The times., 1898-03-06

The activity Of she Navy Depart 11"2i
a-5 the zeal of the Administrator ih
e-rttfnE The military and naval forces "l
trra United States on war footing IS at
rrsctire- the attention of members ol Con
s.1ess of aII parties. and there Is yet L" ne
found the first murmur Of disapproNia aI
polics- which looks as II the -htcd
states was t. be placed 50 that it could
resent AN Insult when ii is offered con-
.ressr7en of all shades OF opinion an
naurcc that they viii stand by the Al
nfnistration ii in assumes strong pom
cv and calls Spain to account ior ia"
damage she has done. the lives she mas
taken and the desolation to which she mas
subjected the island Of Cuba
81 won't SAY observed Senator Kyle,
..rI,9t war Is inevitable but it looks to me
worry much like it, The Administration
has been processing peace, but at the
same time has been carrying out pTepara-
7ions which lead 10 the conclusion that II
expects war and hopes TO be prepared for
II when il comes. The only criticism !
have 40 offer 10 this particular part OF the
r.olicv of the Administration Is that these
preparations are not on Il sufficiently
elaborate scale. If war is to come-and ]
ar7 constrained TO believe almost that We
cannot avoid it'll want this Government
10 be- prepared IN such thorough manner
that there viii be no possible doubt as TO
the result of the struggle.
Mr.. Kyle a Convert.
There was "a time several years ago
when I was a conservative. / believed IN
the peace policy and was opposed 10 the
construction Of ships of war. Since then
however. my views have unquestlonablY
and decidedly changed. | now see that
t-b. only way 10 maintain peace is to be
i'm such a position among nations Of the
earth as viii enable us to have peace.
even if We have TO fight Tor it, and If We
have 90 dght for il there should never be
amy doubt as TO what the result Of the
contest would be.
Il want to see liberal appropriations
far the Navy OF the United States. and
amy expenditure on this account that the
Administration may make will receive my
most cordial support. I am not altogeth-
e.r sure that battleships are the best form
o. lighting vessels in these modern tunes.
They have never been tested in actual con
fict and the almost complete annihilation
of the Maine makes me believe that pos
sihlv they are not The best types of float
ing batteries that can be devised an
in favor Of armored fast cruisers. thai
can skim over the ocean with great rapid
ftv and do far more effective work thar
these numbering battleships. which ar
likely at any moment to meet with an ac
cideut that will totally incapacitate then
for active warfare. But whatever ma,
b. the conclusions OF the experts OF III
Navy Department. / for one am wilEn
that their conclusions be enacted into Law
and that we should have such navy a
1siu give us a place OF good standin
among the nations OF the earth.
The Navy a Necessity.
Recent events have demonstrated tn
fact that a nation Ike ours needs a navy
We have been compelled to submit to IN
Turkish outragcs in Armenia simply be
cause we were unable or unwilling t
make a sufficient naval demonstration I
show the unspeaksbie Turk that weT
prepared 10 insist upon respect for tn
demands made by the United States GOV
eminent Ia the recent affair Of the is
and Of Crete we were similarly handicaT
ped for no nation making a demonstra
1ion with two or three ships OF war ca
command respect among the nation
where brute force alone is the synonym
of power and authority. Had we in bot
these instances been possessed Of a pow
erful navy and made Il demonstrate
such as the gravity of the situation d,
mauded ! believe the result would hav
been vastly different. For this reasol
whether there is 70 be war with Spain q
not. 7 am in favor OF an increase in IN
Navy. and IL is with the greatest salts
faction that ] note the activity now be
ing manifested throughout the Unite
States and the evidence Of the warlik
feeling which seems TO permcate tn
whole people. Whether il results in wa,
IL viii probably lead 10 a strengthenin
Of our Navy and the establishment @
conditions that VIII enable Us in the fu
Jure 10 uphold the honor and the dignit
OF The United States wherever that Coy
ernment is known and wherever its peo
p's may De temporarily residing
State Departments Policy.
while } may have my own opinion
with respect TO the Spanish situation.
am unable 10 speak intelligently about
Tor the reason that J. i'm common Wit
other senators, am unable to secure an
official Information as TO the condition ,