New-York tribune., 1891-03-05
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
,u METHODS IN THE NAVY DEPARTMENT

pd
;n,rOduced at the Navy Department by Secretary
T,.cv The Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Mr.
soley who is one of the abest of the Assistant
secretaries in the Departments gave me to-day an
elaborate review Of the work actually accomplished
bv the Navy Department under Mr. Tracy and the
work actually in hand Since March 4, 1889,
eleven new vessels have been completed and put
in commission. Two others, the Bennington and
the Miantonomah, are nearly ready TO go into
commission. In addition to the vessels which
have been completed, there were nineteen other
vessels authorized At the date above mentioned
only four-thc monitors Puritan, Monad-
mock. Amphritrte and lerrOr-had made any prog
ress. OF the other fifteen, only one, the Maine,
could be said to be fairly begun. Upon these
xine;een vessels the work has been rapidly adj
vsnced The Maine has been launched Inc
monitors are awaiting their armor. The others
will 90 into commission within the next two years.
Mr. Solcy. in speaking of this general WORK ana
the work of the future, said
"In his first annual report Secretary Tracy
took strong and emphatic grounds in favor oil inc
construction Of large bdttle-ships. IhS pIoJtcV'
novel in this country. was received with douD'
and hesitation. Objections were raised, especl'"'
by the advocates Of the low frceboaTd ci'Ss Vi
adhere 10 the monitor type designed thirty years
ago. 1t was shown that the battc-shlp oil to-u"I
was the development of the original monitor, wlth
all its faults eliminated and its weak points
strengthened. Congress ultimately approved thlS
view Of the Secretary.
1T was the fundamental idea Of the Secretary
that the United States needed ships, and with all
possible dispatch Long before the act was paS1cd
IL
,he bureaus to set to work upon plans. to study
,be conditions of the problem, and to analyzc mi
nutely every feature Of the proposed ships, ana Dy
frcouent conference and discussion to arrive a,
tvne which should not only cmbOdy all that was
hest in foreign designs. but, in addition, that Gle
mont of American ingenuity which has caused the
mechanical devices of this country TO take tie
lead among the nations OF the world This method
of administrations al once wise and vigorous, pro
drced its results On the day after the Naval
Anpropriation Act was approved the circular 10
builders inviting proposals for the construction oil
the batte-ships was ready for publication ana was
octrallv advertised The bids were to be opened
in three months time. In that time all the pre-
liminorv work was TO be prepared. On OCTOBER
I all was ready and contracts were let to the low
est bidders. IL.
An examination of the designs of these shps
shows that they combine in an extraordinary oe-
gree the features which large armored vessels
should possess, and that they VIII serve 10 all
extent unknown in any European type now In en-
istence the purpose for which they were dcsigneu
Their radius of operation is 5000 miles-equal 10
that of many cruisers Their speed reaches
maximum of over sixteen knots, large figure for
vessels of this class. But speed is not their mann
feature For the object of these vessels IS not 10
run. but to fight They are fighting machines OF
the highest efficiency. Their battery is equal 10
the heaviest and most effective in battle carried To-
lay by any ship atloat or projected, ana l's us
position is such as to make 1t tell WIN lerIIho
effect Above the aTmored deck lie Two redOuDts
inclosing the foundations of revolving turre's'
within which are the four great thirteen-inch
rifles. eighteen feet above the water, their hre
sweeping through a clear arc of go degrees for
ward and aft and on both broadsides. On the
heavy superstructure between the turrets, twenty
ve foot above the water-ne, are eight eight-inch
rifles, and the main armament is completed by four
six-inch guns A belt of steel armor eighteen
inches thick extends over the vulnerable parts OF
the ship and every device known to modern science
in the way of sloping protected decks, water-eN-
Guiding material water-tight compartments RAM
etc has been included in the construction OF these
vessels
Had anybody said nine years ago. when the
building Of the new Navy began, or even hNe
years ago, when the cruisers of the Baltimore
class were designed, that the United States would
within that short space of time have under CON
structon three ships of this character of American
DESIGN. American material, built by American labor
throughout and that these vessels would within
three months from the date of their authorization,
he under contract TO be completed three years
from that time, he would have been regarded as
hairbrained visionary.
"In addition to the battle-ships, the Department
strongly urged the construction Of one vessel OF
protected type, TO answer "a special ana m@hly
imnortapt object. Cruiser No. u is absolutely
UNIQUE. Her displacement is 7,400 tons, and, while
She carries sufficient armament for complete pro-
lection against light guns, She has sea-speed ana
q coal-endurance hitherto unknown in ships Of
war. She will be a match for the swiftcst trans
atlantic liner afioat to-day, while her armament
and protection give her high fighting efficiency.
Her coal capacity is sufficient to steam around
the world once without new supply. She is
known as a commerce-destroyer, and Congress is
so well satisfied with the promise that il has
authorized the construction of another under the
act just passed.
ION June 0, 1890, proposals were opened for
tbc construction of the Ncw-York, an armorcd
cruiser of still another type of great value IL
this vessel speed. capacity, armament and
arThor have BON carefully balanced. She will
have the speed Of twenty knots, enough to enable
her to overtale % per cent of all the ships Of the
world. naval or mercantile. She can complete
VOYAGE of $4,000 miles without rccoaling. Her
barbcttcs and belt are protected by armor and
her battery composed of six cight-inch and twelve
four-inch guns, is uneQuallcd in any ship OF
tie cruiser type in the world
Finally comes the protected cruiser NO b, oi
$500 tons. ship with the speed and coai-endur
ance Of the New-Yorl< and an armament largely
in advance of that hitherto given to vessels ol
the ordinary cruiser type
These seven vessels, all of which, except the
one Just completed. under contract 10 De com
peted before the close Of the year l803' ana three
of them at an earlier date constitute nothing else