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a2 MARINE REVIEW. [July 5, MARINE REVIEW Devoted to the Merchant Marine, the Navy, Ship Building, and : Kindred Interests. Published every Thursday at No. 418-19 Perry-Payne building, Cleveland, Ohio, by Tue MARINE REVIEW PUBLISHING Co. SupscriPTION--$3.00 per year in advance; foreign, including postage, $4.50, or 19 shillings. Single copies 10 cents each. Convenient binders sent, post paid, $1.00 Advertising rates on application. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. The minority report of the special naval board on the superimposed turret question is a powerful document. It is signed by Rear Admiral Frederick Rodgers, president of the board; Rear Admiral Charles O' Neil, chief of ordnance; Capt. C. D. Sigsbee, Capt. W. H. Brownson and Naval Constructor D. W. Taylor. In its eight paragraphs it condenses the ob- jections to the superimposed system and it must be confessed that they constitute a powerful array. Among them are those which have already been mentioned in the Review. Particular stress is laid upon the fact that a single shot may cripple the turret and thus place all four guns out of action. For the benefit of those interested the minority report is repro- duced in full: : "While conceding that certain advantages are gained by disposing the eight 8-inch guns, the location of which is the only point at issue, in the manner recommended by the majority, namely, four in superim- posed and four in waist turrets, the minority are of the opinion that such advantages are neutralized to a great extent, if not outweighed, by the disadvantages attending such installation. The lack of independent action of the 8-inch guns in the superimposed turrets recommended by the ma- jority is believed by the minority to be a decided disadvantage. The fact that the superimposed turrets contain four guns, two of which differ from the other two in caliber, range, energy and rapidity of fire, and all of which must move together in the horizontal plane, is, 'by the minority, considered objectionable, and it believes that the efficiency of the individ- ual guns of the group is impaired by such an arrangement, and that guns so placed and so circumscribed will deliver a less volume and a less ac- curate fire thari would be the case were the 8-inch guns mounted in an independent turret. The minority is of the opinion that the best practice requires that guns on shipboard should be isolated as far as practicable, rather than concentrated in groups of four. Guns are placed in pairs from the force of circumstances and on account of conditions which can- not be overcome on shipboard, not for tactical advantages, 'but at a tac- tical sacrifice. Among the objections which the minority find to the superimposed system and waist turrets recommended by the majority, is that in the superimposed turret there is a great concentration of weight towards the extremities of the vessel, and an enormous weight on the roller path of the superimposed turrets. Other objections are that the efficiency of four important guns is dependent upon one controlling appa- ratus, any accident to which would put them all out of action for a time at least; that a heavy projectile striking either the upper or lower turret would probably disable four guns; that the independent firing of the four guns would probably have a disturbing influence upon the accuracy of the individual guns; that the error of one gun pointer enters into four guns; that the working of the apparatus necessary for the service of four guns in the confined space allowed will have a disturbing influence on the gun servants. The saving in weight which is claimed for superimposed turrets is by no means as great as is supposed, and in fact is of but little. moment in vessels of the dimensions of these under -discussion. The use of waist 8-inch turrets as recommended by the majority seriously in- terferes with the mounting of secondary guns. If concentration of guns and their movement in unison in the horizontal plane is desirable, the question naturally arises, to what extent is it desirable? Certainly not to all the heavy guns of the main battery, and the minority is of the opinion that it cannot be judiciously extended to more than two guns. In case the necessity should arise to remove a gun or injured mount from a lower turret the labor of so doing would tbe very great in the case of the superimposed turrets, as the 8-inch turret and guns would have to be re- moved." Now the singular fact is that after having signed this report four of these five members voted, as a compromise and to relieve the department of embarrassment, to equip three of the five battleships with superim- posed turrets. The fifth member, Naval Constructor D. W. Taylor, was true to the faith that was in him. He held that of the two plans one was the better and that all five vessels should be built upon it. There was no compromise in him--and indeed having signed the minority report there should have been no comproniise in any of them. In this case the four have shut their eyes to the force of their own arguments. There has not been in recent years so appalling a catastrophe as the burning of the Saale, the Main and the Bremen at the piers of the North German Lloyd Co, in Hoboken, N. J., last Saturday afternoon and night. It was more appalling than fire at sea, since they were in sight of apparent succor. The fire started from a (burning bale of cotton on the pier. A strong wind was blowing and in a few moments the fire had spread to several piers. Every effort was made to release the boats moored to the piers, 'but the steel hawsers had to tbe chopped apart and before the boats could be released they were all in flames. