The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-01-06

Ao+A IRHV are cOIHplSuS, we ara
PRACTICAL ys&SiefsnseIess against any M
ton that attacks MS"
Then if Chill"
"You may say this" said the score
tary slowly, emphasizing his words;
If you are going to write about the
matter, you may say this: -Four months
from the time those sailors were killed
at Valparaiso, Chilli, If we had declared
war, would have had our Pacific coast
entirely at her mercy. With the ships
she has, together with those that will
be ready shortly she could have done
anything she pleased with us. 1t has
been her ambition to be mistress of the
Pacific"
This was not pleasant contingency
to contemplate. / suggested that we
could thrash them If we caught them
on shore. Mr.. Tracy laughed grimly,
and intimated that they would probably
decline to come ashore for the purpose.
They could secure all they wanted
without disem barking.
"And we must continue to be de-
tenders for several years at least?'
Eyes; allthat can be said is, we are
now going ahead as fast as possible.
But even now there is this drawback
that there is no absolute security there.
The next congress will vote to carry on
the work begun by this or by q pre-
vious one. This makes many firms
timid about undertaking contracts.
They might go to a great expense and
then be left Stranded.
''What is the character of our navy?"
j inquired. Z -
'sThe men who man our ships are
very intelligent; they adapt themselves
readily to altered circumstances. A
battle ship now is an entirely different
thing from what it was some years ago.
All the sailing business-the going aloft,
taking in and making sail and all that
lis of course done away with. The
work of the man is below. There are
about thirty distinct machines aboard
one of our modern men-of-wsr; the ma
chimes for locomotion, for moving the
anchors, the electrical machines and
many others. In spite Of the complete
change in the nature of the duties
aboard ship, we have had no accidents.
| The English, on the contrary, are hav-
ing accidents and making mistakes
all the time. Our men are more intelli-
gent, careful and efficient"
SIN case of war, how many semen
have we?"
"Why, very, few; only enough to make
nucleus for an effective force. But
| quite lately something has been done
towards forming a naval militia at vari-
GUS points along the coast, qualified to
be available in case of emergency.
| Organizations have been established at
Massachusetts, New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Carolina, Georgia, Texas and
| California; ana not sure that other
states were not included-''and the de-
| partment sends officers and provides
ships for their periodical drilling and
instruction. They have been practiced
| in firing guns, and in firing them at
targets, which is about the most import
ant thing they can learn to do. They
have done very well. They cost little
or nothing, and are liable at any mo-
ment to become of the greatest practi-
cal value So
upon the whole, what is your
opinion of our present naval situation?''
1--WE are now doing the best we can
to put ourselves into q proper condition
of defense. We have been rather slow
in beginning, perhaps, but now that we
have begun, we are losing no time On
| the very next day after the bill for the
construction oflthe battle ships and the
armored cruisers became law, they
were advertised, and the bids were re-
ceived three months later Of course,
the drawings had already been pre-
pared, counting on the probability of
the bill passing; so that no delay oc-
CURED. If, now, congress makes the
appropriations, for the construction, as
they fell due, we shall be making ex.
cellent progress. But there is no use
in Disgusting the fact that we are not
ready to defend ourselves if attacked
now, and we cannot be in less than
three or four years at the earliest. II
our enemy's fleet were to come into
New York harbor, it could destroy
our commerce, cut off all commune
cation with the city, and, consequently,
it's food supply-New York would con-
sumo about five million pounds Of solid
food day-and, consequently, could
exact any ransom they chose to de-
mand, no matter how preposterous.
And New York is only one of half a
dozen great cities that could and would
be treated in the same way. That is
the peril of our condition to-day. But
if all goes well during the next few
years, we shall be all right in the end,
and once we get into defensive state,
there is no reason why we should not
continue to be SOL
I left the secretary of the navy with
the conviction-that the Office was in
good hands. Mr.. Tracy is blind to no
dangers, but neither does he exaggerate
them, nor is hetunnerved by them. He
knows what should be done, and how to
do it, and is taking the best means to
accomplish his purposes. He has the
confidence of his subordinates; and,
whether war comes soon, or late, or not
at all, he will deserve the gratitude of
the