The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-18
Tho Military Value OF shipyards.

In the June number Of the North Amer
team Rericto there is an article to which, as
yet, too little attention has been directed.
The author of the article in question is Mr..
LEWIS NIXON, a graduate of the United
States Naval Academy, and for upward of
q dozen years u naval constructor in the
United States navy. He has been actively
connected with the creation of our new fleet
Of war vessels, and it was he who produced
the plans Of the Indiana, the Massachu.
sets, and the Oregon. When a man pos.
sesscd Of such training and experience writes
oil The Military Value OF the Shipyard,"
he is likely to say something which it may
behoove his fellow citizens to heed.
The aim of Mr.. NIxoN's article Is to
demonstrate the public value of private in.
dustries capable Of producing war mate
rails. He maintains that such Industries
should be regarded as elements of national
defence and guarantees of national indie
pendence. From this point of view every
great forge and machine shop that can
make modern steel breech- loading guns of
any calibre and power, or projectiles Of any
size or endurance, or armor of any thick
ness or resistance, is pronounced a ma
tioiat vi tduC III IL pCIDcI-
uity and efficiency of which every citizen
should feel a patriotic interest. From the
current commercial output of such an es.
t~ablishment under peaceful conditions the
actual proprietor may reap a certain, linz
tied, and easily calculated profit In money.
But from its capacity for material out
put under warlike conditions the ma.
tion at large, and therefore every In
dividual citizen, may reap a profit in
the defence Of country and of private pos
sessions, a profit incalculable in denom-
nations of currency. From the same view
point every shipyard that can build war
vessels capable of sustaining the armor, or
using the guns and proJectiles of such forces,
becomes a public shield against all possible
foreign aggression, the value of which to the
nation at large, and In the long run, cannot
be computed by the formulas of rade.
Such Is Mr.. SIxON's thesis F.; and he pro-
ceeds to sustain 1t by setting forth the
enormous Indebtedness of England to her
private %shipyards, forges, and machine
shops. For this purpose he goes back no
further than the date of our own naval
renaissance, namely, 1888. In that year
England had already a navy equal in ma
Terrell to any three other navies. and in
effective personnel to all other navies put
together. A new era in naval construction,
however, was then setting in. Improvements
In guns, armor, and machinery, due mainly
to the substitution Of mild steel for iron
as a prime material of structure, were
rapidly making the ships of the two pre-
vious decades obsolete. England recog-
nized the new conditions, and forthwith
applied them to the expansion of her sea
power. From 1885, to 1896, inclusive, she
expended for new warships and new armor
e97,OOO,OO In round figures. and Parlia-
ment in March last voted for the fiscal year
beginning April 1 1,435, 900; the grand
total since 1888 being 91OS, $50, 600, the
equivalent of $541 $50, 900. With these
enormous appropriations of money she has
built thirty-nine frst-class battleships, or
thirty-eight excluding the Victoria of sec
ond-class battleships she has built three,
and of armored cruisers nine. OF vessels
not armored, but with deck protection, and
sponsored or shielded batteries, England
has constructed since 1885 twenty first
class cruisers, f~ifty-one second class cruis-
ers, and thirty cruisers of the third class.
OF vessels neither armored nor protected
she has built since the year named nine
composite sloops n thirty gunboats,
besides seventy.two vessels known as "tor-
pedo catchers," "to~rpedo-boat destroyers,"
&C., designed for very high speed. The
grand total Of all types and classes Is 262
ships, displacing in the aggregate l ,2O9, 400
tons, and propelled by a total horse power
of 1,945 800. Such has been the increase
of E%ngland's navy since 1888. To bring
out the prodigious Significance of this prog
ress. it is contrasted with hat of other
powers during the same period. The
naval progress OF England since 1855 be-
Ing taken as the unit, that of France Is
shown to be two-sevenths, that of Russia
is two-elevenths, hat of the United States
10 two-twelfths, that of Germany is two.
f~ourteenths, and hat of Italy is two-seven-
tsenths. To adopt another mode of com
DAriSOp' 70 is taken as tho nearest mean