The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-04-20
TWENTY YEARS IN THE NAVY.


An interesting book would be that written
oy Secor Robson and W. Z. Chandler giving
appropriations for and expenditures by the
Navy Department since 1865, and showing
the result of such expenditures But neither
one of these former Secretaries of the Navy
will write such b ok; neither is likely to
print an autobiography OF crims. But the
PEOPLE will, under Secretary Whltney's adj
ministration, get at the facts OF the outrage
Gus INSTRUMENTATION Of that department
At the close of the war in 1865 the United
States had navy second to that OF no civil
lized nation on the earth. We had IL war
vessels with aggregate of .6l5 tonnage
carrying l. l06 guns, and having cost S64 26).-
302. In addition We had purchased 497 m er-
chant vessels and armed them at cost of
81. 6S4 .5lS making a grand total of GA
armed a1d equipped vessels. besides which
We had eighty unarmed vessels.
Since 1865 Congress has appropr ated for
| the maintenance and establishment of the
navy $5ls. 65l 1926. g. And yet our navy OF
to-day comprises, all told, only thirty-eight
vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 1855,
and worth, possibly, sl6OO0,000. What
went with all this money?
Let us briefly compare our navy aud naval
expenditures win that Of Great Britain dur
ing these twenty years. As already stated
our navy was. in 1865 fully the equal of
Great Britain. Our present complement
Of thirty-seyen vessels comprise: of the
| first rate, y OF second rate, Is of third rate
| Of fourth rate, torpedo rams, and NAL
lory propeller. OF the thirty EIGHT all bat
| Eve are wooden. and of the five iron vessels
three are OF third rate and two Of fourth rate.
! The British Navy to-day contains some OF
| the most formidable war vessels of modern
times. In its list of armored ships are
twelve :urrst ships of the frst-class. Some
of these carry four eighty.ton guns, while
the Others are armed with guns ranging from
thirty-fve to forty tons. OF the brosdside
| ships of the firstcloss there are twelve carry
ing guns ranging from Six and one.half to
twenty. five ions. OF the armor- belted class
there are five carrying guns ranging from
twelve to twenty-five tons. Of the coast.
defenders there are fifteen carrying eighteen.
ton and lighter guns. Two of these are
| Arabs. OF the iron broadside ships Of the
y
guns. There are two of the wooden broad
side ships. The second aud more important
branch of the navy is made up of the uu-
armored ships, the iron and steel vessels OF
the service. In this list there are three iron
frigates, six iron corvettes, two steel dispatch
vessels, nine steel and iron corvettes, six
composite corvettes, fourteen composits
sleeps of the first class, six OF the second
class six composite gun vessels of the Arab
class, four OF the swift class. twenty-one OF
the thistle class. In addition to all this the
British Navy has sixty-six gunboats OF su-
perior make. carrying sixty-four eighteen
and twelve ton guns.
The United States has between 5000 and
5000 men in the navy, maintained by an
average annual payment of about 81, 000, 900.
The navy of Great Britain has As. 600 men,
the pay OF whom averages more per msu
than our Government pays. But at the
same rate OF pay Great Britain's yearly ex-
penditure upon her men would be about
| S45,0000O0. At 100000 per annum vs.
would within the las. twenty years have
paid our ssamen $40 600 600. while Great
Britain would have paid $500. 900 600. And
yet her total appropriations in twenty years
have been 81 or, 4i5 962, or but little ever
double our appropriation of s5iS. 651. 92S.65.
Ard yet against our thirty eight tubs we
have enumerated 200 English vessels. One
of the English frss-rate vessels alone could
sink every one of our tubs, and sixteen Of
them will sell for more than our whole navy.
These figures. which are official tell bs.
yond controversy that this Government has
been shamelessly plundered By the Rspuoli-
can ring which has controlled its navy. Re-
ferring to this same subject the New York
Werld we'll says:
The figures covering the appropriations Tor Tia
last twenty years represent period of frighiful
this period in the aggregate nearly equal tie
| amounts previously appropriated for tie navy
from 17o2 TO 1855. including the enormous expend
| ituTes necessitated by the Var OF the Rebellion.
| The United States with the great expenditure OF
half O billion of dollars have nothing. We have
to-day not vessel capable OF engaging with the
weakest OF the war vessels OF the humblest OF the
civilized powers. II the United States were to be
involved in a war to morrow any one OF the minor
war vessels of the principal foreign nations would
he sufficient to put to rout every essel upon oui
navy list.
Tie Robson period is one of the blacklist chap
| ter. in the history of Republican maladministra
ton of public affairs At the close of the war We
had navy equal to that of any civilized nation
From 1865 until the present time the navy has de
teriorated with rapidity which is hard to believe
even In the face OF the grim official figures. Ac
| cording to the very lowest estimate Mr.. Robson
employed $50 600 900 in the constru ,tion purchas<
end repairing of ships. Congress gave him tina