Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-12-04

Secretary Tracy begins his first annual
report with a comparison Of the naval
strength Of other countries and the nited
States To show the need Of larger navy
than that which the new vessels already
built. those 10 process Of construction
and those In contemplation would
form. 1hi. comparison Is somewhat
against VA. The effective force Of the
United s.aies navy, when all the ships
now authorized are completed, excluding
those which by the process Of decay and
the opera lou Of law will BY that date
have been condemned. will comprise II
srrnored vessels, Of which only three are
designed for fighting at sea, and 81 unarm-
ored vessels, making total OF ~ A.
| against this England has n total Of
| 1867, Of which rs are armored; France 2G0,
u which 81 are armored; Russia les, Of
which 80 an armored. and Germany l05,
| Of which % are arm0red The other Eu-
ropean powers, Holland, Spain, Italy,
| Turkey, China, Sweden and Norway and
| Austria, have a total Of from - to
So war ships each. from seven TO twenty
| four Of which are armored. This shows
the absolute poverty Of our own navy and
the need Of more arnored war vessels
The Secretary recommends the building
| Of five torpedo boats aud three gun boats.
/ He refers to the value OF fast vessels in
the merchant marine which might be used
A. cruisers 10 time OF war. The depart
ment strongly recommends the eonsolida-
! ton Of the revenue marine and the navy,
aud the formation Of naval reserve
force. The record Of the Dolphin's cruise
around the world shows certain state
ments In the Secretary's report OF 1856 to
De- ''mere flight Of political rhetoric,
absolutely without warrant or justifiea-
ton" Ia summing up the needs II the
country Secretary Tracy says:
The necessities Of our vulnerable position
there fore demand the immediate creation Of
two fleets Of bsttie-ships, of which eight
shoaid be assigned to the Pacific and IL to
| the Atlantic and Gulf. They must be the
best Of their class IN fonr leading character
/ istlcG armament ariHbf, sTuttuthi strength
and speed. The las, - nearly a essential To
/ the battle .h . A. II is to the cruiser. Ii NAV
safely be assumed that. other things being
equAl the hattle-ship Of the highest speed
will as rule be the victor in action, for she
can choose her position ard keep the enemy
AT a dI-sdvsn,Rge Not only must the speed
of our bsule ships b. high but it must be
uniformly high. for the speed of the feet is
regulated by that of the SLOW st vessel
In addition TO the BATH. ships. the situa-
tion of the country requires at least tu enty
vessels for coast and Dor defence These
/ vessels, although restricted in their range of
effectiveness. are necessary components OF q
naval force which bias q seacoast TO defend
Their emplo, ment Ms floating fortresfes re-
quir.s that they shouli have powerful bat
terry ard the heaviest OF srmor, combined
with moderate draft. At the present time
eight vessels of ths type are under construc
ton, five of which are reconstructed mont
tors
The one problem nov before the Govern
ment IN the matter of naval policy, is TO
get these forty vessels built At the earliest
possible moment The steps necessary to
their completion, namely. legislation. design,
and construct lion. can not take less than five
years in the case Of each one. Unless the
exIstnx yards, pubiic and private, are en-
lsrged and restocked with plant, not more
than eight could be built at one time, and the
cor struction Of the Others would have to
wait for the launching Of the first Using
the utmost promptness, the ships meat es-
senual To efficient protection could not he
supplied in less than twelve or II teen years.
1T is therefore recommended that the con-
struction Of sht sfmored vessels he au' hor-
k"d At the coming session. and that they he
of the I, pc of battle ships rather than coast
defence ships; the former being more gcnvr-
ally serviceabe. and there being only three
Of them nov in process of construction as
against eight Of the latter.
In reference to fast cruisers. all moiern
experience goes To show that they are essen
tial ajjuncts of an armored fleet, and the pro-
portion of three cruisers to one battle ship is
believed to be sound and reasonable. This
would make the future navy consist of 20
battle ships, 20 coast defence ships, and 60
cruisers. or 100 vessels in all. which is be
heved to be moderate estimate of the prop
err strength OF the fleet OF the 60 cruisers
required, al are now built or authorized
Fur An increase in the number OF cruisers,
considered simply as auriiisries to the d ght-
ing force of battle ships. we may wisely vsit
until the latter are in process Of construction"