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HOW
COAST
GUNNERS
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T Is unon tho seaboard guns that tho
II security of tho nation will depend
1 should an onomy succeed In crippling
I our far-Hung Hno, tho navy, and drlvo
our dreadnaughts to this cover 01 uiu
harbors and tho protection of tho
heavy rllles and mortars of tho army.
Tho question Is, can these seaboard
batteries hold a foo at bay?
On our continental shores we have
a total of 2G coast defense commands, and 21 of
these are located upon tho Atlantic littoral. Uut
even though there are fewer stations on tho Pa
cific coast, still those aro very formidable. With
out considering weapons of eight-inch caliber
and under, wo already havo mounted a total
upon our two shores of 372 12-lnch mortars, 105
12-inch rllles, and 132 10-Inch heavy guns. Tho
strength of tho personnel of the coast artillery,
uccordlng to tho latest llgurcs, Is 75S officers and
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GPEAWfCf uSfiSJW OF G&tt7r
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37,1). i unlisted men. This Is a shortage of hoi
dlers of 1,420 ngreeably to tho force authorized
!)' law, and this is an Intimation of the extreme
ly heavy work that tho men would have to face
in case of hostilities, because we are minus a
ltnllv necessary resorvo.
The average layman has but tho slightest
knowledge of tho extremely technical chnractor
of the Coast Artillery corps, and to be prollclent
those soldiers receive a many-sided education.
Theirs Is tho task of getting tho advantage of tho
enemy before tho foo can locato tho position of
our guns and mortars, and tho whole system of
defense Is tho exact opposite of the way In
which a hostilo squadron would approach Its ag
sresslvo task.
From tho very beginning of tho planning of our
existing seaboard batteries tho idea of conceal
ment wns tho first concern. Tho mortars wore
designed to be hlddon away In pits each of
them holding four of theso weapons. Tho hoavy
rifles were not to bo in plain sight, with their
threatening muzzles peering over the crests of
parapets. Instead, tho disappearing carriage was
Invented for a mount. These gave tho rlflos tho
power to crouch while loading or awaiting Borv
1co, and then, when tho moment for action ar
rived, to spring up suddenly from behind their
embrasures, to fire directly at tho foo, and by
tho forco of their own recoil to sink from vlow
and Into position for reloading.
How Is It possible for weapons of this sort to
bo aimed at their targots? It Is commonly known
that In naval servlco tho guns aro hold upon
their quarry by means of electrically operated
mechanisms that swing and elevate tho rifles
so that tho cross hairs of tho tolcscoplc sights
canbe kopt right on a moving target oven though
tho sea be rough and tho vessol roll. Tho gun
pointers aro undisturbed by this motion, and at
12,000 yards and more are able to do some won
derful shooting. Dut tho gun pointers and train
ers In tho mortar pits and the emplacements of
tho big rifles do not, thomsolvos, see tho onomy.
Vet despito this seeming handicap still they are
able to do some extraordinarily offectlvo work
Tho army gun pointers near Now York with
10-Inch disappearing rlfleB, havo been able to flro
four shots in a total elapsed time of less than
one minute, and theso wcro concentrated upon a
target four miles away being towed at tho rate
of something over flvo miles an hour. All four
shots struck tho target and actually passed
through a rectanglo 21 feet high by 53 feet long.
At 4,000 yards the samo caliber guns at Fortress
Monroy scored six hits out of six shots at a mov
ing target. Tho total elapsed tlmo of tho firing
was slightly over two minutes, tho batteries scor
ing 1.4 hits per gun per mlnuto.
The science of surveying has made those
achievements possible, oveti though, as has been
Bald, tho guns and mortars must bo trained and
elevated by men who cannot soo their targots.
It Is a well-known theorem In plane geomotry
that tho length of tho two sldos of a trlangln may
bo found If tho length of tho baso nnd the degree
of tho two angles formed by tho sides In question
with this baso uro known. In tho caso of the
coast urttllery problom tho distant ship of tho
foo is nt tho remote tip of tho Imaginary trlanglo,
and tho known baso Is tho span between two ob
serving or rango-flndlng stations. This Interval
may bo a mlio or moro and, within some llmltB,
tho longer tho better for accuracy.
