Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1886-09-10
THE NEW NAVY.
Its Nucleus to Consist Of Seven Steel
Cruisers and One Dispatch Boat.

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duties Of navy. Our work in foreign
surveys is limited to that of one small
vessel on the west coast of North Amer
lea; our deep-sea soundings are few and
far between, dotted along the tracks
pursued by our ships while going to
and returning from distant stations; our
commerce is protected; but we are una
BILE to support any positive policy that
the Government might decide to declare
in reference to, for example, the Mon
roe doctrine. To say nothing of Euro
pean naval ornaments, it is only nee
essary to point to some of the smaller
powers in our own hemisphere that
possesses ships of war with which we
have nothing fit to cope.
Our people can not desire to assume
position in the society of naval pow
ers without supporting the position with
dignity; they can not wish their navy
to be cited as standard of inefficiency;
they can not wish to force their repre-
sentatives (the officers of the navy into
a position of humiliation and mortifica
ton such as is imposed by being called
on to deprecate criticism by labored
explanations. Better abolish the navy
and lower our pretensions.
Possessed as we are now OF navy
such as has been indicated. the change
that is about to be instituted in
wolves a most violent transition. In re-
viewing our work of construction for
the past thirty years we see no new
type of cruiser. The only types of
ships that we have are those that date
before the war; since which we have
but reproduced the same in classes of
differing dimensions. From the sailing
ship with auxiliary steam-power we
have passed to the steamer with auxil-
iary sail-power; but we have no full
powered steamers, with or without sails.
As long as it is considered necessary to
spread as much canvas as is now used,
the space assigned to boilers and
engines is limited, and we fail to achieve
full power; reduction to the minimum
of sail-power must be accepted before
we can present type of full-powered
steamer.
With the exception Of two vessels of
the Alert class built of iron, we have
nothing but wooden bulls. We have
continued to build in perishable ma
terial, requiring large sums to be spent
in repairs, and ignoring the manu-
features of the country which could
have been aided in their development
by the contrary course. We have
permitted the age of steel to reach its
zenith without Indicating that we were
aware of its presence.
With the exception of few Palliser
converted rifles OF vIII-inch caliber,
our ornaments consist of smooth-bore
cast-iron guns which have composed
our batteries for thirty years. These
are now to be discarded and their
places to be filed with modern steel
cannon.
Torpedoes, movable torpedoes, Of
which we know nothing practically,
are to be brought to the front, and are
to form part of our equipment. Tor
pedo boats are to be brought into use,
and details innumerable are now to be
studied and worked ont.
Conceive, then, high-powered
steamer with a minimum of canvas,
built of steel, armed with modern steel
artillery and secondary battery OF
Hotchkiss guns, fitted for launching
movable torpedoes, with protective
deck over boilers and engines, divided
into many water-tight compartments,
giving protection to buoyancy, and
compare such a ship with the type OF
the United States cruiser which we now
possess, and an idea may be formed OF
the violence of the transition through
which we are to pass. And there is
nothing intermediate to break the sud-
denness of this change; there is nc
connecting link. The structure OF to-
day is placed in direct contrast with
that of twenty-five years ago. This is
the position in which we stand, and we
can but accept the situation. from
which there is no escape.
From all appearances, the navy is
now to be given an opportunity OF as
serting itself, and the steps already
taken to remedy the existing state Of
things can be stated in few words.
The origin of the effort dates from
June, 1881, when the first Advisory
Board was appointed to consider and
to report on the need of appropriate
vessels for the navy. This board, il
its report of November Z, 1881, decided
that the United States navy should
consist of seventy unarmored cruisers
of steel; it reported that there wer'
thirty-two vessels in the navy fit fol
service as cruisers, and it indicated the
character of the new vessels to be built
This board confined itself to the con
sideration of unarmored vessels, as i
did not consider that the orders unde
which it acted required that it shoul'
discuss the subject of armored ships
though it expressed the opinion tina
such vessels were Indispensable in tim
of war.
Some time elapsed before any prac
teal results followed from the actor
of this board, but in an act of Congress
approved March 3, 1888, the construc
ton of three steam-cruisers and dis
patch-boat was authorized. These yes
sells are the Chicago, Boston, Atlant
and Dolphin, and they are approaching
completion, the Dolphin being alread
in commission.
In an act of Congress approve