The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 20, 1898, Page 19

‘'THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY. [ARCH 20, 1898. 19 i 2 OME idea of the enormous cost of war at the fellows that eat up from 00 to $700 worth every shot. battle would mean a total destruction of 5,000. be had by figuring on a ficti- One broadsid> from the battieship Oregon, with ev. in one hour each of the big guns W be dis- : St o : gun belching fire and shell, would cost at least charged 1ty times. That is the average num- ngagement between two big bat- ; : P ¢ $10,000. ber. Each ixteen big rifles of the Ore Oregon and the Pelayo of Spain, Tt uld simply pay for the ammunition used isch wuld cost the Government $12 > and tctal loss of valuable for the moment. Figure on the destruction of pro cour m they would beleh property, the cost of ammunition used runs erty made by such a brcadside, and the figures run up $240,000 worth of shct anc it of her guns cos total. She carri amaz It is almost like burning money. more rapidly $600 each every time they ged; four of them harge of ~ Fancy payin a rapid-firir in the United States zen guns that swallow gulp, COST OF WAR WITH SPAIN. HATwould a war withSpain cost? Many public men at Washington having been in- Na sh a at a singl terviewed upcn that topic some figures are quoted, the basis being : from their varic It would cost the United States $200,- 000,000 to go to war with Spain, and $300,000,000 to maintain the war six months. It would cost Spain a thousand mill- ion pesetas—a peseta equals about 20 cents—to to war with the United States, and fifteen hundred million pe- setas to maintain the war six montbs. No one can predict the cost with more than approximate accuracy. No'closer guess, very likely, can be made than the foregoing. General Hawley, declining to express an opinion, nevertheless mentioned the 9 experience which the last war gave in the measure of cost of war, and many other military authorities base their ideas on the practical experience which that conflict afforded to our own peo- ple. It was a lesson not only in the assembling of men and supplies, but in the best methods to be followed in rais- ing great sums of money for emergen- cles. When President Lincoln called on Congress for 400,000 men, he also asked for $400,000,000. This was at the re of $1000 for every man called into serv. jce. His message to Congress stated that the sum asked was “less than one- ty-third part of the money vaiue :d by ‘ho seemed ready to de- ’ This gives another age—one-twenty-third—as a ba- caleulating what amount of the th of a country should be sum- d to aid in jts defense. ecretary Chase, then at the head of Tre. s, estimated $320,000,000 as sum required to beginithe war. This proved to be short of the requjrements. The army appropriation bill passed by the extra session of Congress after the firing on Sumter carried $207,000,000. The navy appropr i (< go 000. These ere made be remembered, no conception of what the war with s to be, and with an idea that at within six months. The first estimates of war are usually under rather than over what the CcOSU proves to be. In a_war with Spain the conflict would be essentially different from that 4 between the North and South, in that Spain and the UnitedgStates would be fighting across an ocean instead of hand to hand in one country. This would make it essentially a na- val warfare and a war on commerce, and to that extent the elements of cost would be different from land warfare. But with both countries having long lines of coast to protect, with Cuba as CPOPPPOPRIRPP®G ver $1000 to Fire Some Rifled ¢ ns Just Once and They Gan Be ired Many Times in One Hour. $1000 every time a shot is fired from good number of war- v that have ne 1000 worth of ammunition not to speak of the numberless little Pee A battle v destroy at in one hour. rly half aiar g a fleld of land conflict, the element of providing for the cost of land warfare would be hardly less than the marine struggle. Prudence w also dictate that the scale of preparation would take into account the possibility, even nrobability, of Spain’s forming al- liances with European powers by which her fighting strength on land and sea would be largely augmented. With these considerations existing, the cost of going to war with Spain at this time could not be estimated far be- low the cost when the first crash of arms came in 1861 As toSpain’s first costin going to war the United States, it must' be borne in mind that Spain is now prac- tically on a war footing, and has b since the Cuban struggle becam, The war footing of Spain is 183 men, and this footing