-which
be had demonstrated. v "no particular
brilliance. Bat his first assignment to
duty showed the: kind of talent that
was In him. ; He was sent to the Tus-
Wl l 1L AtfMi eAaMeMhejesBSAsenaSSSSsr -
.! -.;.( - ' ' . FhotogMpb Oapyrlght. 1915, by the IntTDtlonl Kwi Bervtre.
Scenes Incident to the-review of the Atlantic fleet at New York. 1 Jackies aboard the U.' S. S. Texas," showing a fair visitor how shells, are placed In a big on. 2-A boxing match for the champion
ship of the fleet between Sam Taylor, of the U. S. S. Michigan, and Mike DaviB, of the U. S. S. New, Hampshire witnessed by a crowd of officers and men on deck of one of the warships. 3- Ad
miral Prank Fletcher, commander of the Atlantic fleet. 4 The U. S. S. Wyoming, flagship of the Atlantic fleet. v 5 Jackiea are able to crawl into the months of the guns of the U. S. S. Texas;
so big are they. 6 VS. S. Monitor Tonopah and submarines E-l, E-2, D-l, D-2, D-3, anchored In the Hudson. 7 The presidential yacht Mayflower, upon which President Wilson and party Journeyod
to New York from Washington for the review. 8 Ldeutenant Withers, U. S. N and crew of the submarine E-l, which traveled to New York from Key West, Fla.s a distance of 1230 knots
under-her own power -and without a single stop.;-. . . J !. . . -;. . .-.i : . , I ;
carora, which was engaged In survey
lng a cable rout from California to
Japan.
This involved an exploration of the
ocean depths. Just east of Japan the
Tuscarora located the deepest hole
pre-flhat exist anywhere in the world.
This hole, called the Tuscarora Deep,
roes ' down five and a quarter miles.
The soundings went that deep . and
failed to touch bottom. ' -
But this was only the beginning
with Fletcher. The navy demands
milch of the young man whom the
government takes the trouble to edu
cate. He must be a sailor, mechanic,
student; of international law, diplo
matist, ; sanitarian, and a few more.
Fletcher is declared , to be greatin all
these lines, and. In addition, ; he has
added to the efficiency of the United
States navy- by a series of remarkable
inventions. - . , .'.i ' ..
He will long be known among navy
men for v the Fletcher breech-closing
mechanism. lt shuts the breech of a
rapid fire gun in the quickest imag
inable time and with the fewest possi
ble motions. . Then he Invented a gun
mount, an arrangement of. truncated
cones on a roller path by which frlc
tion is reduced to such a degree that
a weapon weighing many tons can be
trained, literally with one finger and
damped instantly to fix it upon the
target.
He has also -revolutionized the use
of the torpedo with hiaT researcnea tnto
the behavior of these- dread - messen
gers of the - sea.. He has ' corrected
many grievous errors of range. " t
Through the struggle of the Spanish.
American --war, Fletcher, then a lieu
tenant of the senior grade, was assist
ant chief of the ordnance department
at Washington, upon which the navy
to a great degree depended for. its
victories at Manila and Santiago. The
position occupied by the young lieu
tenant had never been held by a-j
officer of that grade before.
On March 15, 1905, he became chief
pf staff of th Asiatic fleet. 1 This
high position he relinquished in No
vember of the same year to taxe his
first big sea command, that of the
cruiser Raleigh. ::..
It is highly interesting at this time
to recall some of the answers which
Admiral Fletcher made to the house
committee on naval affairs last De
cember. He defended the dreadnought
as the greatest weapon of naval war
fare. In answer to the question, "Do you
think It imperative that we should
have a strong navy?" Admiral Fletcher
said: "If you wish to build up a large
merchant marine it should be given
protection. . .:.,
' 'I think.- he went on. -that ship for
ship our vessels are the equal of sim
ilar craft in foreign services. But
that in itself does not necessarily con
stitute adequacy under certain circum
stances. ..' -
"You make provision for your de
fense in accordance with the value of
your Interests at . stake and the . prob
abilities of. danger to them. Other
wise the only solution is to build a
navy so large that it can contend
against .the world,"
I I 1 -
II. S. S. Michigan and South Carolina
. Were First Dreadnoughts to Be Built
Sister Ships Assembled in New
Gun" Craft to
By Jack Binns.
