Los Angeles herald., 1892-04-14
THE NAVAL STATUS OF THE UNITED
STATES.


the picayune economy of the present
house of representatives when it comes
to appropriations for the navy. These
pundits leave out of view the fact that
their party has been in absolute posses
sion OF the government of this country,
with brief interregnums, ever since the
4th day OF March, 1861. The Republi-
can party permitted not only our navy
but our merchant marine during this
long period to sink into absolute desue-
tude-not innocuous desuetude, because
it imperiled the dignity and safety OF
the union. They were too busy robhing
the people through the agency of un-
considerable tariffs, and in taking what
remained for the capitalist classes
through the demonetization of silver, to
do anything to invigorate the navy or to
rehabilitate our carrying trade, to the
sailors employed in which we must look
for the recruitment of our marine forces.
The HERALD heartily hopes that the
present house of representatives, which
finds itself cramped by the extrayagant
appropriations of the bllion.dollar con-
gress, will strain a point to continue
the work of building the new navy on
like to see twenty-five million dollars ap.
propriated yearly for the next ten years
for the creation of plants for manufac-
turing modern ordnance, the fortitca.
ton of our coasts and the building OF
ships of war. Ii that should prove insult
ficent, it would be good idea to make
it fifty millions. 1t should never be
forgotten that the country is indebted
for the new navy, such as it is, to the
only Democratic administration, that OF
Mr.. Cleveland, which has held power
since the war.
A writer in the New York Sun has
compiled some interesting statistics
concerning our navy in 1860, in 1886 and
anticipatory statistics for 1898, when the
vessels whose construction has been al
ready authorized, shall have been COM
pleted. In the year before the war the
United States stood sixth in the list of
great naval powers, the roster standing
in this order: Great Britain, France,
Russia, Spain, Sweden and Norway, and
the United States. But the fact should
be borne in mind that, at that time, our
carrying trade was second only to that
of Great Britain, and that we were
rapidly overtaking England. We had
thus a great nursery for sailors which,
under the policy of the Republican
party, was allowed to disappear. In
1886, according to report of the house
committee on naval affairs, we occupied
the modest position of seventeenth in
the array, which stood thus: Great
Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Germany,
Spain, Austria, China, Japan, Holland,
Sweden and Norway, Turkey, Den
mark, Greece, Brazil, Argentine. Chile,
Portugal, United States, Peru and
Mexico.
Thisswas cur naval status when the
the work of creating the new navy. Our
wretched condition was intensified by
the fact that our war vessels consisted
of wretched wooden tubs, for the most
part armed with smooth bore guns. At
the end of 1898, if the plans already de-
cided upon are carried to completion, we
shall make decidedly better showing.
Our navy will then include OF armored
ships. first, the Indiana, Massachusetts,
and Oregon, coast-line battle ships of
10000 tons each, Is knots, II inches OF
armor on turrets and barbettes and IS
inches on sides, each carrying four 49,
inch, eight S-inch and four 6,inch rifles,
besides Is guns in the secondary bat
terry. Next, the battle ship Texas OF
$500 tons and II knots, carrying II
inches of armor on sides and turrets,
and two 12-inch and six 6-inch guns,
besides 20 in its secondary battery.
Then the armored cruiser New York, of
$3.50 tons, 20 knots, 7 inches of armor
on turrets and barbettes, six Sinch
rifles, and twelve rapid fire Ainch
guns, with 16 pieces in her secondary
battery. Then the armored cruiser
Maine of 664S tons, II knots. II inches
of armor on her sides and barbettes, and
eight on her turrets, four 10.inch and
six 6-inch rifles. and % guns in her sec
ondary battery. Then the coast de.
fender Monterey, of 413S tons, 16 knots,
13 inches of side armor, and from ~ to
IA of turret and barbette armor, two r.
inch and two 10.inch guns, and twelve
in her secondary battery. Besides
these, there are the five iron double
turret monitors, the Puritan having
800 tons displacement, IA inches of ar
NOR on her sides and barbettes, with
four 12-inch and six 4-inch guns; while
the Miantonomoh, Amphitrite, Monad-
mock and Terror, of 5000 tons, have less
armor. but four 10-inch guns each and
additional batteries. Finally, there is
the harbor defense ram Of 2163 tons,
II knots speed, and six inches of side
armor.
Our unarmored steel feet will consist
first of cruisers No. 12 and No. 13, of
1850 tons and 81 knots each; No. 6, of
$500 tons and 20 knots; the Baltimore,
1900 tons and 1919 knots; the Chicago,
$500 tons and 1879 knots; the Phila-
delphia, 1921 tons and 1923 knots; the
San Francisco, 40S3 tons and 20 knots !;
the Newark, 1883 tons and 10 knots; the
Charleston, 4040 tons and IS Is knots ::