has b ched, if not exceeded, in Cuba alone. The for s the; but the official figures a year ago gave 121,- = have fluctuated, 136 men in Cuba. Adding the reserve force in Spain and those in the Philip- i nd Puerto Rico, the total is ) to the war footing of Spain. The s is true of Spain’s navy, which is and has been on a war foot- ing. Doubtl ar footing of Spain capable of with Cuba would have to be very materially enlarged in dealing with the United States, but at least it would serve as nucleus—it would save that extrgordinary cost of a first start. Up to this time, how- known no need of a war footing bevond that above given, which, in detail, is as follows: Infantry 13 ceee ILH0 C ry 3 Corps. 483 14,027| Total oo 183,972 is the war footing of Spain, yet prov which sion has been made by n an extraordinary emergency, 1,083,575 men could be put in the field. This vast number, in a country having but 17,000,000 population, is phenom- enal in the annals of warfare. It is not ynjectural, however, but is based on reful estimates made by Spain as to her utmost resources in case of need Spain’s first cost of war with the United States has been estimated at 1,000,000,000 pesetas. The basis for the estimate is the e of the Cuban con- flict to the present time. The war budget for 1895-96 was 140,000,000 pese- tas regular and 40,000,000 pesetas extra- ordinary. This has been mounting up ever since, until the cost of the war up to this time is estimatedat $280,000,000, or $85,000,000 a year. *With the increases requisite for a conflict with the United States, the cost would be more than double that of holding Cuba, and, by a most conservative estimate, the total of 1,000,000,000 pesetas, or $200,000,000, was made by one well fitted for an in- telligent view of the subject. During the first stage of war a large element of ecst to be defrayed by the United States would be found in the necessity to provide 200,000 men with new rifles, at a cost of $17 to $20. In round figures this item is $4,000,000. An- bther detail in reaching the total esti- mate for six months was the cost of uniforms, two suits at $8 each being al- Jowed. This, for 200,000 men, would be about $3,500,000. In the item of ammu- nition, the estimate contemplated 500 (CJOJOXOROROJORORO} vetween these two giants of the sea would least $5 E would mean a Ic [CXOYOXOJOXOJO] 000,000 worth of property. Be: ship cost the same. The ch rounds for each man in s months. Five dollars would about cover the of 500 rounds, which, for 200,000 would be about $1,000,000. With the modern use of machine guns every company of infantry would doubtless have a gun of this character. They cost about $1000 each, making an- other item of about $2,000,000. These details of equipment are almost infi- nite, and with a force of 200,000 the cost in every instance runs into the millions. Aside from the first cost there is the cost of transporting vast supplies of food and clothing after they have been purchased. There are few war vessels which could be purchased. The first cost of vessels cannot be placed in an But it is clear that this lack ble ships would keep down po: cost for Spain and for the United States alike. Both coun- tries must fight with such vessels as they possess, augmenting their navies by the use of their merchant marine. The arming of merchant ships would be a costly operation, for they would be drawn from their regular service, and the Government woula have topay liberally for their use. At such times “war profits” are expected and exact- ed, and there would be no recourse from it. And aside from the first cost to the Government of taking these merchant ships from the coasting trade, the trans-Atlantic, the trans- Pacific, the West Indian and the South American trade, there would be the second cost of mounting guns and giv- ing them such armament as would fit them for war service. The financing of the Civil War was a stupendous operation, as may be judged from the fact that to-day the Government is siowly paying off the bonds floated at that time, and ismain- taining an issue of $346,000,000 green- backs issued on the faith of the Gov- ernment to tide over the demand for funds. RLWRYS DANGER ON WAKSHIPS. HE recent disaster to the United States battle-ship Maine, wheth- er by accident or design, has set the naval officers and men to “talking of the dangers on war- ships, even in times of peace. There are any number of instances averted by quick thinking and ‘acting and in times of peace such a deed is one of the ways of winning promotion. Danger lurks everywhere on a mod- ern ship of war and very often the most careful naval officer or seaman