The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-03-15
OUR AUXILIARY NAVY.
HOW OUR REGULAR BATTLE
SHIPS MAY BE REINFORCED.
Cruisers, Transports and Dispatch
Vessels Available Ia 0ur
Merchant Fleet.

The distribution, equipment and ar
mament of the most important or these
vessels have been carefully considered
by the Government, and their capa-
bilities as lighting and supply types
and the reliance which may be placed
upon them as elements of real naval
strength determined Their value as
energies of attack and defense is set
down here by naval experts, and the
conclusion is reached that over eighty
five of these vessels can be speedily
converted into cruisers or into other
important types demanded by modern
war
In piping days of peace the liner may
be a lady and the man-o-War her huS-
band, and the little cargo boats go sail
ing down the sea. But when war har-
ries the trade lanes, and freight, the
mother of wages, is only an under
writer's profit, these same liners ana
cargo boats of Kipling can join profit
ably the noble army of fighting Bene-
diets, and make a rafting good men
o'war themselves. For fleets demand
many types, many auxiliaries. and
wherever the battleships lead the van
a little family of cruisers, rams, tor
pedo boats, Golfers, dispatch vessels
and hospital and repair ships follow in
their wake each with it's allotted anu
important duty.
In the days of sail great conveys
We're shepherded by ships of the line,
while the frigates-the eyes of the
sQuadron-scouted far in the van and
Ito windward and to lee" as the song
has it, with a few trusty swift sailers
bringing up the rear to ward the foray
of picaroon and privateer. All types
carried guns in those days, and many
a story of gallant defense against long
odds by merchantmen may be found
in naval annals Maritime Jacks were
skilled in the use of the pike and cut
lass in the service of blunder- buss, gun
and carronade, and when press gangs
swooped down and after a few hard
knocks, and a little bludgeoning per-
haps, tumbled them into the tween
decks of ships of war. they were really
up to their work when a fortnight's
drilling was done.
GREAT SEA POWERS RESERVES.
So too, with the preparedness of the
sips, for no craft of any tonnage car
ried less than a fine array of nine and
twelve FOUNDERS and many stand of
arms. 1t was only a matter of Slight
ship carpentry to turn stanch deep
water wind Zimmerman Indiaman.
for eXample-into a saucy frigate, and
even up to twenty years gone it was the
boast of few great English employs,
like Green's of London, that their craft
were frigate built Old sailormen
were used to say this firm had ship
for every day in the year, and the rat
ings such constructions received rank ID
them among the most favored of freight
carriers.
Things have gone somewhat differ
emily nowadays, perhaps more with the
fighting training of the men than with
the ships. And SO to meet these new
conditions all the great sea Powers
have reserves of some kind from which
they can man their ships quickly and
get something of the same results as in
the old times. Perhaps the best OF all
the reserves in organization, discipline
and efficiency is that of France Wher-
ever tide waters run in that country
the marine CONSUMPTION exists, and no
merchant Service unless he has done
his service to the State. Many privi-
leges in the fishery and domestic trade
are reserved to the discharged memo
warsmen and to the reservists And
there are a good retiring age, a fair
pension. quarter prices on railways and
at theaters, free schools and scholar
ships for the children, and an old age
secure from pinching want or charity
Russia is well supplied with a re-
serve, and so is Germany, but next to
France, with 100000 men, comes Enc
land OF course, there is always a
deal Of growing over there about
everything, and just now English de-
ficiencies in men for the active and re-
serve fleet and in the native born for
the merchant marine have excited a
great deal of unrest. Lord Charles
BereSford is, as he promised kicking
up row about the subject, and with
him, in general agreement on the main
question of supply. are Admiral Co
lomb, Vice-Admiral Fisher Lord Bras
sey and many others who may SPEAK
with authority
AN 1NVIDIOUS COMPARISON.
We hide our diminished heads over
here by comparison, for, with a possible
enrolment of nearly 10000 people. SEA
going or sea connected in some trade
or occupation, we have not a single name
on the muster roll. Nothing would be
easier than to get an enrolment of 100
00o men in less than a month, and out
Of these $4,000 fairly trained men would
stand by to make jump on shipboard
should an emergency arise.
The naval militias of the different
states are well enough in a certain way
but they do not quite satisfy the de-
n,ands that exist. What the country
wants is real navigating reserve-men
who have the sea habit. who have had
the nonsense knocked out of them by the
actual life on board ship, who know how
to hand. reef and steer and to swing a
nine pound lead right or left handed over
the cathead. OF course, there are many
admirable features about the naval mil
itia-and long may it wave-but it is
doubtful if it can turn out, under any
present theory, the Jackies most needed
at sea.
VESSELS AVAILABLE.
Luckily. we have afloat a number of
fine merchant steamers and yachts
which can with deft despatch be made
auxiliary cruisers. transports and de-
Snatch vessels. The special vessels re-
ceiving the mail subsidy are really
part OF the actual fleet of the country
and must be turned over TO the Govern
nent when needed. The others would be
available. as the best of them run in
trade lines which would be interrupted
in case of war, and even where this is