New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-07-17
STILL ME WlSTE OrR NOvErt

The light made by some Of our naval OK
ports against the Incorporation IN The proposed
new battle ships Of the results Of the latest al
vance In marine architecture has taken some
queer turns The Spokesman FOR tho Bureau
OF Construction have defended the plan OF n
battlc-shp 10 draw o. feet Of water by saying
that cur harbors Emitted draught to II feet They
have said that speed Of IL knots was use
less In battle though Captain Clark " the ore
gon rei.ori- that he wen, ns fast ~ he could
AT Santiago. and actually mad" lG knots in his
chase 81 the Crls'obn Colon They say that
greater speed can only come with greater dis
placement and that must not build a ship
larger than tho Illinois or II will be- unwcldy
Yet. as we have shown. other nations have
faster battle ships ~ equal lighting power and
less displacement. and our own Navy has yes
sells larger thaa battle ship would be even II
lis displacement was increased 10 the extreme
point for speed. and they are not in the least
unwlcldy OF unsuitcd 10 the navigation Of our
waters.
These naval experts few days ago put forth
n statement that Is knots could only be obtained
by adding 1000 tons TO The displacement and
30 or 81 fee; 10 the length Of or ships That
has already been disproved by quoting the cv-
that Increased displacement might be desirable
in securing speed what would bc the harm In
having Il? The experts referred 10 sny: I'm
designing q hait;e-Ship Of moro than 1900
tons displacement with The draugh' limited 10
"2I feet the increased volume. II gained by
"lcngthcnng would result in n vessel OF too
great length for efficiency" Therefore they
insist that the now ships bc no longer than rho
Illinois. which has n length Of 3''s feet. beam
NJ - feet 3 inches and a drausht Of - feet
That Is funny In view Of the ships our own
Navy has built. which are not unhandy. though
much longer. and also in view Of the length Of
The most recent battle ships of foreign navics
Take the Brooklyn. for instance. There was
nothing unwieldy about her when she fought
Cervcra. Yet she is 400 feet long The New
York Is $50 feet long. The length OF tho Co
unbia is 4l2 feet. and nobody ever thought
her tub. though 81 feet longer than the H.
lnos which are told. j. the extreme length
Of a battle-ship Of good manTuvrlng powers.
Onr auxiliary cruisers. the ~. Louis and thp
81. Paul. arc each 30 feet :, inches in length.
hut call them ocean greyhounds II is too
had that We cannot add few feet IN our bat
ile-ships without losing ability 10 handle them.
And how Is II in Europe? England has inst
launched the Albion, one NJ several ships Of
similar design. and therefore not an III con.
sldcrod experiment In shipbuildng She is Of
1890 tons displacement; her length Is 300 feet.
her beam n feet her dranght - feet : inches
and her speed 1874 knots Though 1.425 tons
larger than the Illinois. she draws only inches
moro water. has only - feet more beam. and Is
only 22 fcct longer. Nobody has yet suggested
that she was unwcldy. and though we did not
want TO add feet in beam. or even ! inches
in draught. II would seem that We might add
TO the Illinos's displacement-evc
/ 900 tons. II We chose without making her
longer than the Albion. Noticc. TOO. the now
French hattlc-ships. the CharlcmaGne. the St
Louis and the Gaos. Though Of slightly less
tonnage than the Illinois. they are each IS, feet
6 inches in length. Japan is building two new
the Shikishlma and a sister which
are TO he 400 feet long and the length ~ the
Yashlma is 374 feet
There are already fifty foreign battle ships
afloat or under construction with speed exceed
Ing from to 3 knots the speed OF any battle
ship in the United States Navy. yet we are
told must put mp with new baSte-shlps Of
Inferior speed TO some we already have. We ,
nre urged TO pay no heed 10 foreign example. !
though many Of these foreign ships as has !
been shown. have a draught by no means M /
displacement without any Tnmanagcablo length /
They have proved that speed In battle ships Is