The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-04-18
oUR NEED or A LAiGE NAVY.

French and Russian neeti ct this time,
but England will need ssiditional con-
struction to maintain tbst superiority
three years hence, for Yrance, which
ranks next to England. AMI Russia which
ranks next to France. are cushing on the
increase Of their fleets Eat enormous
cost. The annual expenditure OF
France in the construction Of ships
10 said to have atsraged $l4.-
000.0 600 for the last three; years, while
Russia's current expenditure on ship
building 10 now not far bfhind. it being
1880, 900 for the presen.s year. Great
Britain's estimates for the 3ext fiscal year
are still moro portentous. xceeding Vs.
100000 The British theoGi Of naval sd-
ministration is that the nssy Of England
should equal the combined suavies Of any
other two powers. Next:t to Russia In
present strength comes that Of Italy, aud
the navy OF the United Stat<i ranks fifth, to
which rank it has advanced uring the last
four years from twelfth rast naval power.
When our ships now Ut construction
have been com pleted We shsi l have passed
both Spain and Germany. f)ur navy not
only car throw at a single discharge go.
100 pounds of metal againsi q, 600 Of Ger
many. but our cruisers "a speed and
efficiency far surpass those * the German
navy. Our ships are not s.'any in mum.
Der. but they are of greSt power and
efficiency. In the mattes Of armored
cruisers Of the type of the Few York and
the Brooklyn, We have rs good ships
- there are in the wtt.ld. To Sec
retasy Tracy belongs the Credit Of intro
ducing big battle ships intof our feet. and
Secretary Herbert is an srdaatisupporter of
the same policy. Our lars!est battleship,
the Iowa. is of II, 500 tons displacement,
while the British battleshi::s of her royal
sovereign class exceed 1A.00s tons. These
figures show that England ..mains today
what she has been for more Than 800 years.
since the great naval fight II La Hogue,
the mistress Of the seas. not :only through
her navy, but her vast mercs ant marine.
The growth of Eng and asa naval power
has not been due simply g. the fact that
the Morse strain In her c9mposits blood
stood for race of daring sas ors, or rather
pirates, nor 10 IL wholly dis to the fact
thst her insular situation mhds the people
naturally race of fshermei. coasters and
smugglers. England wass not . naval
power Of formidable strength when Genoa,
Venice. Spain and Portuest were enter
prising navigators and dari,.s seafightsrs.
Public danger from Spain Il iced Elizabeth
to put respectable navy 6 it, feet, and
her reign was prolific in = race Of bold
sailors. half navigators ehd half puc-
cancers, like Drake, Hswktns, Granville
and Raleigh. But und4; James the
English navy sunk inss decline.
Under Cromwell and hiss great admiral
Blake. the English navy became the first
in Europe. and finally beats the Dutch, up
to that date the best sailors and sea fight.
ers in Europe. Under Chst.es the Second
the English navy lost its Supremacy, tho
Dutch swept the channel ar:d sailed up the
Thames. With the expulsion Of the last
of the S.uarts England ars.in rose to the
dignity of . frst-class navd. power which
she had won under Cromwesi and lost with
his death, and from the jay when tho
English in Nav. 1892. beat the French at
La Hogue. England has ntser suffered .
serious naval defeat. with tbs exception Of
her war with the United e.ates from 1912
to 1915, when she was decia eddy worsted.
It was England's navy. got England's
armies. that really crusksd Napoleon.
Nelson's victory Of the ft;le and that Of
Trafalgar absolutely wiped :sut France as
naval power as early as lsA5. so that dur
ing the last ten years of ;tonaparte's c.
reer she was without navy; These facts
are noteworthy because thes illustrate the
fact that England's navas: supremacy 10
explained by her statesmant.aip. There 10
no moro reason why Englssad should be
mistress OF the seas ratheH than France.
save that England was thss FIRST to appre-
ciats the vital importance ~ Q great navy
to Q great commercial p(tion. France
has . great coast line fui Of splendid
harbors on the Atlantic tad the Medi.
terranean; she has tine population Of
sailors. but The French mil which dis.
played 30 much genius fot war on land
never seemed. even under Napoleon. to be
equsl to the construction std support Of
an effcien: navy. Nspolec.' saw this, but
England had 100 years the Fart of France
in naval craftsmanship. Bsnaparte found
the French navy demoraiirai by the de.
feats inflicted upon il by Kidney. Hawke
and Howe. and he never! sue seeded in
building q fleet that could tgeep the sea,
against Nelson. The laurel4 of Austerlitz
lost their bloom to Bonap,t tie. eve when
he thought of Trafalgar. fog he knew that
without navy France would see all her
ports and those of her a.i;as block.asa.
al her merchant marine <se.troved: her
commerce ex,inguished: so .sha, trafalgar
was really blow in the bts,k that made
Napoleou's empire slowly kie of concus.
sion Of the spine.
This awful lesson in natal Statesman.
ship ought not TO be lost "a the United
States. We may never hat, a erea, war
with great power. but if re do We ,hsll
surely be worsted II We do g;,t initiate the
far-seeing ststssmanship OF England and
he ready with a navy that IS at less. mn.
merons enough ami powerful enouyh -
defend our important seap:-ts from Bo..
ton TO Galveston; from Fan Diego 10
Seattle. A large navy "a At least IN,
armed vessels would te NECESSARY to pro-
,ecs the trade of the Unitea State, from
destruction in event 0; o.: Ancio-Con,i.