New-York tribune., 1894-01-08
UTILITY OF CRUISERS.

1
Admiral Ammcn, In an excellent article in
the current number Of The North American
Review" offers many weishty arguments IN
support OF the proposition that the value ot
| fast cruisers is ovcrcstmatcd. He contends
| that If the United States were at war with any
maritime Power other than Great Britain the
| increased rates OF insurance would throw the
commercial marines of both combatants under
tho British flag. The fast cruisers in that
event would have little value as commerce
destroyers. In war with Great Britain these
cruisers would he seriously embarrassed by
neutrality laws In their raids upon English
commerce. While British cruisers would hnvc
docking and coallng facilities In every quarter
Of the world. American vessels would be de-
pendent upon the charity Of neutral ports, ana
would have great difficulty in Keeping their
bunkers full and their bottoms unfoulcd. In IL
naval war the superior conlng. repairing and
docking appliances OF Great Britain would be
n marked advantage. This system upon which
vast SIMS have been expended is one Of the
strongest imperial defcnccs.
The Admiral also dscrcdits the records of
the speed trials Of American cruisers as arii-
fetal and of no practical value. since they do
not represent normal speed on the high seas
Those records are made with the best picked
coal, with bottoms perfectly clean. with forced
draught and with most expert frcmen in charge
Of the fires. The cruisers cannot be expected
to reproduce this speed in actual service under
the most favorable circumstances, while in war
time with poor coal and foul bottoms they
would fall far below il. He confirms Il state
mcnt that The Tribune has frequently made 10
the effect that machinery and boilers are over
strained in speed trials, and that injuries re-
suit that may not come 10 light III once but
inevitably involve repairs. He also cites tho
experience of the Baltimore in employing forced
draught in Bchring Sea and having five hundred
leaking tubes in consequence of this squirt rs
practical evidence that the fast cruisers with
their artificial paper records are not 10 be de-
pended upon in emergencies, since they may be
disabled by few hOurs steaming with mex
pcricnccd fircmcn. There is much force in these
structures. American cruisers undoubtedly have
better ratings for speed than the fastest Eu
ropcan vessels of war, but the margin in their
favor can be ncuralizcd In actual service by
tho employment OF incompetent ircmcn and
the use Of inferior coal; and in naval war
forced draught and higll-spccd spurts will keep
the repair shops busy.
The Alabama with the help Of her sails could
do very well under IL low head of steam, and
in her cruises against sailing ships she did not
consume much coal. The fast cruisers cannot
profit 10 any extent by sail power and their
efficiency against Il hostile steam marine de-
pends To large degree upon coal endurance
and repeated dOckagc. Admiral Ammcn directs
attention 10 the importance Of rapIdiirlng guns
as means of defending vessels which are pur-
sued. He thinks tliat half dozen siy-poundcrs
placed on the stern of vessel which WAS en-
10 escape could nfict great damage
upon typical fast cruiser by knocking over
the smokcStacks. disabling the machinery and
interfering with the service of The batteries
While these cruisers arc Immensely superior 10
the Alabama and Florida, they may be- less |
Formidable than the Confederate priyatcrrs
We're in tcir time, owing tD changes in he /
conditions of the merchant service and naval /
warfare Admiral Ammcn writes neither rs IN /
alal1nlst nor as a naval pcssmst. but tell. |
some wholesome truths about The fleet In |
conservative spirit II IS certain that the power /
and efficiency Of The new Navy are grossly !
ovcrcstimatcd by sclfconndcnt and crcdulous /
Americans, and that the necessity for provll- |
ing adequate coast dcfcnccs for great noris |
Ike Ncw-York and san Francisco Is not apprc-
catcl by the public Tho Admiral sounds Il |
warning that is timely and ought not 10 pass !