The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1894-12-05
OUR NAVY.
Secretary Herbert Reports on It's
Condition.
He Makesa Plea for More Guns and Battle-
ships and Fewer Navy Yards-c -chIna's
Policy Held Up as an Impress
sive object Lesson.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2S.-The secre'
tary of the navy in his annual report
to the president, recommends that con-
gress be asked to authorize the con-
struction of three battleships of about
ten thousand tons displacement each,
cost, exclusive of armament, not ex-
ceeding 81, 600, 900 each, and twelve tor
pedo boats of from 100 to 300 tons each,
at the discretion of the secretary OF
the navy, to cost not exceeding an av-
erage of $4,000, or total expendit-
ure for naval increase of $14, ,040,0 ,00O
The argument in favor of this increase
Is vigorous and succinct. The United
States has an efficient fleet of cruisers
and gunboats, which while useful, are
not, properly speaking, fighting vessels.
They can destroy merchant ships"
says Secretary Herbert. 'They can
fight vessels of their own class, but
they cannot meet armored vessels with
any reasonable hope of success, and in
time of war, scattered abroad over the
high seas as they would be, if we sent
them against an enemys commerce,
they would leave our unfortified sea
coast, with all it's cities, absolutely
without reliance, except upon four
first-class and two second-class battle
ships, seven coast vessels and two little
torpedo boats.
"These, if they were all concentrated,
would scarcely be able to create di-
version of an enemy's feet, and ii scat
tered would not furnish battleship or
even torpedo boat for the defense OF
each coast city. If we carried out such
programme during a war, an enemy
with a fleet of battleships Gould wreck
cities while we are robbing schooners, :"
The naval estimates for the fiscal
year ended June 80, 1896. amount to
$50, 952, O20, of which $13,259, 392 is to
make payments upon work hitherto au-
thorized, the construction of steam ma
chinery armor and armament of the
new vessels now approaching compile
tion. This appropriation, which is to
meet an indebtedness due before the
end of the fiscal year will be substan-
TALLY the last, for with the expendi-
ture of $75O,O0O in 1897, the existing
navy will be entirely paid for The
secretary alludes to Secretary Chan
dler's references to the wastefulness re-
sulting from many different yards and
from the methods pursued in them.
What our navy needs, says the secre-
tary, is more ships and guns, not more
navy yards.
h Concerning the subsidized merchant
vessels, Secretary Herbert is severe on
the congressional policy which annu-
ally pays such vessels as the Paris and
New York on condition that they hold
themselves in readiness to serve the
government whenever demanded, yet
provides no armament for them.
! "When they hauled down the En-
! glish, to hoist the American flag" he
says, they were receiving pay from
the British government to hold them
F. selves in readiness to serve that nation
and the English government had guns
mounted, ready to be put upon them al
moments notice." and continuing, il
allusion to the requirements of the
government for a reserve of ordnance
and ordnance stores, Secretary Herber'
! says:
''The latest, and one of the most i'm
pressive lessons in all history, is nov
being taught by China and Japan. A
nation, the most populous in the world
able to put millions of fighting men il
the field, is now, after suffering many
disasters, securing Europe and Ameri
ca for munitions of war"