The herald., 1897-11-28
20 mates (section 14os. Rev. stat.)

20 mates (section 1908. Rev. Stat.),
$4,000.
Under the head of Increase of the
| Navy" the secretary says:
"Our remoteness from foreign pow
ers. the genius of our institutions and
the devotion Of our people to education,
commerce and industry, rather than to
any policy that involves military en-
largements, make war to be thought of
only as a last resort in defense of our
rights and our military and naval es-
Establishments as a police force for the
preservation Of order and never for ag-
gression. While all this therefore an
earnest Of peace as the normal condi-
ton Of our national life, there is no
question of the necessity, the wisdom
| and the economy, to the same end, of an
effective navy, in view of the vast ex-
| tent Of our coast and the possibility of
attack from the sea upon our great
cities. where the concentration of popu-
| lation and property is enormous
THE country is committed to the in
crease of the navy by the declarations
of our people and the action of their
| representatives. The very fact that we
are capable of manufacturing armor
and guns, powder and projectiles and
to construct ships which are the equal
of those built anywhere else. is, in it.
self. source of great naval power, and
our present resources in this respect
should not be impaired We should
preserve and maintain those resources
and the ability not only to continue the
work already so far advanced, but to
improve upon it, as the science of naval
nnv or ;1 -. i
the new models and methods which at
this age of progress so rapidly replace
the best of today with the better of to-
morrow. Hitherto for more than a de-
cade the increase of the navy has very
properly been in the line of new ships,
and wisely so, as this has hitherto been
the vital need. In the opinion of this de-
partment, the time has now come when
that increase should be on adjunctory
lines in order to bring our naval facilities
up to the same line of advance. AS here
tofore indicated, the principal need Of
today is that of sufficient docks, Of
which there Is deplorable lack; of
adequate supplies of the munitions of
war, which should never be at the hand
to-mouth stage; of an equipment of our
navy yards equal to the demand upon
them Of the increased number of our
ships. and Of an enlarged corps of off,
GERS and men to do the work.
Additions to our fleet made hereafter
necessary to bring 1t in case of emerg-
ency, to an extent commensurate with
the growing necessities of the country,
especially in view of the development of
Alaska. which is a continent in itself,
and of the possible annexation of islands
in the Pacific. On the other hand it is
mistake not to recignize that our
naval power has more than doubled
within the last few years; that the case
of any emergency beyond our present
resources is the very rare case; that un-
til it comes ships will be gradually taken
out of commission and put into re-
serve in order to reduce running ex-
penses, and that a due regard is neces-
sary to the relation of national ex-
penditures to the national revenues.
The department., therefore, recon-
mends that the authorization of new
ships by the coming congress be limited
to one battleship for the Pacific coast,
where, after the five new ships now un-
der construction are completed, there
will be only two, while on the Atlantic
there will be seven; and also that few
torpedo boats and torpedo boat de-
stroyers both of which are compara-
lively Of little cost. and more of which
are desirable in order to bring this
swift. mobile and handily effective arm
of the service up to its place in the gen.
eral scheme for coast defense.
"In conclusion I would say, according
to the reports of commissioner general,
the total cost of maintaining the navy
during the fiscal year ending June 30,
1896, exclusive of its increase, and of per-
manent improvements at yards and sta
tions specially provided for was $15,-
494, ,S6S and for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1897 s17,514,2S1. 1t appears,
therefore, that the expense Of maintain
ing a navy is a growing one, as distin-
guished from it's increase and perma-
nent improvement, the cost of which
varies from year to year according to
the judgment of congress as to the de-
STABILITY of these latter items. Atten-
tion is called to this fact because the
country should be under no misappre-
hension as to the increasing cost of
maintenance.
"The building of ship Is definite,
fixed expense, incurred once for all. But
to maintain it,, to provide it with docks,
naval stations and other necessary IA
cilities, to man and equip it, to keep 1t in
repair-in short, to run the naval estab-
lishment-is, and must continue to be,
a large charge upon the public treas
ury, and for a time certainly, an increas-
ing one. Economy is necessary at large
and in detail, not merely as good the
ory to proclaim, but an actual practice
to perform.
with the best exercise of this virtue,
expenses will be large in this as we'll as
in every other department of govern
ment which represents the interests of
a country so vast as ours. But it is be-
lieved that the people whose arm the
navy is, and who evidently appreciate