The San Francisco call., 1898-05-15

draught gunboats authorized in 1893. The ship was specially designed for service on the rivers of China, and was originally intended for the Asiatic sta- tion. With a beam of 40 feet she draws only g feet of water. She is driven by twin-screw engines of 1888 indicated horsepower and her twin screws, coupled with her large rudder area, give her excellent turning power, valuable feature in river work.
 While the boat was being planned a Japanese officer happened to see the designs, and he suggested the utility of a coming tower Of sufficient eleva- tion to overlook the banks of the Yei- low River of China, the Yang-tse- Kiang. These banks are so high that they exclude the view of the country from those on an ordinary ships deck. The Navy Department acted on the hint.
 One of the earliest successful at- tempts to make use of the torpedo boat in naval warfare occurred in the Civil War, when the Housatonic was sunk by a rebel craft which paid for it's daring with it's own destruction, be- ing sucked into the ~hastly hole which it had torn in the man-of-War. This was one of the lessons of the Civil War which was laid to heart by the European nations, and out of this and later successful tests of the torpedo has sprung that vast fleet of miniature craft which forms such a formidable feature of the equipment of the navies of the world. The earlier boats were what is known as spar tOrpedo-boats, from the fact that the torpedo was car- ried at the end of a long spar which projected forward from the bow of the boat the torpedo exploding by con- tact
 Then came the automobile Whitehead torpedo, with it's ability when once dis charged to run 600 or 800 yards of it's own accord The size and speed of the torpedo boat were rapidly increased, especially the latter, and the impor- tance of this method of attack was instantly recognized. The torpedo boat of twenty-five years ago with it's spar torpedo, was diminutive affair, having a speed of only twelve or thir- teen knots.
 In 1877, however, it had grown to have a length of from S5 to 100 feet and a speed of from eighteen to twenty-one knots. As the demand increased the builders paid particular attention to re- duction of. weight and increase of boiler and engine efficiency, and in 1887 the Ariete, built by Thornycroft for the Spanish Government, astonished the world by running mile at speed of tWenty-SiX knots an hour. Five years later the Daring, a 220-ton boat, built by Thornycroft for the British navy, made 2S65 knots an hour, and in 1895 the Sokol built by Yarrow for the Rus sian Government, passed the thirty knot limit.
 The later torpedo boats are known. as destroyerS They are large vessels of 300 to 400 tons displacement and power full enough to maintain their speed in rough weather, which the torpedo boat cannot do. They have a speed from thirty to thirty-three knots and carry a powerful armament of rapid-fire guns, \ the object being to enable them to chase and sink a fleet of torpedo boats and prevent them from attacking the larger ships At the same time the de- Stroyer carries a full complement or torpedoes and would be capable of sinking battle-ships and cruisers if she could get within torpedo range
 It is greatly to be regretted that in the earlier years of our naval construc- tfon we omitted to provide the navy with an adequate torpedo fleet, as we are likely to suffer from lack of them. The defect is being remedied. however, as fast as the boats can be turned out, and the present Congress has recom- mended the construction of thirty craft of the kind in addition to those already on the stocks.
 The Bailey is one of three torpedo , boat catchers for which provision was made at the last session of Congress- The sum appropriated for each boat was $250, GOO. In advertising for bids the Navy Department stipulated that a speed or 3U Knots per nOur WOulQ DG c4- acted on the official course.
 If we except the Porter, which is, strictly speaking, a first-class torpedo boat the Bailey and her mates are the first torpedo boat destroyers to be built for our navy; and if the expectations of her builders are fulfilled she will be ca pablo of speed of B knots an hour. The principal features of the designs are. Length 205 feet; beam, 19 feet; depth of hold, 13 feet inches; dis placement on trial. 235 tons, and dis placement when in commission, 265 tons.
 The Bailey, like the Dupont and Por- ter. will be able to do battle with bat tle-ships after the fashion of torpedo boats. When thus engaged she will have recourse to her torpedo tubes. But the principal duty of the new craft will be to drive off and annihilate with gun fire the torpedo boat torments of the battIe-sfipS and cruisers. Speed alone will enable the Bailey to do this, and this speed the catcher is expected, by reason of her size, to maintain In a high sea.
 The Bailey Is essentially seagoing vessel. Her bunker capacity is deemed sufficient to enable her to steam three thousand knots at economical speed. In time of war she may be expected to &C., company the battle-Ship fleet. and to serve both as a scout and defense for the heavier vessels.
 It is probable that the introduction of a successful submarine torpedo boat on the lines of the Holland will mark one of the greatest revolutions that ever occurred in naval warfare, for there Is a general belief that a thor oughly efficient underwater warShfp would have the above-water ship at it's mercy. submarine torpedo-boat, be- cause of it's invisibility, is deadly by day and in the open-it will be doubly tu nj