finds himself on the very brink of a disaster and only by quick thinking and lightning action on the part of some one is the danger removed and an ac- cident averted that would land thee sailor and many of his shipmates, if not his whole ship's company, in the next world. . Every time a torpedo-boat goes out, even for practice, every man on board estimate. $1000 each; Nearly [OXOYOXOXOKOXONOXO) ROJOXOXOKOKOJOXOXOKO) ng guns. provided ev: R takes his life in his hands, the battle-ships and cruiser zine with its store of explos and on all the masga- is ever a source of danger. There any number of warrant officer the United States navy who y owe their uniform, stars and bars to rapid judgment and bravery in such impending danger. The peculiar construction of the tor- pedo-boat prevents much of the ma- chinery from being covered and out of danger. Below decks everything moves with lightning like celer Poke your finger at a wheel or ornament that seems to be stationary, and you will be minus a finger, possibly a hand. For the innocent looking ornament wiil probably prove to be a wheel, revolv- ing so rapidly as to be apparently with- out motion. Safety is sacrificed for the sake of saving space, for the tor- pedo-boat must be as compact as pos- sible. The great danger is when the boat is submerged, for the most trif- ling accident may result disastrously to every one on board. 1t is less than six months ago that while a boat was submerged a commonplace, ordinary every-day stop cock became -disar- ranged, and before the boat could be brought to the surface, or this slight accident repaired, six men were scalded to death from the escaping steamn. ne of the first of the steel ships of the new navy had not been in commis- sion three months when the level head- edness of an apprentice boy saved her from an accident that might have been quite as disastrous to the big ship as the recent one to the Maine. The aft magazine was being repaired and the gun division of the crew were engaged in taking out fixed ammunition, cans of powder and guncotton and cleaning and red lining the bilges. This was at a time before the ship had been equipped with electricity, and the men used closed lanterns to illuminate the magazine. Of course the lanterns had been carefully inspected by an officer before the hatch of the magazine was lifted, and all were apparently in good order. The chief gunner's mate, under the direction of a division officer, was superintending the movements of the men, A Something went wrong, and in his excitement he leaned over the hatch, calling out orders to the men in the pit of the magazine. In his excitement he carelessly knocked the lantern he car- ried against the side of the hatch. The spring that held the lamp within the lantern gave way and it fell lighted into the magazine and struck on the top of a big can of powder that was hooked and ready to be hoisted to the deck. Fortunately the lamp struck full on its bottom and remained in that posi- tion. The two men in the pit had gone away aft for another can of powder, and their backs being turned they did not see the lighted lamp. The men at the top of the hatch were horror- stricken, but the alert apprentice boy was wide awake and eaual to the emer- gency. He shinned down the tackle and was not slow in the going, either, He grabbed the lamp, the flame of which had already begun to heat the can metal, and shouted up the hatch, “Pull me and the can up to the main deck, you fellows.” = He extinguished the lamp with his the face of To operate each gun -y min- vould be fired for more than fifteen minutes, but even that brief time One $500 each. with the operated at the same cost. utes would cost $18,000. guns costs Their these she ca . x o fingers and grabbed the rope with his hand, and the can of powder left, and the men at the hatch had him on the main deck in The can of powder was smok- ing hot where the lamp had rested. The apprentice boy still clung to the heated can and scooting up the poop ladder with it threw it overboard. He after- ward got his sword for his bravery on that day. One of the chief sources of danger on all battle-ships and cruisers as well is that of spontaneous combustion in the coal bunke In all men-of-war the coal bunkers are provided with an automatic apparatus that gives the alarm whef the temperature of the bunker arises above a certain figure. The bunkers are all numbered and the apparatus in each acts independently and if the temperature of bunker No. 1, for instance, rises beyond the set mark the alarm is en by the means of a ringing registering machine placed just outside the skipper's cabin. There is always