The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-04-28
THE NAVAL PAGEANT.

The naval pageant at New York, which is
described in another column, is undoubtedly
one of The most splendid spectacles which
have been exhibited before men Of the pres
ent generation. But, though the flags Of
more nations were seen mingling in har-
mOny than ever before foated side by side,
Il must not be supposed that the number Of
vessels was unprecedented. The fleet
which sailed on Monday from Hampton
Roads numbered thirty-Gue vessels. and the
total mum Der Of men-Of-war reviewed YES
terday did not exceed forty; while al the
review of the British channel fleet given in
honor of the Emperor of Germany two or
three years ago three miles Of effective ships
were exhibited in line.
If we ever again witness great naval
battles they Will probably be fought with
fewer shi : than the battles OF the past At
The battle OF Trafalgar Nelson had thirty
three ships Of the line. besides frgates, and
Fiiiencuye's force was almost exactly the
same. Thus within a narrow space-for
the range Of ship-cannon at that time was
limited over sixty battle-ships must have
Unanswered. Even this number seems small
when compared with the fleets Of more an
cient days. The feet commanded by the
Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1888, which is
known as the Spanish armada, consisted of
100 large fighting ships; and at the battle
Of Lepanto Don John of Austria had under
his command POS galleys, while the Turkish
feet was larger. The tendency has been to
diminish the number of vessels and to in
crease their fighting power. One such ship
as the San Francisco eonld probably have
destroyed the entire allied feet at LepaDto
and driven all the Turks ashore afterward
1t is only just TO add that one modern battle
ship Of the first class costs about as much
as a whole feet did four hundred years ago.
The nations, however, seem to have
plenty of money TO spend on navies. Ac.
coTding 10 the British Navy Register,
England will have next year in commission
thirty hrst-class baltle-shfps, averaging
I,G00 tons each, besides seven teen second
class battle-shiDs averaging about 5000 tons,
while France had last year thirty-one sea-
going armorcIads. and several more were on
the stocks. Our FIVE battle-shlps, when
completed and placed in commission, would
doubtless hold their Owp again st any vessels
Of equal sizs and armament, but as a feet
they would not compare with the fleets
which England or France could muster on
any given spot
Whether this Is an unmixed misfortune
may be a question. Every quarter Of a
century naval architecture undergoes a
revolution. The ships which were bnilt
at the British and French d0cky ards at the
close Of our civil war would cut no figure
IN maritime warfare to-day. The fast
ships which are being added TO the navies
Of the world would sail round them. and
seizng their opportunity would sink them
to certainty. Again. the progress of the
science of naval artillery is reducing naval
warfare 10 an absuTdity. Not one OF the
ships which lie this morning in New York
harb0r would have been afOat to-day If
the batteries at the Narrows had opened
fire on them with modern heavy guns firing
dynamite shells; and while the batteries
were sinking them the ships could have
inflicted no appreciable injury on the works.
What IS the good of ships which are sure
to be destroyed when they are put to the
use for which they were built?
People often talk Of the danger in which
San Francisco stands of being bombarded
10 case of war. 1t is true that foreign
ship carrying long-rango guns might lie off
the bar and drop shells into the city. But
that would not be war in the modern accep-
tation of the term; that is to say, while it
would cause some annoyance and some de-
struetion Of life and property, it would not
have any effect toward bringing the war TO
close. As for entering the Golden Gate no
captain III 10 command a ship would think
OF exposing her to inevitable destruction by
combined system of land batteries and
torpedoes. There never lived drawer
sailor than Sir Charles Napier, and England
never sent from her shores more power
tul feet than the one she gave him in 1855.
But when he saw the defenses of Crousiadt
he did the wise thing-he turned tail and
brought his ships safely back to England.
modern man-of-war fully armed and
equipped IS fine sight, though it does not
conform to the laws of beauty as perfectly
as the old sailing ships which battled with
the deep when the stormy winds did blow.
But when the qualification of the eve is
complete the batsle-ship of to-day has full
1hed her function. An old scow anchored
in the ship-channel and armed with a single
rifle throwing a 1000 pound shell would leave
nothing to bury of the Infexibe or the For
midable. 1t would be a modern reproduc-
ton Of the story of David and Goliath of