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was the only boat to get away practically without damage. The horror of it all lay in the fact that the crews were penned in the holds and that the fire was so intense that no one could approach to get them out. It is estimated that 120 lives were lost. Streams of water were poured in through the portholes to assuage their sufferings as much as possible, though there never was at any time any hope of saving their lives. It was the most heartrending spectacle to which humanity was ever subjected. And yet in the midst of it all it is reliably reported that the work of rescue was interfered with by captains of tug boats who wanted to barter their services and who were more attracted by the prospect of profitable salvage than they were moved by any dictates of humanity. In one case it is recorded that when the chief engineer of one of the liners seized a hose to direct the water upon a burning group it was wrenched out of his hands by the captain of a tugboat who feared that it might be destroyed by the heat. That man should have been shot on the spot. If the law has any hold upon him now it should be exercised. Let it be hoped that the story is not true. The North German Lloyd Co. is doing all in its power to ascertain the list of dead and to comfort and assist their families. The loss is estimated at $5,000,000. The two battleships, three armored cruisers and three protected cruis- ers authorized in the naval appropriation act passed in June last have been named by President McKinley. The names of the battleships are Virginia -- and Rhode Island, the armored cruisers Maryland, Colorado and South Dakota, the protected cruisers St. Louis, Milwaukee and Charleston. This is the third Virginia to occupy a place on the naval register. The first was a wooden vessel built in 1818 and broken up on the stocks in 1874. The next Virginia was called Virginia II and was a screw steam vessel of 581 tons and seven guns. She was bought by the government in 1863 and sold in 1865. A Rhode Island, too, of the paddle type was bought in 1861 and sold in 1867. One of the first vessels of the navy was named Maryland. She was a sailing vessel of 380 tons and was sold during the early part of the present century. The navy also built a Col- orado, a screw steamer, in 1855. She carried forty guns. The first St. Louis of the navy was converted into a receiving ship at League island. The first Milwaukee was sunk lby a torpedo in March, 1865. She. was an iron elad of 970 tons and carried four guns. Rear Admiral John Woodward Philip, commander of the Brooklyn navy yard, died last Saturday at the navy yard. He was one of the best- known, best-liked and most-respected men in the United States navy. In moral fiber he had no superior. During the Spanish-American war he was in command of the battleship Texas, and it was he who checked the cheering of his crew when the Almirante Oquendo was sinking. "Don't cheer, 'boys," said he, "the poor devils are dying." This epigram is in striking contrast to the cheap and bombastic ones which were credited to some of the other commanders. The religious side of Philip was intense. It entered into all of his actions. His religion was not a part of his gar- ment; it was a part of him; and there was no more simple, unaffected act during the entire war than that of Philip when he bowed his head on board the Texas at the moment of victory, and in the presence of his crew acknowledged his belief in God Almighty. One may say of him as Antony said of Brutus: His life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world: This was a man, Mr. Eugene Tyler Chamberlain, commissioner of navigation, has just issued a forecast of his annual report. He shows that during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1900, the total tonnage officially numbered amounted to 417,034 gross tons. The total additions to our merchant ma- rine have been greater than those of any year since 1856. But there is one singular defect--only one vessel was built during the year exclusively for the foreign trade, and indeed the tonnage registered for the foreign trade is slightly below that of 1899. Could any more convincing evidence be offered of the need of governmental stimulus? Unless legislation is had favorable to American shipping the United States will cease in course of time to have a single vessel in the foreign carrying trade. The signs of decay are plain. Of the vessels built during the year 56 per cent. were steam vessels. The report shows that for the first time since 1865 the total documented tonnage of the United States has reached 5,000,000 gross tons, Coal Trade, a very well informed journal of Pittsburg, advances the opinion that the total lake movement of soft coal to the northwest dur- ing the present season will be over 6,000,000 tons, of which the Hocking region will ship 500,000, the West Virginia fields 700,000 and Pennsyl- vania 5,000,000 tons. The Pittsburg journal also expresses the opinion that no great effort will be made by the shippers to reduce lake freights, but that they will be inclined rather to hurry shipments as much as possi- ble, and in view of the disastrous results of delays in some previous years try this season to have all of their coal shipped considerably in advance of Nov. 1. _ Summer outings.--Before deciding when and where to spend a por- tion of the hot season this year, send for the 'booklet issued by the Nickel Plate road, entitled "Summer Outings," including many pic- turesque points on the south shore of Lake Erie and the classic shores of Lake Chautauqua. Sent to any address upon application to B. F. Horner, general passenger agent, Cleveland, O. No. 101, July 6.