The age-herald., 1898-09-22
NAVAL BRANCH OF THE SERVICE

Washington, September 21.-Captain AL fred Paget, British naval attache, assigned to observe operations during the recent campaign in the West Indies, Is engaged here in assembling the large mass of ma terial gathered in Cuba and in supplement- ing this with the official data now being supplied by the navy department. He will spend the fall in getting together the ma terial for his report to the British ad- miralty, which will be an exhaustive treat ment of the naval branch of the campaign with considerable attention to the military branch owing to the joint operations or the two branches during several stages of the war and particularly in the siege of San tiago.
 Speaking informally today of some of his observations, Captain Paget said It hao been shown quite clearly that the naval branch of the service should have compete control of all army transportation by sea- He points out that this is the practice the world over. In the British service all transports are under the control of the ad- miralty. When troops are to be shlppeo' the war officials make known to the ad- miralty the number of men in the eHpeai- tion the divisions into infantry, cavalry and artillery, and the various requirements of the several divisions. It then becom the duty of the naval branch to proVlde the the transports, carry the troops, keep ing the several divisions distinct and with their proper equipment and provide all supplies required for the trip. A naval or fcer usually lieutenant commander on the retired list, is placed in command or each transport, it being impossible to se- cure proper service from merchant cap tains,
 According to Captain Pagets view the most effective use Admiral Cervera could have made of his squadron was to nave dismantled them of all the lighter guns, particularly the quick-fires, and turned over runs and men to General Toral for use iu defending the city. These quicN-nre guns, some hundred or more, distributed along the entrenchments and handled bS 1he trained men of the squadron wou'1 i.aye been able to sustain deadly ire on atte American advance. Captain Paset eX' presses the belief that such move would have made Santiago practically impregna- ble. He has no doubt starvation and dis ease would have broken down the Spanish defense in time, but Cerveras guns could have held the town from a defeat by as sault.
 In case of sortie from the harbor, Cap tain Paget shares the view of American naval officers that the sortie should have been made at night If attempted in day light the Spanish ships should have di- rected their attention to the American transports, as they furnished vulnerable point where great havoc could have been wrought. In any event, whether transports or our warships were attacked, Captain Paget maintains that the Spanish policy should have been to rush at our ships, talk ing them unaWares before steam could be got up, and taking the risk of loss so long as some damage was inflicted. Had this plan been adopted, he thinks it might have resulted in the rammng and sinking of one or more of our ships.
 Captain Paget speaks highly of our new battleships and cruisers, particularly those now on the stocks, which he has examined critically through the plans and spcifica- tions He says foreign naval experts long ago reorganized that first-class warships could be built in the United States, al- though he does not admit that our ships vet excel, or even equal, those of British build In this connection prominent