The Portland daily press., 1888-12-01
UNCLE SANS NEW AND FAST CRUISERS.
Secretary WhItney's Report of the
Work OF His Department
We Will Soon Be Second Best in Un-
armored Vessels,
With Which 20 Attack the Commerce
of Ar Enemy.

ney has presented his annual report to the
President. After giving brief review of
the condition of the navy as it will exist on
the fourth day of March, 1889, in comparison
with the same as it existed on the fourth of
March, 1885, and furnishing list of armored
vessels heretofore authorized by Congress,
the Secretary says: $50 far as armored ships
are concerned. the subject is yet to be treated
in broad way by the department and Con-
gress. At the present time the conditions
are such that everything necessary to a first
class fighting ship can be produced and fur
nished to the department in this country as
soon as in the course of construction any
element or feature is required, but this has
never heretofore until the present time been
true, and therefore the consideration of the
SUBJECT has been necessarily postponed by
the department until the present time. The
efforts of the department in ship construc-
tion have, since March, 1885, been devoted to
unarmored vessels. and as TO these the de-
partment is able to report that when the
ships In course of construction and those
authorized shall have been completed, the
United States will rank second among the
nations In the possession of unarmured crui-
sers, or commerce destroyers, having the
highest characteristics, viz: of o size 5000
tons and upward and possessing speed of 10
Knots and upwards. Sir Charles Wilson.
Director General of the Ordnance Survey of
Great Britain, recently stated that If there is
one point clearer than others in the history of
commerce it is this, that when a State fails to
e1ectually protectits carrying trade in time of
war, that trade passes from it and does not
return. y And Lord Charles Bres-
ford, lately member of the Board of Ad-
miralty, in the same connection, stated, "To-
day one-half of the people in England would
nave no bread to eat but for the food that
comes in over the sea. 1t is matter of life
and death for you to protect the commerce
and you have not the ships to do it with"
We cannot at present protect our coast, but
we can return blow for blow, for we shall
soon be in condition TO launch a fleet of large
and last cruisers against the commerce of an
enemy, able to infliet the most serious and
lasting injury thereon.
PRODUCTIVE POWER OF MACHINERY.
With regard to the production of power
by machinery, the report says: IAN exami-
nation of the state of the art in 1885 led to
the conclusion that the machinery of naval
vessels ought to be so designed as to produce
ten-horse power for each ton of machinery,
and it was determined TO make that the
standard, and to enter into no contracts that
were not based substantially thereon. Plans
of machinery were purchased abroad, which,
upon trial, had approXimated that result.
Bidders were authorized to bid upon the
plans thus submitted to competition, or
were permitted to submit their own plans,
but were obliged to. guaranty the results de-
termined upon by the department, under Sc
we're penalties for failure, and with compen-
sating premiums in cases of attaining better
results. 1t results that all the contracts for
the construction of ships which have been
entered into since March, 1885, call for
the production of power by machinery
equal TO the highest standards. The efforts
OF the department in this matter have been
cordially seconded by the bureau chiefs, and
1t is believed that at the present time the de-
partment has reached the point where entire
reliance can be placed upon it for the pro-
duction of war vessels equal ia character to
those OF any other country"
COAST AND HARBoR DEFENCE VESSELS.
Under the head of "Coast and Harbor
Defence Vessels" the Secretary states that
in the last annual report of the department
the considerations were given leading to the
conclusion that it would be unwise for the
department to follow the course of the
European powers in building unprotected
torpedo boats, and In the present uncertainty
regarding the practicability of submarine
boats, and while waiting the practical trial
OF the dynamite gunboat IL has been deemed
wise for the department to build one light
draught heavily armored harbor defence
floating battery or ram, for which designs
have been prepared by the bureau of con-
struction and steam engineering, in consul
tatlon with the chief of the bureau of
ordnance.
NAVAL PROGRESS.
A chapter is devoted to naval progress dur
ing the year at home and abroad, and in it a
statement was made that the necessity of
increased numbers of fast protected cruisers
whether for the purposes of protecting or
destroying commerce, or for service with a
fleet as scouts, has been emphasized during
the naval maneuTres of the year and is fully
recognized by al naval powers. But with
the increase of the number of cruisers, it
has been recognized in view of the recent in
PRODUCTION of high explosive projectiles and
the increase Of power and rapidly of fire, of
rapid fire and other guns, that renewed at
tention must be given to the armored fleet,
and the prevailing opinion in England,
France, Italy, Germany and Russia is strong
ly in favor of additional armored ships to be
built at an early date In these new vessels
the armor will be much more widely dstrb-
uted, and will certainy protect the battery
and crew as well as the water line and ma
chinery. The destructiveness of high explo-
slve she'll fire against unprotected sides en-
phasizes the peculiar advantages of the mon
itor type for coast defences. The secretary
considers the subject of improved powder,
projectiles and torpedo boats, saying in re-
gard to the latter that the recent naval man.
oeuvres abroad have shown that they must
still be regarded as most useful for coast
and harbor defence.