Weekly Chillicothe crisis., 1880-02-05
OUR NAVY.
The Committee on Naval Affairs make n
Report of General Interest.

The Committee on Naval Affairs make n
Report of General Interest.
The House Naval Committee on. the
2Sth, agreed upon bill to be reported to
the house at once. The bill provides for
the establishment of a fund to be known
as the permanent construction fund of the
navy, which shall comprise appropriations
made therefor from time to time by con.
gress, and the proceeds arising from the
sale Of old condemned vessels Of the navy;
condemned material, stores and supplies,
which fund shall be used by the secretary
of the navy in the construction of arma-
ment and experiments Of new naval YES
sells, and for no other purposes.
The report first sets forth the results
of careful investigation made by the
committee to ascertain the present con-
dition, character, usefulness and capacity
for warlike purposes OF such vessels
named in the navy register, including a
detailed analysis OF the l42 vessels Of our
navy, so called; brings the results into
tabular form to show, as they say, what a
a dissolving view our navy presents and
continues. Here are forty-Cight vessels
and more belonging to the navy to-day
capable Of firing gun, and Of these FIVE
are absolute sailing vessels. If to these
we add the eleven steam vessels, re-
pairing or awaiting repairs, the six iron
Clads repairing and awaiting repairs, the
three steam vessels in ordinary condition,
and the one unfinished second rate steam
vessel, and assume that they can all be
made it for duty, the whole navy Of the
United States would at any one time
number over sixty-nme vessels capable
of carrying guns and doing naval duty.
Such an assumption. however, will not
be made by men Of ordinary
Judgment. This is the whole
of the navy Of the United
States SO far as it relates to fighting ves-
sells, The fact may he disagreeable to
contemplate and humlliating to American
pride. In representing, however, that
we are weak in guns as well as ships, we
but discharge duty we owe to the house
and people. Theremedy andresponsibility
are not with the committee. We have less
than two hundred and fifty guns ahoat in
our entire navy, and OF these less than
forty are riAed, few eight.inch, few
one hundred-pounders; all the rest are
atiquated smooth bores. At the opening
of the late war, the ships and guns of
our navy were equal to those Of any
nation, when the Monitor and Merrimac
met and startled the world with the con-
fliCt, and thick armor became for
the first time an overmatch for heavy
guns. The other nations commenced to
solve the great problem in naval warfare.
While they have been spending vast sums
ot money and making experiments III all
directions, we have rested and waited
until now the power OF guns having outrun
the resisting power Of armor, we want a
navy capable of protecting our commerce
on all seas, Of defending our own borders
from invasion, and of destroying COM
merce and all sea going cruisers OF any
nation which makes war with us.
To do the first we should put our iron
clad feet in condition of greatest eff.
cheney, and should develop the torpedo
system to its fullest extent. With our
iron.clad feet in condition for coast
and harbor defense, and our torpedo
system perfected, forty-fve millions
of Americans may defy all danger OF for
eign invasions. But we should be able,
not only to meet and beat off an invader
from our shores, but also to extort from an
enemy, terms of honorable peace, by ag-
gressive war upon high seas.
The late war has taught how much
harm few fast ships, gallantly command
ed, can do upon the high seas, and the
lesson should not be lost upon us. In the
opinion Of the committee, the time has
arrived when it is national duty to be-
gin the construction of q new navy. In
any future war with European nations, we
must fight upon the sea, or nowhere, The
committee does not recommend the ex.
penditure of large sums, with view oil
perfecting such navy this year, or next,
but to commence the construction Of three
or four vessels each year, and keep con-
stantly employeda a regular force of skilled
mechanics; to employ the best skill in
naval architecture. in engineering and
eunnery, and to settle upon the best sys-
tens and methods. Before commencing
upon new navy, the committee recon-
mend thorough overhauling and weed
ing out and sale Of all vessels, materials,
stores and armaments which are superanu.
! atei and practically useless.