The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-05-29
The Present Situation of our Navy.

The following taken from the June
Hoyyer is deserving of careful study just
at this time when the subject is under dis
cussion in Congress as to the ACCESSIBILITY OF
building, bstaltally, new navy for the
country.
With such force as we possess 1t must
be evident that it is impossible to discharge
in an efficient manner all the duties OF a
navy. Our work in foreign surveys is linn
tied 70 that of one small vessel on the west
coast of North America; our deep-sea
soundings are few and far between, dotted
along the tracks pursued by our ships while
going TO and returning from distant sta
lions; our commerce is protected but we
are unable to support any positive policy
that the government might decide TO de
clare in references to, for example, the
Monroe doctorine. To say nothing of Eur
opean naval ornaments, il is only necessary
to point to some Of the smaller powers In
our own hemisphere tAat possesses ships OF
with which we have nothing tit to cope.
Our people cannot desire TO assume a
position in the society of naval powers
without supporting the position with dig
nifty; they cannot wish their navy to be
cited as a standard of ineticienCy; they
cannot wish to force their representatives,
(the officers of the navy into position of
humiliation and modification such as i'm
posed by being called on to deprecate criti-
Cism by labored explanations. Better alb
dish the navy and lower our pretensions.
But the fact seems to be that the rapidity
of naval development has not been properly
appreciated, and 1t is after long interval
of Indifference that, attention being at last
centred on the subject, II is seen how RAPID
its strides have been, ana how utterly we
are distanced In the race. There Is evi-
dence now in the country of growing de-
sire to repair the effects OF the past over
sight, and We see Congress moving in the
matter. AS all political parties now unite
in the necessity of the effort in this direct
ion, the hope is inspired that the subject is
to be separated from those of partisan
character, and that the rehabilitation Of the
navy will be put on its proper level, and
accepted as national question in which
all are alike interested.
Possessed as we are now of a navy such
as has been indicated, the change that is
about to lie instituted involves a most VIC
ii.
construction for the past thirty years we see
no new type of cruiser. The only type OF
ships that we have are those that date be
tore tie war; since which We have repro
duced the same in classes of differing di-
mansions. From the sailing ship with
auxiliary steam power we have passed to
the steamer with auxiliary sail. power;
but we have no full powered steamers, with
or without sails As long as il is consider
ed 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; a reduction to the minimum of
sal. power must be accepted before we can
present a type of a fEllpowered steamer.
With the exception of two vessels of the
.1lryt class built of iron, we have moth n :
but wooden hulls. We have continued to
build in perishable material, requiring
large sums to be spent in repairs, and ignor
ing the manufaC'ur of this country could
have been aided in their developments by
the contrary course. We have permitted the
are of steel to reach its zenith without in
diCating that we We're aware of its pres
enCe.
With the exception of few Palliser con.
verted rifles of vTLinch Calibre, our arma-
menls consist of SmOOth-bOre cast iron guns
which have composed our battries for
thirty wears. These are now being discard
ed, and their places 10 be filled with mod
ern steel cannon.
Torpedoes, movable torpedoes, of which
we know nothing practically, are 10 be
brought to the front, and are to form part
of our equipment. Torpedo boats are to be
Il tt.il Inn, ~ "A
are now to be studied and worked out
Conceive thea hish-powered steamer
with minimum of CanVas built of steel,
armed with modern steel artillery and sec
ondary battery of Hotchkiss guns, fitted for
launching movable tOrpedoe, with pro
tetive deck over boilers and engines, divid-
ed into many water-tight compartments,
giving protection to bnoyanCy, and compare
such IA ship with the type of the United
States cruiser which we now possess, and
an idea may he formed of the violence of
the transition through which we are 10
pass. And there is nothing intermediate
10 break the sud lenness of this charge
there i no 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 now 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 asserting 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 Juue
1881, when the first Advisory Board was
appointed 10 consider and tO report on the
need of appropriate vessels for the navy
This board, In its report of November 4
1891, decided that the United States navy
should consist of 20 unarmored cruisers oil
steel il reported that there were - vessels
in the navy iii for service as cruisers, and
II indicated the character Of the new yes