a marine orderly for the comn ding officer, and he is sta- tioned just outside the cabin door and it is part of his business to keep his eye on the fire alarm. The marine or- derly at once informs the commanding officer that there is something wrong in one of the bunkers. Then the ship’s bugler sounds fire quarters, and all hands take their position in the fire stations. Steam is turned into the bunker reported to be on fire and the fire thus put out. ‘The coal bunkers must necessarily be located in_ close ximity to the boiler, and it is sur- sing what a predilection coal has for taking fire when subject to heat and not exposed to a current of fresh cooling air. There is hardly a man- of-war that has not had at least a dozen or more cases of fire in the bunk- ers, but it is only in one or two in- stances that these little affairs are ever heard of in print. As the coal bunkers are dark as midnight thay must be lighted in or- der that the coal passers may see to get out the coal. On all the modern ships of war each bunker is provided with a couple of standing electric lights, but in coaling the ships and when on rough voyages the glass cas- ings around these lights are often smashed, and then the coal passers must use lanterns, in the use of which they become careless. A few years ago a fire alarm on one of the big cruisers off a Pacific sta- tion gave the signal that there was a fire in bunker No. 8. As the chief en- gineer had not yet given orders for the opening of this bunker he at once concluded that it was a case of spon- taneous®combustion. Within a minute the firemen were playing streams of water into the bunker, where the arose a yell: ®What the bloomin’ devil are youse flat-foot paint scrubbars a-trying to do—drown me and choke me to death, ye blasted —?” And the rest was simply a torrent of jolly Roger talk. The voice came from a coal passer who, without the authority of the chief engineer, had opened No. 8, be- cause it was handy to the fireroom. He had taken an open light into the bun- ker and set it down on a lump of coal directly underneath the fire-alarm ap- paratus. In a few minutes the ap- paratus was heated sufficiently to make would mean an expense of $4500 for each gun, or $3000 t would bring the total expense of an hour’s en- nt up to $249,000, or $4150 a minute, cr a little N of them would cost $10, 0 to shoct; y of thos s To fire them fifteen min- TREMENDOUS COST OF MODERN WARIFARE. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@E)@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ o Ammunition Used Would Gost $500,000 for One Hour's Engage- ment Between Big Battleships. loJolcoroloYoloYololoYololoXoXoloRolCR R CROROIOX X X OROROXOR OO OXOXO) ”SKETCH ILLUSTRATING THE ENORMOUS COST OF AN EXCHANGE OF\ SHOTS BETWEEN TWO MODERN FIRST-CLASS BATTLE-SHIPS. The total cost of the engagement to the Pelayo would be $219,000—an ave a second, with a few penni erefore, Suppos 5 foJoJoXooXokoXoJoOROJOXORCRORORONOIOROXOROJOROROROXCROJOOROROROJORORO} It's Almost Like Shooting Gold Shells When High Power Quns Are Fired in War. ® ® age of $3650 a minute, or $60 to spare. g that one ship would be wholly wrecked and the other badly disabled, the total cost of eventeen b sun twelve of them em $500 Spain of this one battle between our Government and that of Spain, counting $465, be dangerously near If the Oregon were destroyed the fight would cost the United States we would escape W The destructicn of the Pelayo would mean a loss to $3,589,000. worth of ammunition, would ,000,000. $3,919,000. If she were only disabled h a loss of $2,084,000. If she were only disabled the ex- pense to the Spaniards would be $2,054,000. St port on deck. For the next ten da that coal passer spent his time thinking over the affairs of his life while in the brig in double its auto a week Dpa another There are open hatches for him tc step into, all sorts of obsta- cles to tumble over, and he has unilim- ited opportunities to smash his toes or fingers in mechanical appliances. There are live electric wires for him to handle and a thousand and one other lurking dangers of which the merc sailor never knows or dream the cruisers that carry sail for s 3 ing purposes he may be slapped on the side of the head by a loose snapping halyard cr he may, and often does, take a bad tumble to the d below from a suddenly slacking ridge rope.” Down in the fire room among the “black gang,” as they are known, a fireman is always thoughtlessly picking up an almest red- hot slice bar or dev claws at the wrong end, or he carelessly hangles a v gets a jet of hot steam in his éyes, and again he is forever finding all