John P. Holland, the inventor of the submarine boat which bears his
name, is an Irishman by birth. He is now about sixty years of age,
hale, hearty and devoted to the task of improving the wonderful craft
of which he is the creator. Mr. Holland reached this country early in
the 70’s, but long before that he had come to the conclusion that much
of the naval warfare of the future would be done beneath the water
rather than on its surface. He states that his convictions in this
respect were the outcome of a newspaper account of the fight between
the Monitor and Merrimac, which he read about two weeks after the
occurrence of that historical conflict. From that time on, he began to
form plans and make models for submarine torpedo boats or destroyers.
He not only had to contend with great mechanical difficulties, but even
when his boat was so far perfected that it could be submitted to the
authorities, he encountered prejudices and opposition of the strongest.
As the matter now stands, the most conservative of naval experts have
become convinced of the importance of the Holland submarine, that,
too, not only in this country but abroad. The United States now owns a
number of the boats, as does Great Britain. Mr. Holland, when he first
came to this country, was a school teacher, and, like the majority
of inventors who are not capitalists, had a hard time of it for many
years. He was at length fortunate enough to interest some moneyed men
in his invention and was enabled to devote himself entirely to it. It
is said that his creations provide for every contingency, both above
and below water. It was only after prolonged tests of their efficiency
that the U. S. government added them to the navy.