Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-03-17

WASHINGTON March 49, Representative
Herbert of Alabama, chairman of the House
committee on naval affairs, has prepared an
elaborate report to accompany the naval
appropriation bill recently reported to the
House. The bill approprates 49, I20, oso,
or IS, S14, 63l less than the amount appro-
priated at the second session OF the DIST
Congress, and So, 4G7, S16 less than the de-
partment estimates. The report says this
reduction has been made without impairing
the progress Of our new navy in great part
because of the large surplus that will re-
main on hand unex pended and to the credit
Of ''increase of the navy" at the end OF the
present fiscal year.
Speaking OF the refusal Of the committee
to recommend a cons derable number OF i'm
provements recommended at navy yards
and stations, the report says the committee
In no case refused TO recommend any ex-
penditure which seemed TO them really to
be present necessity.
The report states that the authorization
of ships has not been unreasonable and the
results of our efforts to establish plants for
building ships, for armor plates, gun forg
ings and the assembling Of guns have been
considering the results attained extremely
gratifying.
The committed Is unanimously of the opin-
ion that every dollar should he appropriated
necessary to complete the vessels hereto
fore authorized. 1t also believes that it
should be the settled policy of Congress TO
authorize the construction of one or more
vessels at each regular session, until we
shall have provided a considerably larger
number of lighting ships than we will have
when these authorized are competed.
The Gillian imbroglio continues the re-
port, developed the fact that our people at
large quite approve OF the policy in which
we are engaged, OF rehabl Eating the navy.
Livery one VINO considers the welfare and
honor of the whole country must recognize,
as every president has done from George
Washington down to the present, the neces-
sty of putting ourselves in con lition to re-
sst attacks coming from tue sea.
The report calls attention to the Difficult
les encountered in demonstrating in this
country the industry of manufacturing
1eavy steel armor for vessels, and to the
fact that the Bethlehem Iron company.
whose armor plant Is said to be unequal ed
IN the world, has only just fairly begun
the delivery of armor plates, and is not
yet up to monthly contract requirements.
There are IL vessels for which armor is
yet to be furnished, and it Will take until
1884 to complete the delivery Of tins armor,
amounting to 10, UUO tons, even ii contract
requirements be met. The majority of the
committee, therefore, has declded that it
would not be best at present to authorizes
the construction OF another battle snip
The report says that do not need to
build a great and expensive navy, but it
would be well to form some definite
idea of the position we are to occupy among
naval powers. To regain the relative posi-
ton among these navles We occupied pror
to our civil war is not too uiu, d to a,ter!. {.
by extending the cousti ucuOn OF tAe NOW
vessels needed over a series OF years tho
report says we shall avoid mistakes and shall
keep appropriations within moderate bounds
each year. The committee Trunks our sue.
cess in ship building has thus Tar been re
markable.