Show IDEA OF ARMORED VESSELS IN 1861 Naval Officials Quick to See Possibilities One of oJ those interesting minor notes on naval history was supplied In a n Lowell lecture at Boston when Professor Protessor Baxter of Harvard Har traced from a re examInation of ot the original documents the development of ot the navys navy's Ironclad program at nt the beginning beginning be be- ginning of ot the Civil war war war-a a program of which the Monitor was merely the most celebrated product Mr Baxter according to the Boston Boston Bos Bos- I Iton ton Transcript has hus annihilated the charge charse of or obstructive traditionalism sometimes leveled at the Navy department de dc- In connection with the Monitor Capt Liddell nur Hares s 's dictum dictum dic die tum turn that war offices alwa always s 's begin begina a war at nt a point somewhat behind that which they h had d reached at the end of the preceding one apparently apparent apparent- I ly did not apply to the navy in Even before the thc fall tall of Sumter Surater the navy was ns considering the first of ot a Hood nood of proposals for the construction construe construe- tion of Ironclad war men and the chief of ot the bureau of ot construction and repair was soon to advocate d te not one but a n whole fleet of these radical radi cal Innovations Many people people Donald Donald McKay the creator creato of ot the great clipper ships was one were one were advocating armored vessels and the Idea of ot turret mountings for the guns had bad already been advanced by a British naval of- of officer fleer the year before The Navy department department de de- went vent 19 work In a methodIcal methodical method method- ical leal fashion suggestive of World war days it convened a board which studied the proposals and by September Sep Sel was was able to recommend three different types for experimental construction con con- One of ot them was the especially es es- es- es radical Monitor She had the luck first to meet the test of battle hattie and to pass it magnificently and after that the construction of the large fleet of turreted double monitors monItors mon mono went on rapidly The navy was able to take the very latest ideas available study them adopt and test models and then go into quantity production for tor the winning of ot the thc war ar arThe The story is not w without its modem modern modern mod mod- em ern application It is an nn earlier In Instance Instance Instance In- In stance of the time lag essential Inthe in inthe inthe the development of ot any new weapon for war service a servIce a phenomenon recently recently recently re re- re- re pointed out by a British writer writ wrIt- er Victor Lefebure as ns a possible means for arriving at scientific disarmament disarmament dis dis- dis armament systems Another point Is the fact that the navy even with this prompt and Intelligent handling of ot the situation got what was actually actually ac ac- ac rather a poor weapon as the result of the of working under under under un un- un- un der war var pressure The Monitors Monitor's victory In her one battle was to Influence our naval construction down to Spanish war days actually however the raft I Idea iden which was Ericsson's essential contribution was not a sound one The turret sta stayed ed but the raft was not copied In other navies and finally disappeared in our own But Dut mistakes mistakes mistakes mis mis- takes are unavoidable when a new newt t type pc has to be built in large numbers num nurn- bers all at nt once New New York Herald Tribune Cha Change ge It He What He What a queer name you have bae Miss Dunkelberg She Well She Well you know what you youcan youcan youcan can do do with It |