The Indianapolis journal., 1889-12-02
made In speaking of this country as
naval power the Secretary saws:

made. In speaking of this country as
naval power the Secretary says.
The effective force of the United states navy,
when all the ships now authorized are complet-
ed excluding those which by the process or de-
cay and the operation OF law will By that date
have been condemned. will comprise eleven
armored vessels. of which only three are de-
signed for fighting at sea, and thirty-one un-
armored vessels, making total of forty-awo.
of war vessels on the effective list of the
principal foreign powers, built, buiidlhs'
or projected. at the present present time. time.
England, 367; France, 260; Russia. los: Ger
many, los; Holland, "a: spain. 90: Italy, So;
Turkey, 81; China, 73 sweden and Norway. ga;
Austria, So This shows that even when the
present building programme is completed, the
UnitedStates can not take rank as naval power.
The purpose for which che United states main
tans "a navy is not conquest, hut defense. FOR
reasons OF economy and public policy, the force
should be as small as consistent with the oiJect.
But it appears. from the above comparison. ;hat
with all the additions authorized by the legsla-
ti0n of the last seven years. the country. as far
as its capacity for defense is concerned. viii he
absolutely at the mercy Of states having less
than one-tenth of its population, Oiethirtieth or
its wealth, ana one-hundreth of its area. While
the element or defensive strength is thus clearly
deficient. the vulnerable points open to an
enemy's attack, and the interests liable ut all
times To injury, are numerous and important. A
coast line of thirteen sloilsand miles, upon which
are situated more than twenty great centers or
population, wealth and commercial activity.
wholly unprotected against modern weapons. az
fOrds an inviting object OF attack, with "a wide
range of choice as tn the points tn he selected.
Any one of the powers named could. without
serious difficulty, even after the completion of
eur fleet as now authorized, secure, In single
raid upon our coast, an amount of money sur
hcient TO meet the expenses OF a naval war, an
amount, One-half OF which, If judiciously ex-
pended over series of years, would be sufficient
TO afford this country guaranty of perpetual
peace.
Secretary Tracy then argues at length
on the necessity of force of armOred crulS-
ers, and says that if the country is to have
a navy at all, 1T should be large enough to
protect all its cOast-linc in time of war. 10
stop short of this would be to abandon all
claim to influence and control upon the
sea. Concerning the expense attached to
building new ships, he say:
The cost of building navy casts no percepti-
BILE burden upon country of onr vast resources.
1t is the premium paid by the United States for
the insurance of its acquired wealth ana Its
growing industries. Compared with the inter
ests that are secured, the rate Is low. IL is
cheap price TO pay for safety. We collect in
duties, III six months, at a single port. greater
sum than we could spend in building new navy
in six years For the past TWO years the govern
ment has paid its creditors for the privilege OF
discOunting its debt before it was due twice the
sum we have spent IN reconstruction; And the
which we spend for the construction OF a ship
only small fraction, perhaps one-tenth, goes for
absolutely raw material. while the remaining
nne-tenths represents, in one forrn or another,
the earnings of American Labor
Comparing the Dolphin with the other
new cruisers, the Secretary says 1t has
shown its seaworthiness to be of high
order. The vessels remarkable perform
ance on cruise of 5000 miles Is without
parallel in the history of navies. and is a
complete refutation of the predictions made
at the outset of her career by alleged eX-
pert judges. The average speed and horse
power of all the cruisers are given. and COM
parisOns are made-xithA those of other ma
tiOns. which show that the United States
is not behind in this fesftpet.
The construction of eight more armored
ships is recommended. together with two
fleets of battle-ships and cOast-defense ves-
sells, one fleet for .lse on the Pacific and the
other on the Atlantic and Gulf. This would
make the future navy consist of 20 battle
ships. 90 coast defense ships, and 60cruisers
or 100 vessels in all, which is believed
proper strength of the feet. OF the
GO cruisers required. 81 are now
built or authorized. The lack of torpedo
vessels is noted by the Secretary, and Con-
| gress is recommended to provide for the
construction of five of suitable proportions.
| The condition of the vessels now being
bniit and the facilities of the navy yard are
| fully covered.
Various recommendations are made as to
| the method of enlisting men and employ
thorough eeReney Of the corps "as of Enlisted ted
| men in the navy, three things are neces-
sary: first. that it should be composed of
! American citizens or those who have de-
| clared their intention to become citizens;
! secondly, that they should have adequate
| training for their work; and, thirdly. that
| the esy stem of enlistment and discharge
| should be regulated as to secure the re-
| tentiOn of good men IN the service.
| Other subjects considered are coaling
stations, cannons for the navy, naming,
! rating and command of vessels. organiza-
| tion of the department., the marine corps
| and the disaster at Samoa.