New-York tribune., 1886-05-12
srcPE7hEy WHITNLYS DILEMMA

II
The Secretary of the Navy is learning that 1t
is easier to critcise the ships built by his pre-
dccessor than it is to build ships himself which
will be beyond criticism. lie rejected the Lol
phin and ruined Mr.. Roach, on the giound that
the vessel had not fifteen knots sea speed,
although she made substantially that speed on
each one of her five trials. But tie Beihllap
Board said that in order that II vessel should
"keep up a sea speed of fifteen knots per hour
" she should be able to make from seventeen To
Seventeen aud one-haf knots per hour III
smooth inland waters like the sound 90 the
Board and the Seer retary condemned the hiteeh-
knot ship as not being hfteen-knot snip
because she was not IL seventeen -and-one-hail-
knot ship!
The public will await with interest the devel-
opmert ui the four ships which Mr.. whitney Is
authorized to build, but the plans of which be
has not yet finally adopted. 1t seems from the
REPORT of hi, board on additional vessels dated
September IS, that he does not propose to
uromlse a gwen sea speed, but only named
speed over one measured mile. That for the
ty, 1000 to 5000 ton cruisers is to be eigh-
teen knots per hour that for the heavy
pnnboet sixteen knots and that for the SOU
ton gunboat twelve knots. Mr. Whitney acts
wisely for himself in promising only speed over
one measured mile for his ships, and III not
guaranteeing sea speed. But whether his
decision Is good for the untry IS doubtful.
vessel may make very high speed over the
measured mile and yet have no endurance
no ability to maintain high speed for voyage
| or a SIX hours trial Or even one hour trial.
| The Naval Advisory Board in defending the
! Dolphin SAID that they meant by sea speed the
speed in lar weather for a continuous run OF
more than one days sieamng say, for a trip
! from New York to Key West in good weather.
They said = Ii is absolutely necessary TO pre-
"sumc good weather for the speed performance
"of ship, for heavy head of sea and gale
of wind or any of the various combinations of
awind and aeather that can be imagined cam
not be regarded as proper circumstances for ii
basis for design. To say that the Dolphin
should make seventeen to seventeen and
@one- half knots per hour in smooth water III
"order to make fifteen knots at sea is broad
generality which does not accord with any
design or calculation that was ever made on
Z" the new vessels or other similar vessels with
which we are acquainted" Nevertheless we
are 10 have Tor the Whitney cruisers only speed
| over the measured mile. The Secretary has
| thus lnReDlOusif escapcu " Soi'P"i '7oh vi "''
ships with the Dolphin, Chicago, Boston, and
Atlanta, because speed over the measured nile
cannot be profitably compared with speed for n
six hours run, nor with sustained sea speed on a
voyage. VIII he succeed i'll getting eighteen
knots, sixteen knots and twelve knots for the
cruisers and gunboats respectively
1t is understood that the Secretary has pro-
cured at large expense the plans of the Mani
wah Kan, a protected cruiser built in England
for the Imperial Japanese Navy, and that he
insi SITS that one of the cruisers shall be an exact
reproduction of this English-bullt ship. The
Naniwah- Kan, We understand. made eightceI
knots an hour for one hour. but before the enc
of the trial gave unmistakable indications iha
she could not sustain that speed for any addi
tional period whatever. Such will probably b.
tho result with the Secretary's cruiser II bull