The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-09
OF THE NAVY
SECRETARY HERBERT URGES CON.
sTRUCTION OF TORPEDO boats.
He Also Wants Authority to Enlist
1000 Marines and SaiIOrs--Con-
dition of the Monitors.

ships instead of the two authorized on the
basis Of the bids now before the depart
ment. The Secretary says the two ships
authorized have already been contracted for
and that the department does not deem it
advisable to recommend that any bids al
ready received and not accepted should be
further considered. He is of the opinion,
on the contrary, that the building Of other
SHIPS should be open TO competition. He
thinks there would be no necessity for de-
lay in getting bids on other new ships, as
the departments plans for battle ships are
familiar to all the ship builders in the
country. He thinks ten days notice would
be sufficient time. The Secretary also re-
news his recommendation that the building
OF at least twelve new torpedo boats be
authorized, and recommends that If this
action be taken the number which any one
contractor may build be not made too
small, for the reason that if they are
awarded in large lots they can be built at
cheaper prices. He also recommends that
Ii the additional torpedo boats are author
lied, permission be given to build them of
Inherent sizes, and that the limit to the
cost or the vessels be made in the aggre-
gate instead of on the individual boats.
IT, he says, discretion as to the dimen-
sions Of the several boats be given TO the
department they may be built OF various
sizes and 1t would thus be possible to give
some OF them greater rate OF speed than
would be possible II all were Of the same
size and all cost the same amount.
The Navy Department took steps to-day to
learn how soon all monitors now under con-
struction could be equipped for service in
case OF emergency. The various bureau
chiefs were consulted and reports made as
to the length of time each branch of work
required. From this it appears that, the
low free-board monitor Monadnock, now at
Mare island will be ready by Feb. 1. The
Miantonomoh, a double-turreted monitor,
now out or commission at League island,
can be made ready for service in fourteen
days. The testing of her new pneumatic
steering apparatus is about the only feat
ure requiring time. The low free-board
monitor Terror. now at New York, will re-
quire sixty days to be made ready for SER
vice. These three craft will make a power
full acquisition to the available naval YES
sells. They are fully equipped with armor,
and the few days required for making them
ready for sea will be spent on minor finish
ing touches. 1t is expected also that the
aa an arx dar VIII The tGr n ro
munication with the Bath iron works as to
certain minor changes in the vessel, and
General Hyde. of the Bath company. will
be here tomorrow to make necessary ar
rangements.
A test of fifteen tons of naval armor
plate, representing the barbette armor of
the battle ship Iowa and the turrets of the
cruiser Brooklyn, was made at Indian Head
proving ground to-day. An eight-inch plate
was used as a representative of the entire
group. shot fireu from a six-inch
gun, the projectile being six-inch Wheeler
steel-pointed shell, exploded with a velocity
of LOO feet. The condition of the. test
that the plate should withstand all the
effects Of the shot, but it failed to meet
requirements. The plate was rot only
cracked, but broken into three large pieces,
rendering II entirely worthless. The naval
officers present considered the plate the
worst ever offered for test. The result ne
the Of " Teon of the
representative, but further test will
be made on another plate, as the Carnegie
company has the right under the contract
to a second test.
New Revenue Cutters Proposed.
WASHINGTON, Jan. s.-Senator Cullom
to-day introduced two bills, one for the con-
struction of two steam revenue cutters for
service on the great lakes and the other
for two similar vessels for service on the
Pacific coast The cost of the cutters for
the lakes is limited to 100000 each and the
others 100000 each. In presenting the bills
Mr.. Cullom had read a letter from Assist
ant Secretary Of the Treasury Hamlin in
reply to inquiries from himself, in which
Mr.. Hamlin said: 1T is the opinion of the
department that at least two revenue cut
structed at Cleveland, o., should be provid-
ed for service on the great lakes. Your
suggestion that several good vessels should
be provided for lake service Is In perfect
accord with the views of the department"
Mr.. Hamlin also recommends an additional
number Of cutters for service on the Pacific
coast. 1.-The vessels now there are" he
says, "all of very old and obsolete type of
construction, all Of them too small and
too slow to meet the service required of
Pacific coast should be of size general di-
mansions and capacity to enable them to
take and keep the sea under all conditions
with cruising radius of not less than $500
miles"
More Jack Tars Needed.
WASHINGTON, Jan. S.-Senator Hale re-
ported from the committee on naval affairs
an original bill authorizing the enlistment
of additional men. The bill was prepared
at the Navy Department and was sent to
the naval committee with letter from
Secretary Herbert. giving the departments
reasons for desiring the legislation. The
bin authorizes the enlistment of 1000 add-
tional men, and also extends TO the Presa-
dent the discretion to increase the enlist
mentSfrom the naval reserve indefinitely in
case OF .exigency. The Secretary says. in his
statement % the committee, that the num-
Der 3Cf men authorized by existing law is
barely sufficient to equip the vessels which
aretat any one time in commission. If,
he adds, "a vessel is to be sent to
sea some ship in service must go out of
Commission and the enlisted men on one
hansf5rred to the other. If. by. reason of
NECESSARY to place all the vessels of our
navy in actual service at the same time it
would be impossible TO do so for want OF
crews to man them. Considering the con-
stantly recurring emergencies of the serv-
ice and the number of vessels soon TO be
completed, the urgent necessity for the en-
listment OF 1000 additional men becomes
obvious" Mr.. Herbert says that the
ond provision. of the bill is intended 10
make reasonable provision for emergencies
which may at any moment occur and
which might arise when Congress was not
IN session.