New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-12-31
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
,ry AND AFFAIRS AT THE NATIONAL CAP
ITAL.

AND ITS EFFECT on OUR
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
WITH ENGLAND.
,,,hircton Dec 3O-Sccretary Tracy said TO
,b. other day that he had no idea of remaining
,onc in The Cabinet wien he first accepted the
Leo ~ he had had nothing more than the mere
aor,,,o of the Department to look after he would
ho,.e resigned at the end Of six months. But he
hos b.co,oc completely fascinated with the great
s,hiect of building up Navy, and so Is proud
Nd contented % devote his best energies 10 tha'
work The Secretary is tall with square shou'ucIs
and the straight figure of an Army olhcer lie Has
the agreeable charm Of manner thau oeiohss ~ "
man who is close student. lie Is passioi'''N
fond Of books and when he has a SUBJECT Ill hdl'"
he takes up all of its ramliicatlons WIN "lc
,borouchness of his profession. Ills lace Is so' o
bv a snowy white beard and short mus'achc. Ills
face is like that of cXPrcsident "reVy' oil fid''
W., 7 sav him the other morning he was
aros.od worry much AZ the French cN-Prcsldent
,,..d % dress when in his business office. Inc
rro,t Frcnchman was fond of rough grays. 80
eo,or, Tracy has the calm, satisfied look OF
-,o,, o,caged in lofty tasks Private cares ana
1orrou,s do not leave as deep trace upon the
Goo Of q man who has some high task 30 occupy
his mind II is the importance of his wo'k winch
has acted as a tonic TO Secretary blaine anu mas
oivcn him the strength TO bear the ruue shooN'
which have come into his life within the lew years
In front of Secretary Tracys desk, hanging
,non the wall. is a dashing sketch OF ""i'e'
bnllcd cruiser which is now nearly ready ioI N'
vice This vessel is not Vet named i's p'''V"'
DESIGNATION is No. L. 1t is most sracel"4 III n'
lines and is a marvel of la,ter-oaS INVENTION
One Of the problems in building a navy Is u 4e'
,,.rtl wifi IL
a shin which shall combine strength "I,n ="
ness and great coal-carrying capacity ln'e P'o
lem has never been successfully accoHiPN''
WIZ s,rcnotb i attained speed has tore sicri-
feed The second element in the pr""ieih' o' '"l
wins coal for a long cruise in a heavy armorcd
vessel is also a subject of grave CONSIDERATION
Thres wears aro | witnessed the Naval Review ID
,ho Soiont where England sent its finest vessels
for the purpose of going through the annual
,raroeuvres Some of the vessels exhausted their
coal supplies during the three DAYS monceuNres'
showino that they had no capacity for making
long cruise at anything like moderate ra'e oil
speed.
Tho M 10 .he sketch of which hangs
i; front of the Secretary's desk Is a new Nessel
belonging to the class known as commerce destroy
ers She has great swiftness and has developed
twenty knots and half hour. She has coal
canacity sufficient 10 take cruise around 'he
world twice She can 90 at moderate ra'e OF
speed for 1903 days without recoaIing Nhc nas
.peed which would enable her to run away from
any of the vessels of modern navles strong ehousn
10 DESTROY her She has only moderate s'rehs'h'
hut she is armored sufficiently to enRpie her 10
defeat and sink any of the ocean liners winch
might ne turned into vessels OF war In case VI
emergency. Her destructive powers are great.
Ton of these ships would be sufficient TO wipe of
tho face of the seas the commerce of England
within a short space Of time SiN OF tlem
would he able absolutely to paralyze the marl'ihe
commerce Of England in case Of war. England
nrotection will he in the immediate construction
of similar vessels. IT is said that for every one
of the vessels of this class that we pulIu Eh9-
lane will build ten. We happen to be the first
in the field with this style of vessel Snch 1t
vessel when sent out 20 would have strict orders
IN case If a war. TO attack only merchant vessels
NJ the enemy and TO run away from all war
vessels never attempting an engagement
The construction Of such vessels as these VIII
materially aid us in arguing diplomatic questions
with any foreign Power The Strengthening OF
tho Navy has strengthened our position III me
dinlomatic world il is the favorltc idea OF the
crossroads statesman that no foreign Power would
dare TO 60 10 war with the United States. IL
is all very we'll 10 be patriotic and proud OF
the strength of this country. put there is ho
need of being foolishly concerted ABOUT II. II Is
nothing hut bumptious concert oi thls chaIa''cl
which has delayed the progress OF the Navy al"
the building Of proper coast defcnces. Inc Navy
is the natural arm of the United states, ana WIN
!, nroncrly strengthened we defend ourselves
in case of an emergency. II IS not @enefaHS kho"h
that England presumrs much more with us IMAM
u.i,b any foreign nation in the discussion OF
dinlomatic questions Since the EehIns sea qn"S-
lion has been opened up again Great Britain mas
assumed indirectly a mcnacin2 POSITION whlch Is
done for the purpose OF intimidation. Hhe mas
strengthened her forts and coaling stations II
our neichbofhood. and has added to her sh'pS
in both the Pacific and Atlantic waters.
In crossing last fall from England han an
opportunity of talking with Minister Lincoln "pi'i
.o,.ora, occasions lie dwelt in strong terms upon
the inferior position occupied ny me n'e" STATES
in discussing diplomatic questions. There is no
man moro conservative than he, nor IS there any
oro who would be more opposed to a war But
no s,id from the very facts Of the situation NJ
American Minister could afford 70 take bol
e,,rd in any dspute with England The result
would he 70 put himself in a position that conld
NOT to sustained Great Britain invariably treats
with conttmpt any assumption that is not backed
with some showing OF power. There Is no nation
~ Furono that is more eager 10 avoid CONNECT
with the strong nations OF the Continent than is
England. She makes TO France. to Germany or
even 10 Italy, greater concessions than she would
mako n the United States The reason is simple
They have great navies. and we have not. II we
had Tomorrow six vessels OF the cOmmerce-dcs'roN
ing class they would he sufficient In themselves
10 make England chary of giving The Ihi'eu
States offence Nothing better illustrates the con-
tempt Of England for the power Of the Ini'ed
States than the attitude Of Lord Salisbury Last
summer he was perfectly willing TO concede the
position Of the United States in the BehrIng S'a
dispute. hut the rasciblc Canadians. who are
always indirectly threatening Great Britain with So
ccsson. wished their poachcrs in the seal fshres TO
have the freedom 10 thicye, and Lord Salisbury dc-
lberately without any form Of apology changed oil
rca,ly about and began backing the Canadian view