The San Francisco call., 1898-03-06
EMPHASIZES
 ARE NEEDED Bulldogs" to Guard the Ports Better Than
 Cruisers.
At Least That Is. the Candid Opinion of Representative
 HilbOrn.
Scarcity of Powder Will Be Rene- died by the Construction of
 Government Works.
Special Dispatch to The Call.
Call Office, Riggs House,

CdlI Ollce, HlSSS House,
 Washington, March 5. 1 Congressman Hilborn was inter- viewed tonight about the probable ac- tion of Congress in providing more bat | tleships and ammunition for the navy. AS a member of the Naval Affairs Com mittee who has been in close touch with | the administration his opinion is valua- ble. He said:
 | My own belief is that what we most need is more battleships, instead of cruisers, for it is obvious that in case of war with Spain our operations would be defensive, for the most part, instead of offensive. Instead of naval grey hounds we need more bulldogs or, might say, naval watch dogs to guard our great harbors. The modern big guns on a man-of-war can stand thir- teen miles out at sea and lombard our great cities. The 13-inch gun, with which modern war vessels are equipped, can fire shot thirteen miles, or one mile for every inch of caliber. To ex- press my meaning in plain words, it is much easier for a hostile warship to fire shot into New York or San Fran cisco than for a coast defense gun to strike a hostile warShip thirteen miles at sea. l have reason to believe that the Secretary of the Navy is of the opinion, too. and that if any negotia- tions are made for the purchase of war vessels they will be of the bulldog or 'battleship' class instead of grey hounds,' or 'cruisers. '"
 Congressman Hilborn was asked, whether, in his opinion, the purchase of two battleships (already constructed, or near sol would obviate the necessity of Congress making an appropriation for the construction of one or more vessels in this country. He replied
 No; if battleships are purchased by the Government, they will be for emer- gency, and this same emergency will necessitate the building of other yes sels. These could not be constructed within a year, and I believe it would take considerably longer than that to complete them. but who can say how long war with Spain would continue. am sure that Congress will provide fer at least one more warship to re- place the Maine, whether or not any vessels are purchased by the Secretary of the Navy, and believe that the new vessel will, very appropriately, be called the Maine."
 Hilborn was asked whether, in his opinion, the Secretary of the Navy would feel justified in purchasing war vessels without the direct authorize tion of Congress, and in the absence of an appropriation of money to pay for them, and he replied:
 II believe that the President and his Cabinet have faith enough in members of Congress to act patriotically in time of peril. regardless of party aff1li- ation or political considerations, and that whatever action the Secretary of the Navy may take will be sanctioned and supported by Congress and by the people"
 Hilborn said furthermore that he be- lieved that the Secretary would. if the emergency arose, not only purchase more coal but would make contracts with the Du Pont Powder Company and the California Powder Works for smokelesS powder.
 Tt is useless to deny that we are shy on gun powder said Congressman Hilborn, and it is true that we have large amount of black and brown powder on hand, but it is out of date. What we want is the smokeless pow der with which Spain will equip her ships The naval appropriation bill, soon to be reported, will appropriate one million dollars for smokelesS pow der, but to give you an idea of the enormous amount of powder consumed it is only necessary to say that ordi- nary target practice will consume a million dollars worth of smokeless powder in two years time. I under stand after careful investigation, that the capacity of the Du Pont Works Is fifteen thousand pounds per day and the California Works about ten thou sand, making a total of twenty five thousand pounds daily. This may seem like an enormous output, but in case of hostilities it would be made uuate and would take several months to furnish our vessels. But the naval appropriation bill will. I believe, ap- propriate s93,000 Gin accordance with the recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy) for the establishment of our own powder factory. Our naval at taches stationed in Europe obtained the formula for making an excellent quality of smokeless powder, and the process has been perfected by experi- ments at Newport. R. l.. so that if the Government factory is established smokeless powder equal to any in the world could be manufactured by the United States cheaper and more ex- peditiously."