The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-12-02
AMERICAN SHIPS OF WAR
Now Completed or in Process
of Construction
MORE DRY DOCKS NEEDED
But Not Nearly So Badly ~ More
Battle Ships
Secretary Herbert Takes an Exhaustive
Report on Condition ane Needs u ~
United States Navy

| WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-The annual
report of the secretary Of the navy is 9
very exhaustive document Of 80, 900 word!
with numerous tables. After recitins
| the fact CT the completion and oom mis-.
| sioning of the new warshipS Olympia
| indianapolis and Indiana, built by CON-
tract, and the Maine, Texas and Amphi'
trite, built at government navy yards,
the secretary calls attention to the fail.
ure OF the Katahdin to make the rate of
speed in the contract for her conjunction
and refers the matter 10 congress. He
says the department expects the Terror
and Monadnock to be in commission Feb
ruary /, 1896, and the Puritan about July
l, 1896. He says delays havs occurred In
the construction of vessels by the GUS
tom of transferring workmen from con-
structioL to repair departments in order
to avoid increasing the force OF workmen.
This custom has been abolished in she
government yards and the secrstary en- :
teis protest against the habit congress
has of relieving contractors from penal
ties imposed for delays by the depart
ment
The secretary pays high com pliment
to the excellence OF construction
OF the new vessels.
OF the vessels now in course OF con.
struction, ne predicts that the tirst-class
battle ship Iowa will be completed about
October /, 1897. The first.class battle
ship Massachusetts, is practically complet-
ed except as regar is to the amor. 1t 10
estimated that the vessel can be COM
s-kk fA.SA nls
OF her armor. The frst-ciass battlesbip
Oregon is as far advanced as Is pfaoti-
cable before the delivery OF armor and
gun mounts. About six months will De
required for their installation.
The Brooklyn will not be ready for
trial in less than one year.
No substitute for wool for some parts
of vessels having been found. the depart
ment bas adopted the Electric Fire.
PROBING company's method OF treating
the wood u,ed.
The former Recommendation of $500, 900
for armament of the st. Louis is repeat.
ed, as is one IN favor OF providing for
an ordnance reserve, especially as the
government is paying subsidies to saveral
steam ship com panies to hold their YES.
sells IN readiness to be used as transports
or cruisers in case OF need. In this con.
nectiou he quotes from last years report
as follows
Under treaty provisions neither the
United States nor tbs English can keep
more than small naval vessel upon our
northern lakes. In case. however, . war
should unfortunately break out between
them, Great Britain could promptly fur
nish guns and gun mounts to her mer-
chant marine on the lakes, and though
their marine is far inferior to ours in
strength, the British might master those
waters"
The question of producing SIN okelsss
powder that will not become useless with
age has been solved at the naval torpedo
station.
Machinery for the working OF gun
mounts for smaller guns is being dis
placed by hand power witt satisfactory
results. The manufacture OF armOr,
the secretary says, has heretofore been
expensive ana attended with great de-
lay, but experience in the work and in
creased facilities. he thinks, will obviate
these trouble hereafter. The report says
that by June |, 1886, ths government will
have docks on the Atlantic cUast at Port
Royal, S. c., ana Brooklyn, large enough
for docking the largest vessels, but recon-
mends that another he built at Norfolk,
ana one on the Gulf of Mexico. For the
Pacific the opinion Ia expressed that tt Q
one now being built on Pdget sound Is
sufficient for the near future. In this
connection the secretary says:
in my opinion 1t would be wise to In
vest Whatever moneys ara to be expended
on the navy, beyond its current needs
and the necessities of existing repair
plants, in the constr uction of new ships
and not in building DOCKS,
The comparison of foreign naval equip
ment is quite exhaustive. The report
shows that the United States has in Its
service of the armored class three battle.
ships, sixteen coast defense vessels one
cruiser ana of the narmored, thirteen
protected cruisers, twenty unprotected
cruisers, eight gunboats, one dynamite
cruiser, and two torpedo boats. making
total of twenty armored and fUrty-twO
unarmored vessels, exclusive OF torpedo
boats. There are nov authorized and
tense vessels, one cruiser, all armored ;
nine unarmored cruisers and seven tor.
peuo boats.
The present status of tho principal
foreign navieI is shown in the appended
tables, giving the number of vessels,
armored and unarmored, by clssts, IN
service or authorized OF building. Arm.
ored vessels constitute 44.4 per cent of tue
whole, the remaining 55.6 per cent con.
| slsting OF unarmored vessels, of winch
large proportion (nearly "a per
| cent? are protected cruisers.
Great Britain, as usual, is leading both
in the NUM- Der and strength of ships ia
SeTNlCo anu III puiiuihb pIoCEaln, WitL
| pa ships i'll service not including tor
! pedo boats; size has tortv-two vessels noN
| under construction, of which ten are bat
| tlesbips. 1t will be observed that ir
accordance with England's policy OF plao
| ing her first line of defense At the enc
my's coast, no coast defense vessels ar,
| building for that country. The displace
ment OF the first class battlesbip in he
present program is 1890 tons; that o
: the second class. L., 3OU tons.
France, with IA effective vessels il
service, exclusive of torpedo boats, has
| building program calling for an increas
| of thIrty-three vessels, of which fiv,
| (possibly six are battleshiips and lou
are srmored cruisers.
"Russia has eighteen ships building
of which four are armored; in service
| 100
"Italy has in service seventy-one yes
sells. The number building is: Armored
eight (siX battleships), and unarmored
seven.
Germany has seventy-four efficien
ships. and is building four armored ant
four unarmored.
"Spain is showing increased activity
and is building ten additional vessels, Q
| which one-balf are armored, which vii
make a total effective strength OF fifty
! two
Activity in building torpedo boats re
mains about the same as in my las
report France leads in the possession G
torpedo boatss, with 218 IN service an
sfty-four building. Great Britain ha
| lS9 in service and sixty-two under con
struction. Spain is doubling her torped