The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-18
COUNCILS Of WAR. +,
Navy Department Wants Tor
pedo Destroyers- Coast De-
fence Allotment.

WASHINGTON, March Is, 1S9S.-The
| President does not expect anything in the
| nature of a preliminary report from the
Court of Inquiry in the case of the Maine
| disaster. On the contrary his expecta-
| ton is that the report when it comes
| will be complete in all respects, although
following the usual course it is within
| the power of the Secretary of the Navy
to order the body to continue the inves-
| tlgation along certain lines should he pc
! iieve further information is desirable.
The Navy Department by NO means mas
suspended its efforts to obtain possession
of desirable war ships abroad and IN no
direction is there visible any relaxation
| of the steadily pursued purpose OF the
Navy and War departments to provide
for the defense of the country against
| hostile attack. The formation of the new
| squadron at Hampton Roads is in itself
| only the latest manifestation of activity
in this direction, being the outcome OF the
| deliberations of the strategy board when
has been sitting almost daily at the Navy
Department for some time past.
Another conclusion of the Board which
it is desired to put in force as soon as
possible is that the Navy must be rein
forced by a number of torpedo boat de-
strovers NOT torpedo boats. These are
| vessels of about 300 tons displacement
and able to keep the sea almost as Wen
as a cruiser. With the enormous speed
| of 30 knots per hour and an offensive
armament of quick firing gun equal to
the average gunboat, it is said that the
power of such craft is certainly very
great and that perhaps they may prove
to be the ideal naval craft.
One distinguished naval officer, an ex-
pert in ordnance matters, expressed the
opinion today that two such torpedo boat
| destroyers might annihilate the biggest
battleship in the world, if they stood
ready to run the risk of being sunk
themselves. All that would be necessary
for them to do, he said, would be to hold
the battleshfp in sight during the day
light hours, which they could do easily
owing to their superior speed, and when
darkness had come to attack the battle
ship from opposite directions simultane-
ously at full speed with torpedoes.
Such considerations as these have in
fuenced the policy board to recommend
the procurement of as many of these
boats as possible and as soon as possible.
So far the department has been unable
to buy any abroad and while four tor
pedo boats of the larger class of thirty
knots speed, almost equal to the de-
stroyer type, are building in this country
they cannot be completed for many
months to come.
A representative of one of the largest
nglis torpedo BOAT firms now in Wash
ington criticized our government today
as having been too narrow minded in
alloting money for such boats. He
claimed. that the English ship builders
make the lowest prices in the world, but
that no one of them would undertake to
build and guarantee a well equipped tor
pedo destroyer for less than 100000, while
the United States was willing to pay its
builders not more than two thirds of
this sum for such boats.
Senator Hawley of Connecticut called
at the Navy and Departments this morn
ing in company with Thomas F. Rowland,
whom he introduced to the officials as
the builder of the first monitor on Ericc-
sons plans. He recalled the fact that the
vessel was a purely experimental craft
and that it had to overcome the Utmost
opposition of the naval officials of war
times. owing to the radical departure from
established ideas.
The War Department today made am
other allotment for the engineering
branch Of the service. This consisted of
50. $751; COO an dwas charged against the spe-
sial appropriation of s5o,oOo,o0o made last
week. 1t was stated at the Department
that the money will be expended in the
carrying out of the plans for the forth
ication of the coast already perfected and
announced in the last annual report Of the
Chief OF Engineers. No new Notifications
win be established from this appropria-
tion.
Nothing Of special Importance was de-
veloped at today,s Cabinet meeting be-
You'd the fact that the report Of the
Maine Court of Inquiry is not expected
before the early part of next week. As
has been the case at every Cabinet meet
ing during the last month and more, the