St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-09
SECRETARY HERBERT ASKS FOR
AUTHORITY TO ENLIST NEW
MEN.
BILL TO MEET THE SITUATION.
PROVISION ENABLING THE PRESI-
DENT TO CALL ON THE NAVAL
RESERVE.
CONDITION OF THREE MONITORS.
Mr.. Herbert Secures Information as
to How Soon They Can Go Into
Service.

WASHINGTON, Jan. s. = Senator
Hale today reported from the COM
mittee on naval affairs an original
Dill authorizing the enlistment of ad-
ditlonal men. The bill was prepared
IN the navy department, and was sent
to the naval committee with a letter
from Secretary Herbert giving the
reasons for desiring the legislation.
| The bill authorizes the enlistment Of
1000 additional men, and also extends
to the president the discretion to in
crease the enlistment from the naval
reserve indefinitely in case of exigency.
The secretary says in his statement to
the committee that the number of men
authorized by existing law are INSULT
Gent to equip the vessels which are
any one time in commission.
If he adds, "a new vessel is to be
sent to sea, some ship in service must
go out of commission and the enlist
ed men on one transferred to the other.
If by reason of any public exigency
it should become 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-
service and the number of vessels soon
to be completed, the urgent necessity
for the enlistment of 1000 additional
men becomes obvious"
Mr. Herbert says that the second
provision of the bill is intended to
make a reasonable provision for emer-
gencies which may at any moment
occur and which might arise when con-
gress is not in session.
CONDITION OF MONITORS.
The navy department took steps to-
day to learn how speedily all the mon
itorS now under construction could be
equipped for service in case of emer
| gency. 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 monitor Manadnock, now at
| Mare Island, will be ready by Febru-
airy 1st. The Miantonomoh, a double
turreted monitor, now out of commits
sion at League Island, can be made
ready for service in fourteen days. The
testing of her new pneumatic steering
apparatus is about the only feature
requiring time. The low free-board
monitor Terror, now at New York,
will require thirty days to be made
ready for service. These three craft
are fully equipped with armor, and
the few days required for making
them ready for sea will be spent on
minor finishing touches. They will
make a powerful acquisition to the
available naval vessels. 1t is expected
that the ram Katadin will be ready
for service at an early day.
NEW BATTLESHIPS.
The secretary of the navy today sent
to the senatae reply to the resolution
asking for his opinion as to whether
it would be advantageous to the naval
service to contract for six battleships,
instead of for the two authorized, on
the basis of the bids now before the de-
partment. The secretary says the two
ships authorized have already been
contracted for, and that the depart
ment does not deem it advisable to rec
ommend that any bids already 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 competitors.
He thinks there would be no necessity
for delay in getting bids for other new
ships, as the departments plans for
| battleships are familiar to all the ship
builders in the country. He thinks ten
days notice will be sufficient time. The
secretary also renews his recommends
ton 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 con-
tractor may build be not made too
small. for the reason that if they are
awarded in large lots they can be built
at a cheaper price. He also recon-
mends that if the additional torpedo
boats are authorized permission be
given to build them of different sizes,
and that the limit to the cost of the
vessels he made in the aggregate in
stead of on the individual boats. If,
he says. their direction as to the di-
mansions of the several boats he given
to the department. they NAV be built
of various sizes. and if would thus be
possible TO give some of them greater
rate Of speed than would be possible
if all We're of the same size and all cost
the sanoa aroOr1rt