The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1891-03-11
OUR NAVY.


A Caustic Letter From the Pen Of. Ex-Ssn-
Navy Criticised.
New YORK, March 7.-Ex-Senator
ingalls, has been stirring up an immense
amount of talk here by one Of the most
bitter and emitting attacks that he has
yet made on the navy. The article ap-
pears in this weeks Truth. All tho
news stands were sold out before
o'clock. A second edition of the paper
Is in press. The article in substance Is
as follows:
The annual shrek about our defen seless
coasts and the bombardment OF New York,
Philadelphia and Boston has been emitted
The yearly pamphlet describing the blood
curdling incidents and the app alllng conse.
Quences Of the war with Chill and Spain in
1873 has been sent to each senator and repre-.
sentative in congress. The editorial esti-
mates in the metropolitan press OF the
amount OF property within reach OF an Ital.
ian ironclad in the lower bay and of the ran.
som that could be extorted from the mer-
chants and bankers have all been submitted
and are filed away for use again in 1892
Their purpose is to reconcile the people to
the passage of the naval appropriation bill
and to the enormous and profigate expend-
itureS in time of peace for ships, fortified.
lions and munitions of war.
The capacity of the United States to ere
ate a navy in an emergency was demon.
strated in the rebellion. The duel between
the Monitor and the Merrimac in Hampton
roads revoIutionized naval warfare and the
problem has since been to construct arnOf
that no projectile could penetrate and then
invent projectiles that no armor could resist
European nations have been conducting
these expensive experiments hitherto and
the ships of 1880 are already obsolete and
antiQuated for attack or defense. Dynamite
and other explosives complicate the situa-
ton and the navy that We are now build
ing at q cost of s5O,OO0I % will be as worth.
less in 1850 as Roman galleys England.
France and Italy would gladly sell US their
fleets at so per cent. OF their cost. II We are
to depend upon a navy for protection We
must have ships enough to assemble at
every vulnerable point force as large as
could be dispatched against it. The millions
that we are squanderingo on vessels that are
sent on idle errands in 'squadrOns OF evOlu.
tiOn.' painted pageants of the Deep had
better be spent for earthworks and power
full guns to command every roadstead, chan.
mel and harbOr from which q hostile feet
could threat or assail
Is there any necessity for spending mil.
lions every year for naval defense, or any
Justification for the hystercal appeals to
popular apprehension and alarm? Our policy
is pacific. We have no colonies nor Deepen.
denotes nor entangling alliances. Wars
break out Unexpectedly. IL Is true, some.
times. but from what quarter can danger be
nationally anticipated? Our relations with
France are those of traditional amity; with
Germany, OF kinship and consanguinity;
with Russia. of fraternity. The rest are
trivial Our only enemy Is England and she
Is under bond to keep the peace No other
nation is SO vulnerable and none so detested.
She has incurred the resentment OF the
human race by centuries OF injustice
Colonel Mcclure. a noted Mississippi duel
list, had occasion to kick an unresisting gen.
tleman at a hotel in NatcheZ. Being not
long after in Memphis, the colonel saw his
victim subjectng another to the same treat
ment Being somewhat curious and uncer-
tain as to the identity OF the person, he said:
care you not the fellow kicked down stairs
In Natchez"' "Yes," replied he. "but. col
onel. you and know who to kick" England
kicked us when we were helpless. and feeble.
She sacked AMI burned a defenseless cap
ital. She has kicked Ireland, she has kicked
Egypt, she has kicked the HlndOos. the
Zuius, the Beers, the Chinese, but she is not
in the habit of kicking her equals. Her
courage is prudent and calculating She was
careful not to kick Napoleon until the rest
of Europe joined her, and she endured Rus.
sian aggression until she had persuaded
France to bear the hrunt OF the Orimean
campaign. In our civil war she did all she
could, short of open hostility, to destroy the
union and then apologized and paid dam
ages.
Lately we have hal another contention
about seal pOaching md the Behring sea.
Oceans OF ink have be,.n shed in diplomatic
correspondence between Lord Salisbury and
Secretary Blaine. Great Britain fortified
Vancouver and sent ships of war into the
disputed waters, walking around, metaphor
icaily speaking, begging us to knock the
chip from her shoulder, or to tread upon the
tails Of her coat. Legally, she had an open
case at least, in some respects the best of the
argument A casus beli could easily have
been found. if wanted, and we were assured
that the danger was imminent The
boldest held his breath for awhile.
Immense appropriations were prompt
ly voted for Notifications and the navy an"
then, while the national hair was standing
on end, England suddenly came into our su-
preme court as a sutton and submitted the
whole controversy to the decision of that
great tribunal The newspapers that de-
scribed the dramatic utterances of senators
about the dangers of war with Great Britain
contained in another column of the same
issue an account of the proceedings in the
old senate chamber, in which Lord Salisbury
submitted the claims of England to adjudica-
ton as q question OF international law. It
was reassuring. but it was laughable. never.
theless JOHN J. INGALLS,.