Many havo soon from afar at our coast defense
Btations what seemed to bo big bird boxes
mounted upon towering tubular supports or web
work of steel. Thoro aro always two of them,
and ofllclally they aro known as tho primary and
secondary rango stations. In each of them, In
tlmo of service, there nro at least two men. Ono
turns by means of a delicately graduatod
.mechanism a poworful telescope from right to
loft, and his function Is to keep tho moving tar
got continually at tho point of intersection of
two cross hairs in tho field of his instrument.
His companion reads off at prescribed Intervals
tho angle mado by tho telescope with tho per
manent base and tho faraway foe.
Tho samo thing is being done at tho other
rango station at tho opposlto ond of tho baso. A
tlmo bell rings at each of theso stations every
20 seconds, and at tho third stroke tho man read
ing tho angular scnle telephones that measure
ment to tho plotting room located whero the
enemy cannot see It and itself In tolcphoalc
communication with each gun or mortar division.
In the plotting room a group of men make usa
of the Information coming to them intermittently
from tho rango-flndlng towers and by a graphic
process determine with grent nicety tho distance
off of tho steaming foo. Tho plotting tablo or
board where tho Information from tho observers
Is applied Is a big semicircular affair tho curved
clgo being graduated to fractions of a degreo,
whllo the straight edgo or diameter represents
on a detlnlto scalo tho length of tho baso lino
between tho two spotter towors. At each ond
of this baso lino is a pivoted ruler, Ono Is called
tho primary and tho other tho secondary corre
sponding to tho rango-flndlng station with which
Its operator is In touch by telephono. Hero Is
what follows:
Tho soldiers at tho primary and secondary
pivoted rulers or arms bring tho freo ends to
ward ono anothor In accordance with tho sepa
rata angles telephoned to tbum. A third man
operates anothor ruler called tho gun arm, which
measures tho distance or rango of tho axis of
this trlanglo. At tho word of command from tho
rango officer tho observers at tho two teloscopes
bring theso powerful Instruments to bear In
unison upon a chosen part of tho romoto ship.
At tho ordor "Tako," tho scalo readers tolophonu
tho figures to tho operators at tho plotting board.
In a few seconds tho man In chargo thoro has
placed on a largo sheet of paper a dot at tho
point whero tho two straight edgos meet and
has marked this pencilled point No 1.
Again, 20 seconds later, anothor dot Is mado
whero tho shifting straight edges meet, and this
Is numbered 2. Similarly positions nro thus re
corded for No. 3 and No. 4, and If tho dlstanco
between theso dots Is uniform tho plotters know
that tho target is moving at a steady speed and
tho path dots gives a vlslblo traco of tho dlrcc-
Tho bricklayers' strike In Omaha
has boon Bottled. Hrlcklnyors remain
ing In tho city will start work at
onco, but thoro will bo a great short
ago of bricklayers and laborers on
account of so much work. Following
is list of buildings under construction:
First Presbyterian Church
World Herald.
Dauforth Apartments
Ford Motor Company
Illackstono Hotel
Hastings & Hoyden
St. Cecelia's Cathedral
i'holan & Shirley Uldg.
First Natlonnl Dank
Uroshor Hros. Stores
Grain Kxehungo
Suonson Hros. Warehouse
Crulghton Oymuaslum
Charles Metz rcsldenco
lloso Kcnlty llldg.
St. Catherine's Hospital
Good Shepherd Chapol
Skinner Macaroni Factory
Western Newspaper Union Dldg.
National Printing Company
Urondols Power llldg.
And uumorous smaller stores nnd
residences.
Hon In which the foe Is advancing. As yet none
of tho weapons has been pointed, nor, If mortals
nro to bo used, even been loaded.
Tho plotters nmiks upon his paper n fifth point
ahead and in lino with tho four other dots This
Is his "predicted point" whero tho enemy vessel
should bo n mlnutn later. In this Interval of
tlmo It Is necessary for the men In tho plotting
room to do a number of things necessary to inoko
it posslblo for tho weapons to score a hit Tho
moro rango Is not enough to know, Let us ns
sumo that tho foo Is to bo attacked by means of
mortars nnd that tho projectiles nro to soar
thousands of feet Into tho nlr upon their long
flight that may tako tho better part of two
minutes before plunging upon tho vulnerable
decks of tho hostilo drendnnught.
