The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-04-15
YANKEE PRIDE.
II Should Prompt a Liberal Policy
Toward the New Navy.
MIR. BOUTELLE URGES THE NEED
OF POWERFUL VESSELS.

Record of the House Proceedings
Senate Passes the Bill for Free Mail
Delivery in Small Cities--Italy Gets
S25, 1000 for the New Orleans Affair.
WASHINGTON, April 14.-The House
today went into committee of the whole
on the naval appropriation bill, the
pending amendment being one offered by
Mr.. Boutelle Of Maine, for the construc-
ton of two sea going, coast, line of bat
tie ships at cost not to exceed 81, ,000,-
000 each, and ten torpedo boats at cost
not to exceed $4,000 each. The Secre-
tary of the Navy is authorized to re-
advertise for proposals for the construc-
ton of one swift torpedo cruiser of
about 750 tons displacement and the
limit of cost is extended to $512, 200, ex-
elusive of armament.
Mr.. Herbert of Alabama spoke in favor
of the provision of the bill providing for.
the construction of one armored cruiser
Of the general type of the New York.
Mr.. Boutelle said the question of the
construction of the navy was a grave
one and ought to be seriously considered.
1t ought to be a question of national
pride. We are now engaged in placing
the United States among the naval pow
ers of the earth. For long period of
years following the war the people de-
voted themselves to the arts of peace and
our navy dwindled until it became prac-
tically useless. Then the Republican
party entered upon the rehabilita-
ton of the navy. It was a matter
of national congratulation that
the initial vessels under the new system
proved to be among the best of their
class when compared with the naval
ships of every other nation. Today, with
the single exception of lack of high
speed, which has recently been devel-
oped, the four vessels first put under
construction compared favorably with
any vessels of their class in the world.
This House could afford to show a rea-
sonable iberality in carrying forward
this great work. If we were to have a
navy, we wanted a navy which could
make war if necessary and repel war
when made upon us. That could be
done by providing reasonable number
of naval vessels, powerful enough to re-
pei any assault that could be made upon
us from across the sea and to defend the
great harbors of the country. Had it not
been that the construction of
the new navy was begun when
it had been, we would today have been
subject to temporary humiliation, to say
nothing of disaster, at the hands of so
weak a power as Chilli San Francisco
would have been open to bombardment
and the great port of New York might
have been put under ransom to an insig-
nifgant power. The fact that we were
not engaged in war today was attributa-
Bile solely to the steps we had already
taken to strengthen the navy. In adj
vocating his amendment, Mr.. Boutelle
said the last blow of the last hammar on
the vessels already authorized would be
struck in 1894. He believed, therefore,
that other ships should be authorized
now, that the work of the navy might
not be interrupted. It took four years
to build each Of these battle ships and
the work could not be begun too soon. 1t
was not good policy to leave our great
seaboards unprotected a year longer in
order to bridge over the presidential
election and show reduction of expens-
es. 1t should be matter of pride to the
greatest nation on earth that it's great
ness should be respected everywhere up
on the earth.
Mr.. Scott of Illinois, opposed Mr..
Boutelle's amendment.
The committee, without action, rose
and the House adjourned.