The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-05-16
This paper is democratic in principles
and is Independent in its 0ielos on al
local questions.
NAVY Department Policy.

navy department ROlicy.
A study of the hearings before the
Naval Committee of the House of
Representatives upon the increase of
the navy, reports Of which are nowin
circulation, will well repay the Curl
Gus. Secretary Tracy's remarks, as
they appear, are a marvel of bad
grammar on the part either Of the
Secretary or the s~tenographer. They
are besides a marvel of ignorance and
unsettled Judgment.
In the frankest way, the Secretary
repeatedly tells the committee that
he docs not know,"sshas no informa-
ton" has mo knowledge on which
to base an opinion He further
owns that he has come to no deter
mination OF this or that point, that
bhe Department has no settled policy
upon important questions, that he is
trying to get reports from this or that
board, so that he can make up his
mind.
The secretary appears to be right in
his general position that it is time to
construct several battle ships for the
Navy; his officers, too, have furnished
him with the general reasons for this
course; but on all the subsidiary
questions he is as much at sea as the
ships themselves will ever be.
The broad considerations on which
the battle ship policy rests are these.
BY building only light cruisers and
heavy coast defence vessels, a foreign
power with which we might be at war
would be left in a position to concen-
trate her whole aggressive force upon
our coasts. Our cruisers might keep
the sea and injure her commerce.
Our monitors and torpedo boats
might save our cities from lombard
ment. But her vessels cruising up
and down our coasts might
blockade our harbors and destroy
our coast and foreign trade.
Our vessels could not go out to engage
them and drive them away. We would
have no ships to create a diversion by
assailing the coasts of the enemy.
Most serious of all, we would have no
mean Of attacking the hostile coal
ing stations near our own shores, on
which the blockading fleet would de-
pend to keep the seas against us.
These propositions do not seem to
admit Of much dispute. Both politi-
cal parties agree to them. Naval Of
ficers and the majority of civilians
who have studied the subject hold
them sound. 1t was hardly necessary
for the Secretary of the Navy to go
before a committee of Congress to n
force the idea. But the general con-
sent to the line OF policy indicated
renders urgent a new set of questions
of hardly secondary Importance, and
it was on these that Mr..
Tracy seemed to have next to no
information to give.
The construction Of first rate battle
Sophisticated as this country is in
respect to apprenticeship take from
four to six years. Every such vessel
will cost at least five millions of dol
lars. The number Of desirable yes
sells appears to be eight Or ten. Here,
there is from $40, 600, 900 to $4,000, 900
OF public money to be spent. Surely
Congress is right in asking for some
definite information al to how it will
be applied. The time element is even
more serious. Vessels which take
years to construct should not be mis-
takes. To build vessels now which
could not compete with foreign battle
ships would be not only to throw
away our cash; but, still worse, to
leave the country in the defenceless
condition from which we are endeav-
oring to rescue her.
In the matter of naval administra-
ton as in all its other phases Presi-
dent Harrison's government appears