Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-02

d
Der of war vessels in England is S67; IN
Frauce, 26O; in Russia, 1853; in Germany. ioo; IN
Holland. 94;in Spain 90; in Italy So; in IurReyi ~
81; in China 70; in Sweden and Norway, o. anu
In Austria, 56.
The table shows that even when the present.
building programme is completed the OnlsSu
States cannot take rank as naval po,MS...
Any one of the powers named could wiz wiz of
serious difficulty even after the completl9n ~ ~
our feet as now authorized, secure in slnEtee ~
raid upon our coast an amount of money sun, -,
cient TO meet the expenses of a naval war ~
amount. one-half of which, if judicloqsly a.
pended over series of years, would pe suar ~.
cient to afford this country guaranty Oh PeA
The Secretary then goes on to emphasize the
positive necessity of an immediate ana VSI3
large increase in the United States 1ronelau
force.
The new cruiseas are eight in number, the
Chicago, Boston. Atlanta and Dolphin, con-
tracted for IN 1888, and the Baltimore, Charles
ton Yorktown and Petrel contracted 1or IN
1886 and 1857. In the course of her cruise tne
Dolphin has run 58 900 miles in 20months, aEdihaS
been under steam 1900 hours. In this prolongeu
run she has been stopped for repairs put oIce, oa
and then for only two hours. This performances
is probably without a parallel in the ms
tory of naval vessels and bears conclusive tes-
timony TO the high skill of American artisans
and the excellence of their work. Inc bossUn
and Atlanta have made cruises, and tnelr ypi w.
formance at sea shows that they are Thoroughly
stanch and seaworthy vessels in all WeatheLs;;
In all respects the Baltimore has proven
thoroughly satisfactory, but the Cna[lessUn, LII
Petrol and Yorktown have not proved the sue
cesses anticipated but are still valuable addl-
tions to the navy as also is the Chicago.
Our great want of torpedo boats IS aiso
touched on. The United States has one unnn' I'M
ished torpedo boat, compared to England G w.
Frances 19l, Russia's l3S and Italy's 12S. Ger
many, Austria, Greece, Turkey, China, Den
mark, Japan, Sweden, Holland, Spain and bra @
I'll nAn. AI,1r hAof
Secretary recommends the immediate con-
struction of at least five more boats
With regard to the personnel OF the navy,
the captain claims that it should conslst OF
American citizens or of intending American
citizens only. At present the crews OF our
naval vessels are filled with foreigners, VINO
are ready to serve any Government whlcn VIII
pay them. Such men are bound only Dy tnelr
contracts, and are subject to very great tempta-
tions. The American who deserts must ex-
patriate himself but the foreigner who deserts
the American service goes to his own nome.
For a man so placed desertion has no pen
altles
Great changes in the training service are
needed. Men must be taken when quite young
and gradually reared up in their profession
The naval apprentice service is OF little VaIue,
the period of enlistment being too short IL Is
necessary to extend this term to "a years OF age
from the present period, q years. During the
additional three years the the formation OF as
sociations and a mature Judgment Will lessen
the inclination for change, and the Government
will get the services of those whom u mas
trained, for at least one full cruise. In the
English Navy the adoption of 2. rnle retSlp1ng
those who enlist as boys until the age OF 2S or
80 has completely changed the character OF the
enlisted force"
The Secretary also advises the increase of the
number of apprentices from 75O, as at present,
to 1,500, making the total enlisted force 5000.
The severest disaster which has befallen the
navy in recent years took place at Apia,
Samoa. on the 18th of March, 1889. During
hurricane on that date, two vessels, the Tren-
ton and Vandal1a, were totally wrecked, and
the Nipsic was run on shore to save her
from destruction. The loss of the
Trenton and Vandalia, two of the best
of the old wooden fleet, is a serious blow to the
navy in its present condition. They were
abandoned on the 7th of; July, after much OF
their armament and equipment had been saved,
The Nipsic proceeded to the Sandwich Islands,
where she has since been repaired and fitted
for active service. The escape of the British
ship Calliope. by steaming out to sea in safety
during the hurricane, illustrates the value of
high power engines in war vessels.
Recent legislation and administrative regula-
tion have so complicated the situation of the
Naval War College at Newport R. l., that the
Department does not feel justified in undertake
ing the construction of the building authorized
March 2 1889, until Congress shall have ex-
pressed itself more definitely on the question
of site. The Secretary declares that
Coasters Harbor is far preferable as
site to the over.crowded Goat Island.
Moreover, Coasters HGbor belongs
to the Navy. Some minor changes are sug-
gested in the nomenclature and distribution of
various bureaus of the Navy Department In
pursuance of the policy of rebuilding the Navy,
the estimated appropriation for the fiscal year
is SIS. .599, ,253 49, After all disbursements hith-
erto made in the year 1882 there is an available
balance of S435, SOB rs; but this balance will be
decreased by further liabilities before the close
of the year. The total amount accruing to the
Treasury from sales of condemned navy prop
erty during the fiscal year is SS7, ,372 l8
The report thus concludes: The true princi-
pie for us to follow is that laid down by Presi-
dent John Adams in his message of 1900, when
he said: "Seasonable and systematic arrange
ments SO far as our resources will Justify, for
a Navy adapted to defensive war, which may
in case of necessity be quickly brought into
use, seem to be as much recommended by a
wise and true economy as by just regard for
our future tranquility, for the safety of our
shores, and for the protection of our properly
committed to the ocean,"
oo,yo