The record-union., 1891-12-07
TIE NAVY DEPARTMENT.
CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE.

the Chileans have made SO much COM
plant, the Secretary says: How little
there was in this incident to justify the
extraordinary assertions that have been
made in regard to it appears from the re-
port of Admiral Brown"
In closing his review of the Chilean
affair, the Secretary says in part: 1t
appears, therefore, that in none of the
points enumerated was there any ground
of offense given by the navy to any per-
son, party or Government then existing
in Chile, nor was any assistance or en-
couragement Of any kind rendered to
what was at that time recognized by all
the word in fact the Government of the
country, yet it was impossible to account
for the series of outrages perpetrated on
the crew OF the Baltimore on any other
supposition than that those who COM
mitted them were influenced by calumnieS
which have been actively circulated, and
that they were aided and abetted by the
police guard, which should have sup
pressed them. No charge or even sus-
picion of misconduct attaches to the men
who on the night of the 9th of October,
endveayoring without weapons to defend
themselves against an armed attack, were
driven by the police to a Chilean prison
because they wore the uniform of Amer
lean Sailors
INCREASE OF THE NAVY.
On the increase of the navy, the Secre-
tarY says: 1.-The old wooden ships have
practically passed out of existence. They
no longer count even as normal factor
in the naval defense. The sole reliance
of the country to-day for protection of its
exposed seaboard is the new fleet. This
is developing satisfactorily. and the i'm
portance of continuing this development
is dwelt upon. The rapid extension of
our commercial relations has doubled the
the Pacific. 1t was said a few years ago
by a keen foreign observer, Some day
or other there will be great rivalry of
three or four nations in the Pacific for
the commerce of those seas, and the coun-
try which has cultivated its strength with
view to that contingency, will carry OH
the chief part of the prize
1.-THE rivalry has already begun and the
signs are evident on every hand of a
sharp competitors. 1t is apparent that
the mercantile competition of the country
are to-day enlarging their fields of activ-
ity with more aggressive energy than
ever before. No one can fail to observe
the indications of the systematic effort to
take advantage of the disturbed condi-
tions now prevailing in many of the
smaller States. In this movement naval
ascendancy plays large part.
The Secretary says when the author
lied fleet is completed to protect either
seaboard will involve the stripping of the
other at critical moment. If the Mica
ragua canal were completed the strate-
getic situation would be largely modified.
The press of the country, representing
the people, says the Secretary, does not
believe cities like San Francisco, Seattle
and Tacoma should be open TO attacks of
third rate power, whose ships, by a
sudden movement, may enforce contri-
buttons that would pay in advance the
expense of war.
If anyone believes such rapidity of
movement impossible, let him recall the
circumstances under which the ESme-
ralda appeared in April last. without
warning, close to the Californian coast,
sending on the Itata to San Diego. AS
little does public opinion believe that
the commercial seaports of the gulf and
Atlantic should be unprotected from an
attack by any nation whose fortified har-
bors and fully equipped naval dock
yards are within forty-eight hours
steaming.
It is erroneous to suppose that the sea
coast States alone have direct interest in
the matter. The prosperity of the whole
interior depends upon the uninterrupted
supply of demands of a foreign market
By blockade of the great outlets the
great industry of the interior would be
paralyzed.
The Secretary goes on in his argument
for an increase OF the navy, and coast de-
fenseS at length. He urges the construc-
ton of more ships of the type of the In
dElna battleship, and says they are un-
doubtedly the most powerful elements of
protection this country can possess.
Medium sized cruisers, while valuable
for the service they were fitted TO per-
form, cannot be counted as an element of
force when opposed to armored vessels.
The necessity for more torpedo boats is
also urgently set forth