The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-09-07

Z
he was appointed, 2O3 ships were borne
upon our register. Fifteen more have
been built or purchased since-mak.
ing 2l9 in all. By the last report of
the Secretary we have now only 147 in
all-seventy n having disappeared.
These seventy one have been sold, or
broken up and the material sold. The
expenditures for the support of the
navy since the close Of the wal have
amounted to 3S1 millions of dollars.
The amount handled by Secretary
Robson, not including what he has
realized from the sale of the Il ships
above alluded to, has reached the sum
of 10 millions. What have we to
show for this enormous expenditure?
Let us have the testimony of leading
naval officers, in their oaon language,
and let us all be ready to bow the
head in shame as we contemplate the
disgraceful condition to which corrup,
ton, favoritism and incompetency have
brought us.
1 extract the following testimony
from the miscellaneous book" Let
US begin with the head of the Navy,
Admiral Porter. Page 416, he says /:
"With all this expenditure, we are not
at present provided with q single first class
vessel, either for defense or for fast steam
ing, nor have we one powerful rife gun in
the Navy"
Page 412, he says:
"Our Navy, taken as a whole, is arorth
nothing, and the sooner the country under
stands that fact the better.
Again on page 405 he says:
"Many officers who now hold prominent
positions were in the service in its palmy
days and can draw q just comparison be-
tween its condition then and now. They
have seen it recede from the high position
it once held, and realize its ineficiency to
protect our interests at home or abroad;
yet they have been obliged to stand quietly
by and witness the navy 60 from bad to Vorse
without power to prevent it"
Mark his illusions to the palmy
days of Democratic rule, when the
whole expenditures for the government
were only about 60 millions a year. In
those days our navy held a high posi-
ton. Now it goes from bad to worse,
and We have no navy, no matter how
much money we vote for its support.
Commodore Meade was also a wit
ness to the insigniieance of our navy.
He develops the fact that Inspector
Hanscomb, a pet of the Secretary, has
made false comparisons with foreign
navies for the purpose Of deceiving the
public, which have been embodied in
the annual report of the Secretary.
He says in answer to a question about
this table Of comparison "Yes sir, it
is no just comparison, and should not
have been embodied in the report Of
the Secretary of the navy" In an,
other place he says 81 read the re,
port of he chief constructor with a
good deal of surprise because | fell
sure that some of the statements were
not facts" x x "Such tables ought
to bring the Chief of the Bureau Of
Construction to Court Martial TO,
gross ignorance or sOilfHl deception"
Rear Admiral Leroy says, page 6
Of the Norfolk book of Testimony:
"From my observations, the vessels of oul
navy are inferior in construction, speed
armament and other properties to nearly
all the vessels I have met belonging to for
eign navies."
Rear Admiral Lee says, in ANSWERS
to a circular letter." page 10
"since these ships were constructed
many millions have been applied by us t.
the building of other wooden vessels ; but
alas, a chronic failure to produce even theil
equals in efficiency, except in the single
case of the Franklin, has been the invaria.
BILE result ; and really, to speak frankly
it is niortJying and humiiating to witness
the amount of scarcely more than nara
Trash that has been turned out and of which
our navy now, as to vessels, is in a larg'
degree composed, whatever may have beer
put forth to the contrary notwithstanding
Our country abounds with admirable me
chanics, and'with the most choice MATERIAL
for constructing vessels of war of all kinds
and if we do not produce as good vessels a!
are to be found elsewhere, the fault is no
to be ascribed to any want in these particul
ars. 1t must obviously be in a defective system
at Standardization"
Rear Admiral jenkins says, il
"answers to circular letters" pag'
"a
"Fifteen or twenty years ago we had tn
credit, and 1 think We justly deserved i
then, of having, vessel for vessel, thos
superior to any in any foreign naval servic
of the same classes. Now. none so poor a
to do us honor" sc.
Rear Admiral Emmons says, il
answers to "circular letters" page 81
ave have gradually dwindled from
third to a sixth or eighth rate power"
A number of prominent naval officer
gave similar testimony. My friends
how do you like the picture2 Emerg
ing from a great war, in which tn
people lavlshed their money upon thu
administration, we had reason to hop
that we were a great naval power, whel
we considered the fact,that 381 million
have been voted for the maintenance
of the navy since that war closed. |
is humilating to learn that we are no
even a third rate power. Our official