The Portland daily press., 1892-03-14
DEMOCRATS PRAISE.
They Can Find No Fault With the
Building Of the Navy.
JOINS THE CIRCLE
AND SECURES RECIPROCITY.

The Majority of the House Naval Com
mittee Want Fast Cruiser, but a Bat
tie Ship Is Too Big an Undertaking for
Them Presidents Proclamation Con-
cerning Nicaragua-Mr. Blaine Getting
Better-washington News in Brief
Paragraphs.
WASHINGTON, March 13.-Representa-
tive Herbert of Alabama, chairman of
the House committee on naval affairs, has
prepared an elaborate report to accom-
pany the naval appropriation bill recent
ly reported to the House. The bill ap-
propriates 1928, 1875, 1928 or $s,S14,s31 less
than the amount appropriated by the
second session of the 51st Congress, and
So, ,467, ,S16 less than the department esti-
mates. The report says that this reduc-
ton was made without impairing the
progress of our new navy and in great
part because of the large surplus which
will remain on hand unexpended and to
the credit of increase of the navy at
the end of the present fiscal year.
The committee reduced the limitation
beyond which no repairs shall be made
to wooden ships, from 20 to 10 per cent
of the original value of the vessels, and
further provided that no new boilers
shall be made for any wooden vessels.
The committee excepted from these linn
itations, the Kearsarge and Hartford, be-
ieving that
In View of Their Historic Services,
these vessels should be kept as patriotic
memorials of the past. Speaking of the
matter of the increase of the navy"
under which head the bill appropriates
some millions of dollars less than the
act for the current year, the report says:
s.The appropriations for this purpose in
each fiscal year from 1887 to-, and includ-
ing, the current year, were greater than
the expenditures for the reason that-in
no one of these years has progress in
shipbuilding or in the manufacture of
armor or guns been so rapid as the au-
thorities had reason to hope for and ex-
pect.'' The report states the authorize
ton of ships has not been unreasonable,
and the results of our efforts to establish
plants for building ships, for armor
plates, gun forgings, and the assembling
Of guns, have been, considering the
results attained, extremely gratifying.
The committee is unanimously of the
opinion that every dollar should be APP
propriated necessary to complete the ves-
sells heretofore authorized. 1t also be-
lieves it should be the settled policy of
Congress to authorize the construction
of one or more new vessels at each
regular session until we have provided a
considerably
Larger Number of Fighting Ships
than we will have when those author
lied are completed. ''The Chilian i'm
broglio, CONTINUES the report, developed
the fact that our people at large quite ap-
prove of the policy in which we are en-
gagged, of rehabilitating the navy. Every
one who considers the welfare and honor
of the whole country must recognize, as
every President has done from George
Washington down to the present day, the
necessity of putting ourselves in condi-
ton to resist attacks coming from the
sea.
ssThe report calls attention to the diff
culties encountered in demonstrating in
this country the industry of manufacture
ing heavy steel armor for vessels and to
the fact that the Bethlehem Iron Com
pany, whose armor plant is said to be
unequalled in the world, has only just
fairly begun the delivery of armor plates
and is not yet up to the monthly contract
requirements. There are IL vessels for
which the armor is yet to be furnished,
and it
VIII Take Until 1894
to complete the delivery of this armor,
amounting to $4,000 tons, evenif the con-
tract requirements are met. The major
ity of the committee decided that it
would not be best at present to author
ize the construction of another battle
ship. The report says: 'We do not
need to build great and expensive navy,
but it would be well now to form some
definite idea Of the position we are to oc-
cupy among the naval powers. To re-
gain the relative position among the ma
vies we occupied prior to our civil war,
is not too much to attempt The com
mittee thinks eight or nine battle ships,
in addition to the three already author
lied, would give us q sufficient navy.
The majority of the committee recon-
mends the authorization of one strong
and swift commerce destroyer of the
type of the New York.
NICARAGUA is WITH US.
Central American Neighbor's Offer of Re-