The morning times., 1897-01-03

torpedo DOatS OF large size, perhaps tueS
should be more correctly called torpedo yes
sells, since they range in displacement from
45S to $50 tons. Their speed is from y
knots to 2S knots, and in every re-
Spect they are thoroughly efficient lot OF
craft. Tberemainder ofthe unarmoredfleet
is made up of fdispatch vessels and dsloops-of-
war, none of them of much Importance eX-
cept as subsidiaries to the faster cruisers.
The number and caliber Of the guns carried
by the above unarmored fleet are as fol-
lows:
Inch. Inch. Inch. Inch. Inch.
SallSses Sa@ser. $ S 81 & IS IS s. s. s. 5
we in the United States have virtually
stopped constructing the unarnored cruiser
type or war vessel, considering that our
more pressing needs lie in other directions
There are now in our navy sixteen unar-
mored steel cruisers built, and no others
are building These ships vary greatly in
nearly every particular-in size, from 600
tons displacement in the Marblehead to
nearly 1900 tons in the Minneapolis; in
speed, from seventeen knots TO twenty
three knots; in battery, from finch guns,
etc Although all these ships are not at
this moment in commission, yet a week
ing them, onitting, perhaps, the Chicago,
which ship is being re-engined.
Smaller Crafts of Both Navtes.
In our navy there are also what we tech
nically call gunboats. In reality these ships
are only smaller cruisers. There are six
teen of them, varyingin Mzefrom the York
town, of 1,720 tons, To the Annapolis, just
louncbad Of OOn tong pr a nos h,i
newest ones, however, cannot be ready for
service within half year, and therefore
in estimating our unarmored cruiser eff
cheney only twenty vessels are count
ed, for it is the fleet of today, not the one
of tomorrow, that we are telling about.
Our armament afoat on unarmored vessels
is composed of the following number and
caliber OF guns:
Caliber inch. 6-inch 5-inch. 4-inch.
Number, 20 96 80 62
Spain's gunboat flotiIla a large force,
so far as numbers go. There are about
100 of these boats, ranging in size from
40 tons displacement up TO 800 tons.
Their armament varies greatly, a s do all
their other particulars. The largest boats
have two 3-inch rapid fire guns and u
few small machine pieces, the smallest
mount i'll some instances, but single one
FOUNDER machine gun. None Of these boats
is fast, hut they all serve their purpose
well They We're built for use in Cuban
waters. where the sea is smooth, the dis
tances from port to port short and base
always within touch. They can and dc
hold the sea power OF the island, and pref
ty effectively blockade the coast, SO far
as the insurgent forces are concerned.
But such an Insignificant force as this in
reality IS could serve no useful purpose
in time of war with any respectable naval
| power. The one element which might
| make such boats useful, speed, is wholly
| wanting. In our Navy there are no vessels
analogous TO these little gunboats.
Torpedo Boat Work.
The type OF small boat that can be ofmuch
| tactical value to a fleet is the torpedo
boat. Speed and invisibility are the prime
| factors that make these little ones Sc
| useful. They can then dart about hither
and thither, carrying orders, firing theii
torpedoes, slipping 10y blockades, and il
many ways assisting fleet OF large
| vessels. Spain has quite a formidable
| flotiIla OF this kind OF craft. AT least
| six of them are OF 200 tons or more dis
placement, with d speed of twenty-five
| knots. Besides these most desirable ones
she has fourteen smaller boats, from 30
TO $50 tons displacement, with a speed
| varying from nineteen To twent y-four
! knots.
Our navy is still weak in this needed
| element of strength, though we are rapidly
| growing stronger. Perhaps under pressure
we might be able to put in commission as
many as eight torpedo boats from 100 Il
200 tons displacement, and from twent.
| to twenty-five knots speed.
In closing it might Je well to state that
| Spain, in point f merchant tonnage, ranks
seventh among the nations of the world
| The largest corporation is the Complnia
| Transatlantica, with thirty-two steamers
| of a gross tonnage of over 100 900 tons.
About tw enty OF these steamers are so con.
structed that they can be used as armed
| cruisers in time OF war, and at least six
ofthem have already been given their arma
| ment. The taste st of them, however, does
! not come near the st. Paul or the st
| Louis in point OF speed, size, or seaworthi-
| ness. We have nineteen vessels sailing
from Atlantic ports which have been
subsidized by our government, ranging
| from IL $50 to $500 tons, but we have
| guns for only a few of them.
Spain has little difficulty to overcome
! in the obtaining Of men. In the mari.
| time provinces service afloat for a num-
| Der of years is obligatory. There are now
on board ship or ready for the call nearly
l 500 officers and ZOO men, besides
l 900 marines. Also it is well to note
that the Spanish government maintains
| n trained Organized naval reserve force
of nearly 200 men, available for serv.
ice afloat, to supplement the active navy
and on shore TO man the coast defenses.
| The small arm of the naval force is the
| Mauser magazine rifle, caliber .295.
| WHY FRANKLIN STILL LIVES.