New York. May 28. Two battleships
In the great battle fleet assembled In
the North river, scarcely noticed owing
to the presence of their larger sisters,
are of superior historical importance.
They are the Michigan and South Car
olina, the first "all-big-gun" ships to
be designed. v 1
On the 2d day of October, 1905. the
'British battleship Dreadnought was
laid down In Portsmouth, England. She
was, according to naval experts, the
most revolutionary ship ever built, in
that her main offensive weapons con
sisted of 10 12 inch guns; as against
the four guns of that size that had be
come - universally accepted as the
standard armament of a battleship.
In place of an intermediate battery
for offensive - purposes, the Dread
nought was designed to carry IS four
inch guns to ward off torpedoboat at
tacks, her offensive power being vest
ed solely In the big guns. ;
-. The completion of the Dreadnought
in less than a year caused all the mari
time powers on- earth to construct bat
tleships along the same general de
sign. These ships became known as
York -Last Week First "All Big-
Be Constructed.
"dreadnoughts," as distinct from "battleships.-
, -
The dreadnought and super-dreadnought
types consist, without excep
tion, of ships with two batteries, one
qX big guns all the same size for of
fensive purposes, and the other of
small guns, all of the same size for
defensive purpose .
' rirst "AU-Oun" Craft.
'The Michigan and Socth Carolina
were not - laid down until December,
1906, after the Dreadnought had ac
tually gone into : commission; yet it
was the design of these two ships that
led to the Dreadnought. ... -
They were designed In 1904 and au
thorized in 190S, before the Dread
nought was authorized, therefore,
while actually constructed after the
British battleship in point of design.
they antedated her, . .. ,
Their claim to historic importance
lies in the fact that they, and not the
Dreadnought, were actually the first
"all-big-gun" ships to be designed.
The general method of putting four
18 inch guns on battleships contained
in two turrets, one forward and one
aft, prevailed in the United States as
well as European navies.
When the Michigan and South Cffro-
Una were designed, however, this plan
was departed from, and four turrets,
each containing two 12 inch guns, were
designed for them. ; -
These turrets were arranged two for
ward and two aft On the foredeck the
guns of No. S turret fired over the top
of No. 4 turret. This plan of super
imposed turrets was originated in the
United States navy, and was not adopt
ed in. the' British navy until 1909.
Completed Is 1908,
. Like the Dreadnought, the Michigan
and South Carolina departed from
general battleship design by having
only two types of . battery, the sec
ondary armament of the latter, con
sisting of 22 3 Inch guns, having been
designed for the same purpose of ward
ing off torpedo boat attack. '
The two American ships were -not
completed until the middle of 190ft.
while the Dreadnought went into com
mission in iy0. Despite this, how
ever, in point of design, the former
were really the flrst dreadnoughts.
especially .when It is considered that
their broadside fire is equal to that of
the Dreadnought. .
The only advantage the Dreadnought
enjoys over the two American ships is
that she can train six of her 12 inch
guns either forward or astern, while
the American boats can only train four
in those positions. . ;
Over 129,000 pounds of Turkish to
bacco, grown in Fresno county, Cal.f
nave been marKetea.
IJeld i or Off ering
Bribe to Burleson
Pennsylvania Kan Who Bought Ap
pointment From Postmaster General
" ' Zs Placed trader Bond.
Philadelphia, May 22. An off? by
letter of a $100 bribe to Postmaster
General Burleson, at Washington, to
make an appointment as- rural mall
carrier, led to Warren D. Yoder, of
Blooming Olen, Fa., being held in $500
bail for court by United States Com
missioner Long.
, After Postofflce Inspector F. W.
Smith had arrested Todcr for the al
leged attempt to bribe. Yoder, it is
said, tried to make the inspector ac
cept a similar sum so that the bribery
charge could be hushed up.
Yoderj a young married man, ' last
year passed a federal civil service ex
amination, at Doylestown, with a hisn
average. In December he wrote th-i
postmaster general asking for the
post of rural carrier at Hcllersvill.
"Give me the place," he wrote, "ami I
will make you a present of tlOO in a
sealed envelope in secrecy," the fed
eral agents tetlfled,
Yoder again wrote the cabinet mem
ber last February renewing his offer,
they nay, and asking that the appoir.t-
- Ument he nurriea. ine young mans
rT father entered bond for hi
at pear-
ance here in June.