It Is needful to know how long tho Bholls will
bo In tho nlr at that rango; how far tho target
will move during tho flight of tho missiles; how
much tho path of tho projectiles will ho Influ
enced by drift duo to their own rotation and tho
effect of tho prevailing wind; tho exact powder
chargo that will bo needed to propel tho shells
thlB bolng determined by tho range and tho stato
of tho atraosphoro; and finally, how much ahoad
tho mortafB must bo aimed In ordor to allow for
theso factorB. Theso complications nro duo to
tho method of Indirect flro employed, nnd In this
particular tho mortars aro not so accurate as tho
hlg rifles nnd, thoroforo, nro moro difficult to
hnndlo In order to Insure good resultH. Tho final
point sot In tho plotting room 1b No. C nnd two
minutes further along than No. 5, tho "predicted
point," tho latter being verified by tho angles
given by tho observers nt tho spotter stations
when tho vessol Is duly reported nt tho proper
moment.
All of thlB has taken longer to ilcsrrlhn than
nctunl pcrformanco calls for, becauso tho error
factors which havo been Just mentioned aro tabu
lated and nro quickly worked out graphically by
means of cunningly dovlsed apparatus. It must
bo evident that in nn Intervnl of four minutes
n big ship 12,000 or 10,000 yards off would not got
measurably closer, and onco tho propor rnngo 1b
found and the mortars loaded tho shifting rnngo
Is quickly vorlflcd nnd tho guns sot accordingly.
Tho men In tho towors and thoso in the plot
ting room nro nt work nil tho whllo. At doflnlte
intorvnls tho Instructions nro sent by telephono
from tho plotting room to each battery or mortar
pit, and lest theso vocal directions bo misunder
stood tho figures nnd orders nro visibly repro
duced. For this work tho telautograph Ib em
ployed, nnd thus words nnd numbers In writing
check tho telephono cnlls
As tins been said, thoro nro four mortars In
each pit, and hb a general thing there nro four
of theso pits nt each defenso station. In other
words, n salvo of 10 high oxploslvo shells can
bo launched by Indirect flro nt n foo. If but
two of these hit tho onomy sho would olther bo
destroyed or gravely damaged, becauso nono of
hor decks would be nblo to withstand such an
nBsnult. In practice tho performances of such a
battery havo boen splendid. As n matter of rec
ord, ono mortar company has fired as many as
ton shots In G minutes 49 seconds, and In that In
terval mado six hits, whllo anothor company hus
scored olght times out of ton shots during a
span of 9 minutes 28 seconds. Those mortar
projectiles wolgh from 800 to 1,000 pounds, nnd
nro charged with from 30 to GO pounds of high
explosive. '
For tho disappearing guns tho modus operandi
differs In some particulars. Tho tlmo of flight
of tho shot Is far shorter than In tho caso of tho
mortar shell, tho pnwdor chargo Is not varied to
suit dlfTorcnt rnngos, and tho stato of tho ntmoa
phoro is not a deciding factor. Therefore, cor
rections nro more cnslly mado, for tho rlflo, whon
It does tiro Is pointed right nt Its target. Tho
principal concern of tho battery commandor Is
to know tho range, and this Is tolophoned nnd
reproduced by tho telautograph at tho firing sta
tions. Tho battery commander also follows tho enemy
ship with n telescopic rango flndor that employs
n Bhort vortical instead of a horizontal baso. This
serves as a chock and at each gun thoro Is a tele
scopic sight which Is functioned Independent of
tho weapon tho oporntor looking over the para
pet nnd following continually tho moving quarry.
By swinging his toleseopo horizontally ho causes
tho lateral anglo to bo Indicated at tho gun sta
tion below, nnd thero tho trainer Bwlngs tho
weapon In unison nnd tho elevator raises tho
muzzlo agreeably to Instructions from tho range
finders, When tho rifles havo been loaded and tho mo
ment for action arrives thoso great war dogs
rlso upon their Bteel haunches and thrust their
muzzles nbovo tho heavy parapets of concreto.
Instantly thoro Ib a thunderous boom tho speed
ing projectiles nro on their murderous mission.
