The record-union., 1896-11-14
Annual Dinner Of the Society Held at
New York Last Night.
Secretary Of the Navy Herbert the
Guest of the Evening.
He Speaks to the Toast "The Navy of
the United States," During Which
He Points Out the Vast Strides
This Government Has Made Since
1t Begun the Construction of the
New Naval Vessels.

New Naval Vessels.
NEW YORK, Nov. 13.-The annual
dinner Of the Society Of Naval Archi-
tects and Marine Engineers was held
tonight at Delmonico's. President
Clement A. Griscom presided land
covers were laid for $50 guests. The
guest of the evening was Secretary Of
the Navy Herbert, who spoke to the
toast 1.-THE Navy Of the United States"
He said:
1T is peculiarly appropriate that the
naval architects and marine engineers
of the United States and their guests
should unite this evening in a toast to
our navy. The American ship builder
is entitled to a large share in whatever
glory that navy has achieved in the
past, and I think I am in position also
to say he is performing his full duty to
it now, and that he may be trusted in
the future. When we read of the glories
that have 80 often followed our coun-
try's flag on the high seas, we are much
too apt to remember only the officers
resplendent in the supreme hour of bat
tie. The student of history, searching
for cause and effect, gives credit also to
those who provided the means with
which battles were won, to the men who
built the ships that swung and were at
the Captains will, and brought to bear
at the word of command the guns that
decided the conflict
THE art of ship building and civiliza-
history began. Each has been essential
to the other in peace and in war. 1t
was commerce carried in ships along the
borders of the Mediterranean that was
the mother of the civilization of Greece
and Rome. 1t was the superior ships in
the combined navies Of the Christian al
lies that enabled them at Lepanto, in the
fifteenth century, to annihilate the
power of the imperiouS Saracen, who
then threatened all the Christian peo-
pies of Southern Europe with the fate
of the unfortunate Armenians of to-day.
we are ship-builders and sailors by
Inheritance, and no nation has ever
more thoroughly understood the value
Of first-class naval ships and first-cl
guns than we. 1t has been our tradi-
tfonal policy to have our ships and
guns, If possible, to be just little better
than those of the same class belonging
to our possible enemies. 1t was that We
had slight advantage over the British
in most of the famous duels Of ships at
sea that made our flag so glorious in the
war Of 1872, and we have steadily aimed
to pursue that policy from that day to
this. Even while our civil war was on
the great naval Powers of Europe took
up the lessons we had taught, and the
days of the old time men-of-war soon
passed away forever.
For nearly twenty years after our
civil war little of practical value was
added to our navy. We rested from
ship building, but other nations made
vast strides in the construction of ar
NOR and ships and guns and torpedoes.
Then Secretary Chandler began our
new navy by laying down four vessels,
all of which are vessels to-day. Secre-
tary Whitney followed Secretary Chan
dler, and, with larger appropriations at
hand, there grew up under him an ar
NOR plant, plants for the forging Of
great guns, a plant in Connecticut for
the manufacture of rapid-fire guns, and
during his administration of the navy
American establishments turned out all
the shapes and angles and shaftingS
and other material that goes into q ship.
Secretary Tracy followed. and under
him another armor plant grew up; a
torpedo manufacturing plant was es-
tablished, and improvements were
made in the manufacture of armor
which had been adopted all over the
world. The present administration has
endeavored to follow in the same lines,
and it is believed that to-day our gun
boats, our cruisers, our harbor defense
ships, our battleships and our torpedo
boats just contracted for. our great
guns, our torpedoes, our powder and
high explosives are equal to any in the
world.
Preparations are complete for the
continuation of, and l hope we shall
continue, the programme of increasing
our navy. A first-class modern man-of-
war, such as we are now constructing
and have constructed, is the sum of all
human inventions.
Nowhere in all the wide range of in
dustries of the world can be found
more splendid exemplifRtions of en-
terprise and genius than in these ex-
ploits of American mechanics.
The veterans of that great war are
rapidly passing into history, but there
need be no fear of those in whose hands
they VIII leave the honor Of our flag.
In culture in capacity, in character, the
officers of the navy to-day are not sur
passed by any body Of men in the world.
Their morals and discipline are admira-
BILE. Our enlisted men, as a body. are
being rapidly more thoroughly Ameri-
canized; they are well disciplined and
can be implicitly relied on. Let me as
sure you that whenever and wherever
our navy is called upon it will be found
on the alert, ready for it's work. which
ever and wherever that work may be-"
Other speakers We're: Hugh Kelly,
President of the Maritime Exchange,
who responded to The Maritime Ex-
change; Congressman-elect Belford
c. Loring: Captain j. w. Miller, Com
mander Of the naval reserves of New
York, and Chief Constructor Philip
Tichborne.
Suicide Of Theater-Owner.