sorts of hidden objects carelessly left in his way for him to stumble over in the darkness. One of the narrowest escapes from a. magazine explosion occurred only re- cently c¢n one of the big cruisers at- tached to the Atlantic Station One of the men of the “black gang” was clean-, ing his section of the after engine room bilges one morning. His particular section of the bilges was adjacent to the ship’s magazine, which was separated from the engine room by steel partitions. Bilges are cleaned with waste saturated with turpentine. This particular bilge cleaner was tco lazy to fill one of the small turpentine cans provided for the purpose. He dragged a five-gallon can of turpentine to his section and began work. One of the strictest rules on a man- of-war is the one prohibiting smoking in the engine rocm, but there was nev- er a rule or law yet made which man was not tempted to break. The bilge cleaner had fairly got under way with his work when he took out his pipe:and 1it it, carelessly throwing the match in the bilge. The lighted match fet fire to the turpentine saturated waste, and the bilge cleaner in his excitement upset the five-gallon can of turpentine; and in a second the bilge was converted into a roaring mass of flame that played di- rectly against the steel bulkhead sepa- rating the engine rcom from the maga- zine. The cleaner shouted and ran for his life. The second-class fireman was the only other man in the after engine room at the time this havpened. He made a jump for the bilge covers that had been removed by his careless mate and thrust them over the bilges, getting a number of severe burns while doing it. Then he opened one of the intakes from the sea and let the water directly into the bilge that was in flames. By the time the fire quarters was sounded and the men on deck got to their stations below the second-class fireman, with his hair and evebrows all burned off and the skin peeling from his face and hands, was throwing = s . bucketful after bucketful of the in- coming water against the steel bulk- head which was already so hot that it sent back clouds of steam. He won his promotion by this deed and the damage he did by flooding the engine room was nothing compared to what would have happened had the flames played on that bulkhefd a few minutes longer. . EUROFE 1S RE-ARMING. N July, 1897, the German Emperor called together his military attaches at a formal breakfast. After eating and presumably drinking his Impe- rial Majesty, with one of his sud- den bursts of frankness under such cir- cumstances, told his officers that it was no use keeping it a secret any longer; the German army had had its artillery changed without anything being known about it. How well the secret was kept may be understood from the fact that Krupp employs’ 16,000 workmen and that sev- eral powers try to spend large sums in Germany to obtain military and naval intelligence. . That happened which might have been expected upon the Emperor's pos- sibly indiscreet avowal. The French military attache of the Berlin Em- bassy at once took train for Paris, and found his Government prepared.to deal promptly with the question. Only the cost had prevented the French war office from making the change before. The reason for this hesitation will be grasped when it is stated that the extra expenditure in- volved within a very brief period ex- ceeds $50,000,000. The secret has been kept by the French nearly as well as the Germans Kkept theirs, but it is now known to several European gov- ernments. The weapon now in course of manu- facture is a quick-firiiig gun capable of firing at least ten shots a minute, It has a caliber of 3 inches, the caliber of the French field gun being 90 milli- meters (3% inches), and of the horse artillery gun 80 millimeters. The lat- ter weapon is similar to ‘he latest pat- tern .of the Nordenfelt cannon. Its weight fitted with automatic hydrau- lic or glycerine brakes to check re- coil, and with steel shields to reduce the risk from infantry fire, is some- what greater than that of the 90 milli- meter field gun, but the range and the bursting power of the shell are greate: The shell is fitted with a perfect pers cussion fuse, whose aceuracy has been tested in thorough fashion. As many as 5000 of these quick-firing guns for the French artiliery are be- ing provided at a cost, including 1000 rounds of ammuniticn for each, of £2000 per gun. Up till January 1 this year 800 guns were completed, with their due proportion of projectiles. There will be enough guns before the end of the year to arm all the “corps” artillery and the whole artil- l&?’/‘ will be rearmed before the end of