Uofore tbn thin veil of smoko has been swopt
nsldo tho guns havo sunk bohind cover, nnd but
for tho momentary flashing of tholr muzzles thero
Is nothing to show tho spottors on tho hostile
craft whero tho attacking guns llo.
Canny Scot.
Jnck MncTavlHli and two Kngllsb
friends went out on tho loch oil a Ash
ing dip, ami it was agreed that tho
II rut man to catch a fish should pay
for a dinner. Ah MacTavlsh was known
to be tho best fisherman I'lereabouts,
his friends took considerable delight
In assuring hlui that ho had as good
as lost already.
"An, d'yo ken." said .lack In speak
ing of It afterward, "baltli o them had
a guld btto, an' wis uao mean they
wndna' pu' In."
"Then you lost?" asked tho llBtoner.
"Oh, no, I didu' pit ony bait on my
hook." F.xchungo.
Where Psyche Wns Executed.
A Now York man was recently not
ing no guide through nn art gallery
for n friend from tho country. Ah
they paused huforo u statuotto, tho
guide said:
"That Is Psycho Executed In terra
cottn. '
"What a pity!" said tho rural ono.
"How barbarous they nro In thoue
Bouth American countries!" Now
York Times.
Renew
Your
Health
Back of all good health
there must be perfect di
gestion, liver and bowel
activity and pure blood. .
You can help Naturebring
about this condition with
HOSTETTER'S
Stomach Bitters
JUST FORCED TO COME DOWN
Embarrassing.
First Stngo Hand What wns tho
row out front during tho first scene,
Illll?
Second Stngo Hand Tho undor
study nursemaid got excited and car
ried In tho heroine's baby whon It
wasn't duo to appear until three years
later In tho fourth act.
The Kind of Stuff.
"That sensational novel of his la
gelling llko hot enkos."
"It's n burning shamo!" Judge
Render Will See That Smith' Reason
for Descent Was an Entirely
Good One.
Hero Is n story Hint was told by
Congressman .Inmes C. Cnntrlll of
Kentucky tho other afternoon In lllun
tratlug a remark on tho forco of neces
sity: Recently Smith hired a horso for
canter along tho pike, but tho animal,
having neither a sweet nature nor
great doslro to work strenuously, be
gan to buck, and tho rldor was un
gracefully thrown through tho nlr and
dropped by tho wnysldo.
"Hello, Smith," smilingly remarked
a friend tho following day; "I saw you
out horsobncklng yesterday."
"You did?" responded Smith, begin
ning to wonder n bit.
"Yes," continued tho other, his smile
broadonlng. "What mado you drop
down so quickly?"
"Case of necessity," answered Smith.
"Did you soo anything up where I wu
to hold on to?'
V
He and She.
Sho Havo you over road "Llvoi ot
tho Hunted?"
Ho No; what's It about bach
elors? Now York Post.
A prize lighter's Idea of plenty ot
money Is enough ot It to start a saloon.
Thoro nro Bomo 800 fnrmors' clubi
I In Mluucsotn nt tho present tlmo.
hsEOIIfc
HER EQUIPMENT.
"That girl Ib fishing for a husband."
"Thon I supposo sho usos a beaullno In hopes
of a good ejitch."
Many Positions
Carrying Large Salaries
are open today to men in every walk of life. But the
men must possess vigorous bodies and keen, active
minds.
Success-making mental and physical activity relies
largely upon right living wherein the right kind of food
plays a most vital part.
In many cases the daily diet lacks certain of Nature's
elements essential to energizing and upbuilding the
mental and physical faculties. Most white flour prod"
ucto, such as white bread and many other commonly
used foods, are in that class.
A food especially designed to offset this lack
Grape-Nuts
made of wheat and malted barley, supplies all the
nutriment of the grains, including the mineral salts
sturdy builders of brain, nerve and muscle.
Grape-Nuts is thoroughly processed, ready to serve
from the package, fresh, crisp and delicious. Then, too,
there's a wonderful return of the power to "do" and to
"be" for the small energy required in its digestion.
After repeated set-backs thousands have found a
change to right eating means forging ahead.
"There's a Reason" for Grape-Nuts
Sold by Grocers everywhere.
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