Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-01-03
NUMBER 3.

tleshIps ready for active service. The un-
finished vessels comprise three battle
ships, an armored cruiser, three monitors
and three little gunboats.
The construction bureau has prepared
table showing the percentages Of work re-
quired to complete the vessels launched,
and Of this number the battleships Massa-I
chusetts and Oregon are nearest compile
tion.
The list Of warships as given in the ma.
val register hardly shows the real fighting
strength of the service. Those building,
rather than those in commission, would
be the vessels the government would have
to depend upon chiefly should there be
trouble in the next two years. or ships
ranked as first rate there are fve-the
New York, Columbia, Minneapolis, Maine
and Olympia, all new cruisers-but not
one capable Of giving fight to battlcship.
OF the second rate vessels there are 10,
headed by the Baltimore. the largest, OF
$500 tons, and ending with the Boston
and Atlanta, of 1000 tons. These vessels
include the monitors Amphitrite and MI
antonomoh, and all of the remainder are Of
the cruiser class. OF the third rate ships
consisting Of ships Of tho class OF the Ra-
leigh, Cincinnati, Yorktown and Machias.
These also include all the old wooden ves-
sells. The rest Of the navy's actual fight
ing strength on the water consists OF two
torpedo boats and number Of smaller
cruisers The vessels under construction
number 16 altogether.
Inadequate Coast Defenses,
Our coast defenses are inadequate, but
the coast towns are not so absolutely de-
fenseless as Is generally imagined, and
some Of them are supplied with the best
of our new guns. Under pressure the
naval gun factory, near Washington, could
add to the ordnance of the war depart
ment, and the army gun establishments
could do wonders if urged to speedy work
and would furnish in few months many
batteries of powerful guns.
For manning the defenses and for sup
porting any undertaking by bodies OF
troops there would be that part Of our reg
ular army of $4,000 men that could be
spared from its present duties and the
national guard. Reliance would not be
placed in these troops If the menace from
England we're very serious. The regular
army would offer to It's officers who seek
fame and advancement the opportunity to
win both by entering the volunteer service
as organizers. If all the men Of military
age could be considered as available to
swell volunteer army, it would be possi-
BILE to put in the field several millions OF
men if the emergency became so great as
to demand the enrolment Of every male
person who could carry musket
The danger from attack by British
battleships is not regarded as very great.
The coaling capacity end sailing radius OF
these ships are small, and they could scarce
" do much more than steam from Ber-
muda to New York without exhausting
their fuel supply, thus rendering them
worse than useless at the time they would
be expected to do their most Important
work. An advantage would be enjoyed
by our warships, which would keep near
the ports of the principal cities for their
defense and would at all times be within
days sailing Of their b"sc.
The Part the Army \. ould Play.
The part the army would play in this
problematical war has been discussed IN
the war department, where 1t Is not ad-
mittod that our military resources are lim-
tied, crippled or incompetent. 1t Is said
at army headquarters that the army was
never in better condition than at present.
1t could be easily augmented by volun-
teers and the use Of the national guard. 1t
is admitted, however, that the greatest
difficulty to contend with would be in
arming large body Of soldiery. This In