Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-12-12
DAILY
posT MTEL1IGEECER.
ora ALLEGED NAVY.

orR ALLEGE0 NAVY.
.a,o;,.i Porter. in his annual report
q the Secretary Of the Navy, reiterates
that has already been SAID so often an
"a IN have become a standing sobisct OK
uommen, respecting our de'enseiess
condition On the sea aud Ia orr harbofs
in case of Var. He speaks out very
blontly and without exag3era'ion IN de-
cia. ING that if ",he least formidsb's VI
M ,risune natiops went TO war VIII u7
tomorrow sae conld sweep odt IfaHo-
auv increasing commerce ff"'" 'ne
ocean, and ia respect 10 OH CO.'S auo
IA ann, d,feoses that there Is not one
Of onr forts tsa, he's any defeh'e
AGAINST even an e1emy OF very u"
fsrior character" This Is ceflaiIiV d
poor showing for our government. Even
China, whom We with other ci'iiizeo ha
t;ona affect 70 consider as not at all ior-
midable, could sweep every vestige Oh
our feet from the sea. and without espo-
cial difficulty send her ironclads INTO
auv harbor of either coast. We are AZ :
nation rich, prosperous and influential.
The old adsge, ''In time OF peace pre-
pare for war;" is especially applicable
70 the condition of our navy al thi'
time. Millions of dollars have bshn e1-
uended during the long interval sinc'
the war closed, but without any appre
aiable increase Of our capacity for ag-
orsssiye or defensive warfare on the sea.
II Ia time that another policy than tha'
Of repairing old vessels be inaugara'eo'
We need feet Of new war ships OF the
latest aud most approved models anu
carving the most formidable armament
,hus far invented. The Admiral recon-
.aspds the building Of at least twenty
cruisers, and holds that they ought ~
bs able 70 make at least thirteen knots
going free, and ten knots cioae hauled
with sailing power alone. 'e-aeis Ca
pable Of such speed could keep the seas
for any length Of time. and con!d hoio
their own with the swif. merchant Yea
sels against which they would b'
directed. But England, III the event o.
war With us, would be at once able t.
,sake her selection from three tnous nc
tine merchant steamers, all Of Which
have been bailt with II special view Il
conversion into cruisers In ali e'ner
peucy. These steamers wonld carr.
heavy batteries, and their speed wooi'
surpsss that of anything in our navy a
present. To cope with them ~s mus
have vessels possessing equal speed ant
greater defensive aud offensive powers
The steel cruisers would no doubt b
stronger than the converted merchan
steamers, but they must be M swift be
fore thsy can oounteract the latter. Il
10 on building cruisers which canno
cruise would be simply fatuous.
The New York Tribune, cOnlinentin
upon these recommendations Of the Ad
miral, says they are undoubtedly sound
and calls attention TO the experience o
the C0nfederacy during the OWL wal
which early recognized the necessity o
having vessels that could keep the 30
when out Of coal, and would not be de
pendent upon coaling stations for tn
arrangement of their cruises. The Rrea
success Of such vessels "a the Alabama
Florida and Shenandoah In this role
assigned to them was largely due +
their sailing powers. They were al
fitted with appliances to unsbip thel
screws, and all had full sail power
which enabled them TO make their wa
across oceans without the necessity O
going into dangerous ports for suPplie
Of feel. As Admiral Porter points gu,
in the event of war with any European
Power all the neutral ports Of EurOp
would DO closed against our cruiser,
since Il has been agreed by the Power
that henoeforth coal shall lie contraban
Of war. This fact alone almost dc
stroys the usefulness Of the cruisers al
ready building. Possessing only auxi
larry sail power, these vessels must b
entirely incapaOitatcd for long cruises
They must remain within easy reach q
Our own uOrta in short and tharefor
they cannot answer the special purpos
for which they were designed.