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30 MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. means of relieving line officers of watch duties below decks. No doubt there was good reason twenty years ago to question the wisdom of putting five or six highly educated engineers on board of a sailing vessel with auxiliary steam power to run engines of a few hundred horse power, but that is not the state of the navy today, and we must not forget that everything connected with the materials of a ship depends more or less directly upon the ef- ficiency of machinery. The most important consideration cannot be allowed to drift back into one of secondary importance, as 1t could have been when vessels could keep the sea by means of their sail power. When we consider the possibilities of a technical corps, we should find -it difficult to make an argument against it, and it could not in any way decrease the effectiveness of the present reorganization, engineering being considered the motive under- lying the education at the naval academy. In fact, a technical corps, or a technical department of the line, is almost a necessity, ~ but the men for this department should be selected from the list of line officers, and they must have developed technical abilities. Because all officers have been educated alike, it does not follow that they are equal in the performance of duties, or that all will have the same tastes, and it would be a serious loss if the gov- ernment could not take advantage of special talent of its commis- sioned officers. If this looks like specialization, it is the kind that selects men for the work that they are best fitted to do after they have demonstrated their fitness. Such specialization © will not throw men out of touch with the executive duties of a ship, as the care and management of machinery demands the co-opera- tion of a large number of enlisted men, who must be directed. -- This kind of control on the part of the chief engineer and his subordinates involves the same class of executive work to be ~ found on deck, and an officer whose principal occupation has been with machinery is not thereby crippled for executive duties. ~The old system of detailing men to three or four years' clerical! 'work in the navy department or in the yards was far worse on the morale of the service than would be a long detail to engi- neering duty at sea or on shore. Far better that men should have been attending to construction and engineering matters on shore than that they should have been hanging over desks. , ALL THE CREW ARE BEHIND THE GUNS. In the organization and training of the crew the problem is more difficult. The navy cannot keep in the service first-rate mechanics, as the rewards in civil life are too great. With few - exceptions, therefore, we have tobe content with men of the or- _dinary laboring class. By making their duties simple, and offer- » ing suitable rewards, they can be trained to do the work of a battleship admirably. These are matters, however, which ex- perience must arrange for the naval service, and there is no - reason .to think that naval officers are not amply qualified to ad- _ just them properly. Still, one of the phrases which has been _ worked to death in the interest of the men who customarily man the guns is "the man behind 'the gun." This phrase tends to set up a Caste distinction in the service which has no existence ¥ in fact: f puts a premium on the spectacular, and tends to de- - stroy the spirit of those men who do the work of preparation and 'who carry the gun into a position where it can be fired. Every- - one knows that a battleship is built for her guns, and that she is - nothing if not a first-rate gun carriage, but that does not entitle _ the men who stand in the turrets to the peculiar gratitude of the nation when compared with the men who tend water, hoist powder,.or who handle the throttle valves of the engines. As a matter of fact, all the crew are behind the guns. As a nation we are likely to go into hysterics over the spec- _tacular and for the time being to lose sight of essentials. The great voyage of the Oregon from San Francisco' to the Atlantic coast will probably live forever in the annals of our navy, and yet many other cases of fine service have entirely escaped the atten- tion of people. Whoever speaks or cares anything about the ex- ploit of the little Marietta that accompanied the Oregon? No one seems to have thought of her plight in case she had met the Spanish fleet in company with the Oregon. Her business was to go ahead and order coal and to act as a scout for the Oregon. She made the same voyage and with equal success, yet we have been so drilled to admire the spectacular that we forget her entirely. Furthermore, who thinks much about the voyage of the Monterey across the Pacific?