The San Francisco call., 1896-05-10

SFHE failure of Congress to pass ap-
propriations for the construction
of a Government dockyaId on the
Pacific Coast, cf greater extent
than that of Mare Island, has
awakened the curiosity of many people as
to why these institutions should require
so much money and take such a long time
to complete. A modern steamship is un-
doubtedly the highest point of mans
mechanical excellence and skill, and of all
steamships, the modern man-of-war is
the most costly and complicated. 1t is
necessarily complicated since It is built to
fight with, and TO fight successfully against
masses of animated iron and STEEL and it
must also insure the safety of the men
who are within ii. And to make it a pro-
lection against the armor piercing projec-
tiles thrown out from guns with immense
velocity and power requires that it should
be covered itself with an armor of material
so hard and firm and elastic that the steel
OF the Toledo or Damascus swords are as
nothing to it.
Then this immense mass must be swift
ly propelled and made TO stop quickly and
TO turn about very short, to move In every
direction, and it must have within itself
the means of generating all the necessary
power 1t must for safety be divided into
many partitions, and yet so arranged that
while the apertures between apartme
can be quickly opened, they may be as
quickly closed in danger. There must be
perfect communication between all parts
of this wonderful machine, so that like the
arms or feet on the body obeying the will
the various members of the ship answer
instantaneOusly TO the brain of the COM
mander. And within itself must be the
means of self-sustenance for a considerable
time, while added to ali the foregoing
requisites is the most important of all,
that of being able to fight by every means,
with either guns, torpedoes or its own i'm
pact.
To manufacture such wonder requires
many machines and very costly ones,
many buildings for making the various
parts, much land for the storage of
material and much space to build the
monster itself in. a brief description of
the principal dockyards of Europe will
throw some light on this question of ex-
pense. 1t must be remembered that in the
ship-bUilding establishments in America
it is impossible to build a modern battle
ship short of two years, and when there
fore it Is asked of Congress that money
shall be given for eight or ten such vessels
II will require with our present facilities
four or five years to complete the work.
Of course, at the head of all powers
England stands with her dockyards as
with her navy. Not only has she the
greatest number, but she has the largest,
the best equipped, and can turn out the
greatest number of warships and in the
quickest time. Some of them are situated
abroad in her colonial possessions, but
they are for the purpose of repair, while
the great ones for building are all in Great
Britain. They are at Pembroke, Devon
port and Keyham, Portsmouth, Chatham.
and Sheerness. On these dockyards there
has been an immense amount of money
spent-many times over the value of them
as they stand, which is estimated at $14O-
100000. In building them much of the
abor has been done by convicts, so that
bhe cost might be put down as low as pos
nble. Here are employed as many men as