The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-06-08
THE NAVY DEPARTMENT.
From he philadelphia Worid,


We offer TO our readers the following communi-
cation upon very important subject, from source
eminenily scientific and practical. The author WIN
m Ike no assertions which he Is not able To prove
We invite 10 u the serious attention OF our readers,
because il will disclose to them some Of The causes
which urging our navy 10 destruction. II CANNOT
long endure such shocks and therefore The sooner
they checked, the better win IL be for the coun-
try. France or BrIlain have steam ships
enough 10 actual service To lay any town on our
coast In ruins, and We have no means OF prevention
STEAM BATTERIES The hot pursuit OF political
places and preermenls, seems TO have so totally abb
sor5ed The attention OF our national authorities as 10
have made IL guile impossible for them to look aer
The concerns aud interests Of the country How else
are we to account Tor The total neglect or worse than
neglect Tor 50 many years OF the subject OF SCAN
navigation, as applied To national defence
Was Il not known, al Washington, thai Two OF the
greatest mari ime powers Of Europe were making
The most strenuous exerions 10 introduce the I'M
pfovemenl into their respective navies How mas
Ii happened that the English Channel, The Bay OF
Bic ~, The Mediterranean, and even the Caribbean
sea, have been found swarnng with steam frigaies,
before our Navy Department begins 10 suspect that
the long and exposed sea coast OF our country may
ever require any Thing but sailing crafts, Tor lis de-
fence J How did il happen that otr hrsl Steam
frigale made receietag hiD lying IN utter IDLE
ness, instead Of being employed 10 give The naval
officers. al least, an idea OF what steam engine is9
We have the most indubilable authority tor The
opinion that SO far from having previously provided
naval officers, 10 the management Of steam vessels,
there was among them, previous 10 The year 1888,
one who made any prelensions to an acquaintance
with the subect,-the government having len them
wholly without the means Of acquiring such lnior-
nation They were OF course bound TO study those
subjects which lay directly in the Inns OF their sole
professional practice, and The want Of any national
establishment, where even such studies CO uld be
regularly pursued, enough tor the officers
for remaining unacquainted with those subjects
which oil the prescribed limits OF their or
binary duties.
But what Is the excuse OF the government for so
long neglecing The construction 81 steam vessels =
Not, surely, The want OF appropriations by Congress;
TOR we find that when one was finally undertaken, in
June 1888, il was directed TO be doue under law,
passed Us long ago as April 1916, II i moreover
utterly absurd Tor the government TO plead that they
did not know that steam iIgates would ever come
into use. Ii was at least their duty to be informed
of what other nations were doing in this matter.
We can inform them that foreign nations are not
thus negligent Of what doing in The either
OF war or peace,
II has been asserted that the first seam-frigate,
Fulton was failure. Ii so, il was TO be expected
that they who were charged with building the second
would. either by their own knowledge of The cause
Of such failure, have guarded against similar faults
in the construction OF the second, or that they would
call 10 their aid citizens and men Of science who
were capable Of suggesting remedy, in the model
and arrangements of the new vessel; or that finally
they would seek in more than city of the Union,
for the requisite skill and talents 10 carry the law of
Congress into effect .:
Why was Baltimore for example, so long and so
justly celebrated for her ski in ship building, not
thought Of rs point where such work might be
executed True she has not a Navy Yard but we
yet 10 learn that work is done either better or
cheaper in Of those establishments than elsewhere
At least the engines and machinery might as well
have been built in one Of our marame cities as
other, since we have no national foundry, and both
Baltimore and Philadelphia well KIN wn TO have
Of every description which would be required in
steam-vessels. ..". r
But notwithstanding the frs, attempt at New York
proved abortve, that station was again selected for
the building of a steam frigate and her machinery
There existed in that city a certain foundry the
merits of which had been, by the proprietor and
others, so highly lauded for wundrous skill in build
ing steam engines, that stranger in our country
might well be led To doubt whether any other city
possessed skill enough to build steamship. 1t
seems likely, from some circumstances, that Mr..
Secretary Dickerson was at length, impeed 10 under
ake bs II ffm osTy Fl and
VIM. Kembe, Of the West Point Foundry ASsocia-
tion who appear 10 have, as early as January, 1884
or more than ls months before the department came
to discrimination TO act, furnished drawings and
estimates for engines and boilers put board the
boat, with water wheels and everything complete
ready for starting" IA. ~. :
As these are the first among the documents fur
niShed TO Congress on this subject, when asking for
The plan OF building the Fulton originated at the
West Point Froundry. We do not say verbal COM
muncatipns had not passed between The propreIors
OF that establishment and Secretary Dckersun be-
fore 1884 relative to the subject Their letters
indicate that some such commuL icaionS had passed;
but who began the intercourse we judge only by
the first letters Well, then for the estimates Of tn
famiiyjob The Secretary was told BY the accurate
owners and managers Of the West Point Foundry,
(whose fame certain rrudie seam-book editor had
before and has since, often trumpeled that they
would build him two engines Of so inches in diane
ter copper boilers &c, complete on board ready for
starring for $4,000. When at length they have
built said engines they are found TO cost $l3s,5d3
81 Now this second Fulton, too, having proved
failure is understood that The present Secretary Of
The Navy, "a family connection, il we rightly
informed, of the proplietors Of the West Point
Foundry is about to give out another fan lily job at
New York. Certain it is that when a board Of COM
misSioners was lately convened 10 deliberate the
subject, the name OF Mr. Kemble was among the
number