Morning journal and courier., 1888-10-27
FOR THE NATIONS DEFENSE.

l Apprentice System 1n ehe NavY-We Need Fast Cruisers ana Torpedo ciently Elective.
 WASHINGTON, Oct. 26.-Admiral D.D. Por-
 ter in his annual report to the Secretary of
 the Navy says he regards sailing vessels as
 the best practice ships afoat and that while
 a couple of steamers might well be employed as gunnery ships, the Portsmouth, Jamestown
 and Saratoga should be retained in the navy
 for the purpose of giving the apprentice boys
 an extended voyage to sea. In speaking of l the apprentice system, which he regards as one of the best institutions of the navy. he
 says:
 "Ths crews of our ships are generally made up of sailors from all parts of the world, but
 mostly of the Scandinavian race, good relia-
 ble men in time of peace, who care little un-
 der what flag they sail. They come and en- | list in our navy softened in character, it is \ true, but they are the same free lances as Of old. They ship for money. They have not sentiment for our flag or nationality and pos eibly, if it came to an action with ship of
 their own or neiRhboring nation, they | would haul down the American eolors and | hoist their own. This is contingency l against which we should provide and we have \ the means of doing so through the vast num-
 Der of American boys who are roaming the streets at will and who would consider gov ernment employment boon. What is re- quired is 8 larger number Of natlve-b born | apprentice boys and an enlargement of the ! conveniences for their introduction into the | service."
 WE MUST NOT DEFEND UPON ToRPEDoEs. The admiral says that for years he has doubted the efficiency of the Whitehead and other fish torpedoes and adds: .'The torpedo no doubt can be made powerful adjunct to I the naval appliances, but as matters now ! stand the mobile torpedo would be compara- I lively useless against heavy armored ships | with power guns, which would hold their own
 notwithstanding they might use nets enough to keep out whale torpedo. Ships might | have to pause for while before torpedoes l planted on the bottom, but the stoppage ! would only be temporary. Great ships with | great guns will command the situation and | having once effected an entrance into the | harbor can by aid of their electric lights send | a party of divers to the bottom and cut the ! wires connecting submerged mines. These | are at present the only torpedoes to be feared l as very dangerous and these are less formid- | able after having remained for some time under water.
 CRUISERS AND TORPEDO BOATS NEEDED. Our country more than any other stands in need of torpedo vessels of from 1,600 to ! 2,600 tons displacement until we can get our new navy fairly started. This class of yes sels could be built much more rapidly than | the cruiser or armor clad, their batteries to ! be not larger than six inch rifles and fitted with machine and rapid firing guns. The Polyphemus would be good one with which | to begin. I do not refer to vessels firing any ! other than submerged torpedoes. Projeetiles discharged at an elevation with the expecta- \ tion of securing the qualities of torpedoes or 1 made to descend on the decks of moving ships will prove failures. Vessels firing shells direct or elevated are not to be considered in | the torpedo list.
 No matter whether we bring dynamite | shells and torpedo vessels to perfection or | not, our policy lies in building fast cruisers | and heavy armored vessels. These are the ! heavy artillery which in all battles have de- cided the contest. It has been so thus far in | the race for the supremacy of the big ships \ and will continue so. In closing his report | the admiral recommends that the sum of ! $12, 900 be appropriated for the support of ! the naval war college, an institution he re- gards as absolutely necessary in bringing the ! service up to the standard required. SIBERIAN EXILE SYSTEM. A Russian Prison Official Expresses Surprise aE the ssCentury'ss, Articles. LONDON, Oct. 26.-Correspondence be- l tween Secretary Tallack of the Howard as- sociation and MT. Salomans, secretary of the Russian prisons administration, appropros | of Mir. George Kennan's Century articles up
 on the Siberian exile system has been made public. MT. Salamons expresses astonish- ment at the statement in regard to Russian prisons and prisoners made by MT. Kennan. But he says he has long ceased to pay any at | tention to opinions expressed in foreign pe- riodfcal publications. He has satisfied him~ | self that Russia cannot expect fair treatment from them, for he has found that in them gross ignorance goes in hand with blind \ hatred for Russia.
 The w. o. 1T. U. Superfnsendenss.
 NEW YORK, Oct. 26.-The ". o. T. U. I superintendents concluded their labors to~
 day. They decided to meet next in San Fran
 cisco on September 2S, 1889. The work will
 be extended into the territories, ,and a depart
 ment will be established at the Paris exposi- 1 tion. Miss Jenny Smith was re elected su- | perintendent of the work among railroad | men.
 Business Failures Of the Week.
 NEW YORK, Oct 26.-The business fail-
 ures occurring throughout the country dur- ing the last seven days as reported to R. G. Dun & Go. and E. Russell & Co.,, of the mer- | hSoucyy 1OE bnS U OulIod otAecS
 224 and for Canada B, or total of 254 as against total of 224 last week and 227 the week previous to the last. For the corre- spending week of last year the figures were 216, made up of 193 in the United States and 23 in the Dominion of Canada.
 Another AsteToid Discovered.
 BOSTON, Oct. 26.-A Science Observer code
 dispatch announces the discovery of another
 asteroid (9S0) by Dr. Palisa at Vienna in the
 following position:
 October 25, 2496 Greenwich mean time, 1 right ascension hours, 33 minutes, 36 sec-
 onds; north declination degrees, 54 min-
 utes, 59 seconds.
 Killed on the Lehigh Valley Road.
 WAUGH CHUNK, Penn. Oct. 26.-Dr. Rob-
 ert Leonard, associate justice of Carbon
 county, was killed by train on the Lehigh
 Valley railroad last night near Glen Onoko.