--as fine a piece of seamanship as we have had in modern times. It is too often the actor in the middle of the stage who catches our attention, no matter whose lines he may be reciting. All this is an important consideration in organizing the crew. Every man should have full recognition for good work, and it is [Aug. 27, fined sea endurance as the essence of naval strategy, and steam power as the essence of naval tactics. This seems a clear and apt distinction which may well be kept in mind. They depend respectively upon the economical use of coal and the proper ise of materials for handling a ship. Neither has received the attention its importance demands. Much can be done in study- ing the economical use of coal for our battleships and cruisers at high and low speeds, and the department could probably extend the steaming radius of every ship by the careful elimination ot unessentials, and a more careful study of every type of ship, The only great lesson taught by the Spanish war js the enormous advantage of adequate preparation. We already knew that. No officer in the navy had the slightest doubt about the ultimate outcome of the war, even from the day of its declaration and for probably the same reason that would have governed his judgment of the great Armada. The Spaniards were as much behind the times of 1808 as they were in 1588, and their an. tagonists were as much ahead. Nevertheless, we now bid fair to drift, having accomplished a great reform under conditions which have led the greatest navy in the world to copy us. We do not yet seem to realize our opportunities and duties. Naval warfare of the future cannot possibly be a matter of long campaigns. A great fleet action will be short and sharp, anq few or none of the defeated ships are likely to escape. Maneuver- ing for the weather gauge will be replaced by the long and tedious preparation of bringing every ship up to the supreme test of one great effort, and by the attempt to get between an enemy's fleet and his coal pile. The future of our navy is fortunately in the hands of men with a natural aptitude for mechanics and engineering, and in this period of transition we have the advantage of no real lack. of harmony to prevent an-efficient organization. . The country owes much to the patience and courage of the older officers who were educated under a system which has already disap- peared. Upon their shoulders have been thrust some very heavy burdens. Men advanced in life cannot easily learn new ways, and yet our officers have risen to.the demands of a new service with admirable courage. Instead of repining over the unsatis- ' factory settlement of a great question, the entire navy ought to rejoice that so few mistakes have been made, thus giving positive evidence that the service will be equal to the occasion. The main point under consideration 'here is that we should not wait too long to provide successors for a fast disappearing corps. CHICAGO SAND RAMMER. Among labor-saving tools which the Chicago. Pnuematic Tool Co., Fisher building, Chi- cago,. has lately placed on the market, special attention is directed to one, known as_ the Chicago sand rammer, and illus- trated: herewith. The Chicago company says of this tool: "The Chicago 'sand rammer igs a device which we have just placed on the market, and~ re- sults have been highly satisfac-. tory, the' machine showing up to very good advantage wher- ever used. 7: "Tn connection with its. light weight, one very advantageous feature, which will 'be . noted from the illustration, is that this machine can be operated by a man standing up, thereby elimi- nating the necessity of contin- ually bending over, a fatiguing task necessary to the operation of similar types of machines now on the market. This fea- ture we are confident will ap- peal very strongly to users. of sand rammers. "The following are the princi- pal features of the rammer: Diameter of piston, 1 1-16. in.; stroke of piston, 7 in.; cubic feet of free air consumption at 80 Ibs. pressure, 30;*number of ren , especially important that technical skill should have its reward. ' I am convinced that the education 'of deck officers into a sym- _ pathetic understanding of the machinists, oilers and firemen will blows per minute at 80 lbs. pres- sure, 500; weight, 17 Ibs. Chicago Sand Rammer. more than offset any deficiency that may arise from their lack of professional contact with the machinery. In writing about organization we necessarily draw from a very limited experience with steam vessels in naval warfare. There has been no real test. The civil war gave us great ex- perietice in the conduct of a blockade, but none whatever in great fleet tactics. Our late war, although large in results, taught few lessons outside of technical considerations connected with the design of ships, and we have little upon which to pass a judg- ment of the future. Naval tactics and strategy may have as great-a development under steam as they had under sails, given the presence of a great seaman engineer. Some writer has de- ; ERIS machine is certainly the most satisfactory and practical rammer ever placed on the maf- ket, and its many advantageous features cannot fail to appea strongly to users, if properly brought to their attention." To keep pace with the growth of trade on the St. Lawrence route to Europe the Allan Line has placed an order for a new Passenger steamer with Workman, Clark & Co. of Belfast, Ire land. The new vessel will be 545 ft. long, 60 ft. beam and 43 ft. deep and will be of 11,000 tons burden. She will have twit Screws and.a guaranteed speed of 18 knots per hour. The con tract calls for delivery next August.