Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1895-12-06
Mont fefsis "
Eding Dry Docks
EARLY COMPLETE

Now Have Total Of Twenty Ar.
mored and FortyTwo Unarmored
Vessels.
washington, Dec Tho annual re-
port of the secretary OF the navy is
very exhaustive document of 10000
words, with numerous tables. After
. reciting the fact of the completion and
commissioning OF the nsw warships
olympia, Minneapolis and Indiana,
EbuiIt by contract, and the Maine, Tex
y s and Amphitrite, built at the govern
gent navy yards, the secretary calls
IGNITION to the failure of the ram Ka-
din to make the rate of speed named
khe contract for her construction,
>efers the mater to congress He
ae department expects the Terror
sonadnock to be in commission
harry 1, 1896, and the Puritan about
1sflS96. A
secretary pays high compliment
excellency of constr uction of the
Sessels.
n Ills ~ cSSctS ilOW III Tie COulhG VI
cofistfuetion he predicts the first-class
bettleship Iowa will be completed about
October, 1897. The first-class battle
ship Massachusetts is practically COM
pleted except as regards armor. The
f1rst-class battleship Oregon is as far
advanced as is practicable before the
delivery Of armor and gun mounts. The
Brooklyn will not be rea 1y for trial in
less than one year.
The report says that by June l, 1876,
the government will have docks on the
Atlantic coastal Port Royal, s. c., and
at Brooklyn--large enough for docking
the largest vessels, but recommends
that another be built at Norfolk and
one on the Gulf of Mexico. For the
Pacific coast, the opinion is expressed
that the dock now being built on Puget
sound is sufficient for the near future.
In this connection the secretary says:
In my opinion 1t would be wise to in
Z vest whatever moneys are to be expend-
ed upon the navy, beyond its current
needs and necessities of existing repair
plants. in the construction of new ships
and not in building DOCKS"
The report shows that the United
States has in service: OF the armored
class, three battleships, 16 coast defense
vessels, one cruiser; and of the unar-
mored, 10 protected cruisers, 20 I'm ro-
tected cruisers, eight gunboats, one
dynamite cruiser and two torpedo boats
making total Of 20 armored and AZ
unarmol ed vessels, exclusive of torpedo
boats. There are now authorized md
building five battleships. four coast Ie-
Tense vessels, one cruiser. all armored
nine unarmored gunboats and seven
torpedo boats.
The present status of the principal
foreign navies is shown in tables, Civ
ing the number of vessels, armored OF
unarmored. by classes, in service, OF
authorized or building.
The secretary urges legislat ton touch
Ing the personnel of the navy, saying
ITO reorganize the line of the navy sc
as to bring about the promotion of Off.
GERS to the command rank at an age
when still young enough to learn and
vigorous enough to be self-assertivt
would seem to be all-important The
majority of our officers now approach
ing the command rank are over S,
years of age. These officers come nov
first into command at period of life
when the habit of relying on others hal
become second nature"
The secretary recommends that tn,
age of admission to the naval academ.
be reduced to either IA to 16 or Is to II
instead of 16 to 20 as now.
Considerable space is devoted to tn,
recently established naval war college
which the secretary regards as a yer.
important Institution, as putting be
fore the officers of the navy practica
questions of actual war to be solved
thus versing them in the principles o
strategy and tactics.
The report says: "The increasing in
terest in the naval militia movement IL
the lake and seaboard states gives sucl
promise that the department recon
mends that steps now be taken to es
tablish this arm of the national defens
on definite footing.
'Active steps are being taken b,
the department toward securing uni
formity in the methods of organization
and In the character of duty performed
In order that the militia and regula
navy may cooperate effectively an,
helpfully in any scheme of national de
fense."
The recommendation OF last year
renewed that the work Of coast an,
to the photographic office of the nav,
department and the rest to the geologi
cal survey of the interior department.
The estimates of expenses for tn
year 1896 are given as follows: Flo
running expenses ST, 692, 704, increase o
navy $685. 92. This is about 81, 160
600 more than the appropriation. Fo
1897 the estimates are: For running ex
penses $19,672.7SS, increase of nav
$9,63S, 1888.
In conclusion the secretary says: "A
inspection of the tables given, showing
the relative strength of the navies o
the world, will furnish, it is believed
all argument needed for the continue
ton of the building program hereto
fore indicated by the action of congress
We are lamentably deficient in torped
boats and we certainly need more bat
tleships. The lessons taught at Yai
and Wei-Hai-wei have tended to con
firm the belief of naval expert
throughout the world In the efficacy Q
these two classes of vessels