The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-12-17
TWO DRY DOCKS
FOR THE PACIFIC
The Location Urged Of One Near San
Francisco and On the Sound.
WHY NOT DECIDE ON ASTORIA
The Government Must Have Additional
Docking Places for the Rapidly
Increasing Navy.

Naval authorities. here, says the
Washington correspondent OF the New
York Post. are beginning 10 realize
that one important element in the con-
stantly increasing expense OF our naval
establishment Is the discarding Of old
material made necessary by new inven-
tlons The cruiser Chicago, for instance.
one OF the vessels Of our modern navy.
Is now practically a back number and
Is In the New York yards for recon
struction. This vessel was completed
in 1883 and became substantially out
OF date In 1890. So rapid Is the march
OF Improvement in naval construction
that by 1887 vessels Of the same horse
power as the Chicago were able to
move a knot an hour faster. The ma
chlnery Of the Chicago will now be
almost entirely replaced. and by these
changes It is hoped to increase the speed
OF the vessel at least two knots an
hour. The battery is also being rear
ranged. and modern mounts supplied.
The cost OF all these changes viii ap-
proximate roughly one-third Of the
original cost OF the vessel. II is some
times asserted that in this way our
new navy wears itself out in ten years,
and that ten per cent should be added
yearly to the cost OF our great wal
ships on this account.
Among battleships the loss due to the
march of improvement is not less thar
among cruisers. The Indiana. which
was contracted for In 1890 and put into
commission on the 2Oth OF November
1886. is already somewhat behind ths
Alabama. Illinois and Wisconsin. the
battleships contracted for last October
The latter vessels get more speed, carry
better arranged batteries. and are gen
orally more effective. Besides this, tho
armor on the Indiana has been changed
since the original plans were prepared
The Harvey process made a fourteen
inch neckel-steel plate as effective as
an eighteen-inch plate OF the old steel
When this improved process came into
general use. the original contract with
the builders Of the Indiana was mod
ified 50 that she is now protected by
Haryeyized plate. The Maine is an
other battleship that is somewhat be-
hind the times.
Whatever may be the merits of the
new navy policy, the country must
recognize that place among the great
naval powers of the world is not at
tanned without tremendous expense.
The cost of coal is enormous and ap-
parently increasing very fast, on ac-
count of the multiplication of machi-
merry for electric lighting. ventilation.
distillation Of water. flushing the vessel.
and the other devices which modern
science is bringing into use. In time
Of peace, however. the cost of coal is
but trifiing compared with what II
would be in war with the longer dis
tances, greater speed, and the necessity
of buying coal at points where much
higher figure prevails than those from
which the navy now gets its supplies.
AS usual. there is good deal of dis
cussion now going on over the respect
i've merits of the battleships and the
cruisers. The distinction is largely in
the matter of outside armour, the sides
of the battleship. as well as the deck,
being heavily protected. This neces-
states a sacrifice of speed and coal
carrying capacity, and the result is
that the cruiser is of greater use as
a commerce destroyer in war, and in
peace as a government policeman sta
toned in foreign ports. But in actual
warefare the battleships would be need
ed, and the advocates of the two forms
of naval vessels divide largely accord
ing to their estimate of the future pol
icy of the United States in the matter
of peace and war.
Another enormous expense which the
Umteu states must soon undertake IN
order to keep pace with the increased
needs Of the navy is greater docking ia
cilities In the opinion of naval ex-
perts the government should under
take the construction of plant cost
ing S4OOOO000 distributed between four
points. This expenditure, 1t is main
tanned, will soon be an absolute neces-
sity If our naval strength is to be prop
erly conserved. The four points which
should have these great docking plants
and machine shops, in the opinion of
students of naval warefare, are Port
Royal, Charleston, Mass, and two
points on the Pacific coast-one near
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