The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-11-28

as. ne American azs they we're recsix.
80 p.y rom the British government 20
mseives In readiness 10 serve thnt
as'oa' ana the English had qua, ara
80 mounts ready to be pat upon them A.
'a.snt notice We have nov been
1919 20. SUBSIDIES 20 these ships for noath.-
A'i T nave not gun to put upon them.
treaty provisions neither the
onilea states nor the English can ke.n
lno's man one small naval vessel mon
oer northern lakes. So far tn. two eoru.
1lss are matched In case. however a
l should unfortunas ely break cut be-
sNeeh ihem, Great Britain could promptly
iurhisn guns and gun mount. 20 her rn.-.
saahs marine On the lakes, and thouvh
taeir marine is far inferior 70 ours IN
ssfshgth, the British might master tho..
waters and do incalculabse damage IN ou-
ass cities III we had a reserve OF ord.
nance and ordinances stores We could dom.
"a ate those waters without question.
ne latest and one OF the mos, inure.-
sive lessons in ali history Is nov b-iuy
taught oy China and Japan. A nation
the most populous in The world. able ~
put millions OF fighting men into the
heid, - now, after suffering MANY dIs.s-
sers, securing Europe and America for
munitions OF war. IL relied upon its nnrn.
oeTs~ Now IL is buying discarded run.
ana discarded ammunition. whatev.v IL
can get, 10 aid il in repsIling the asssult,
OF people vastly inferior 70 il in numbers
experiments with prolectiles. armor
powder. submarine torpedo boats and tor
peooes nave given valuable results. which
nave been told from time to time by the
Associated Press.
In general the policy of naval cons.ruc-
tion now In operation by the prfncinai
foreign naval powers remains practically
the same as outlined in my last report.
Inc sizes OF vessels are about the same.
win a tendency 10 adhere to the largest.
In England q ship-building programme
was authorized i've years ago, directing the
construction OF seventy vessels. These
vessels having been practically completed.
new programme has been authorized
THIS year. looking ID the construction OF a
toiai OF 10 vessels of all classes, including
ten oattleships. first-class; six battIeships.
second-class: thlrEy-three cruisers; some
smaller vessels. aud large number of tor
pedo boats, the construction of which is TO
extend over period OF i've years. The
hrst-eiass battleships are TO be of abou,
1880 tons displacement; the second-class
bsttieships of about GOO tons dlsplace-
nent, and the largest OF the cruisers are
TO be Of about II. 200 tons displacement
In 1891 France adopted ship building
programme which called for a total OF
eighty-ons new vessels, of which ten were
TO be armored, fifty were TO be cruisers
and twenty-one TO be torpedo vessels and
smaller craft. the construction to extend
over period of ten years. This pro-
gramme is now being carried out on the
original lines.
The torpedo vessels now building abroad
range from 500 10 a25 tons displacement.
and altogether sixteen are now under con-
struction. One of the most notable things
in the policy of foreign construction is that
which indicates the building. in general,
of number of torpedo boats equal to the
total number of all other vessels authorized.
The secretary renews his recommends
ton that the enlisted force be increased by
1900 men, making the total IL 600.
The secretary insists that the demands
of various sections of country for navy
yards and stations be ignored. What
our navy needs" he says. lis more ships
and guns, not more navy yards"
As wood is no longer used in the con-
struction OF war vessels, the live oak tim
Der reservations in the South are recon-
mendsd To be sold. The live oak timber
now on hand in the navy yards is useless
and unstable.
The transfer of the coast survey TO the
navy department is strongly advised. The
survey is completed. and the bureau should
be merged into the navy. there being no
fnrthar need for it, xistsuee
Following are the secreiary's estimates
OF expenses for lsg6. as compared with the
appropriations of 1895;