The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-09
SEARCH EUROPE
FOR WAR VESSELS
Naval Agent Dispatched to Look Up
the Brazilian Cruisers.
Brownson Directed to
Prosecute His Duties In England
and France With the Utmost Dill
neutrality-suspicious. In Progress
to Obtain Japan's Crack Cruisers
Now Building Here-Interest In
General Merritt's Trip.

Washington, March S.-There wa.
d very strong suggestion of the
state of affairs that might exis
in time of actual war. in the busy
scenes presented at the navy and wal
departments today. There was an al
most unbroken succession of confer
ences between officers and officials OF
various degrees, and throughout both
these branches of the war establish
ment the greatest activity was ex-
| hibited
Secretary Long was especially busy
/ Before 10 o'clock he had been Obliged
| to retire to his private office and deny
| himself to callers, in order TO hold a
conference. Senator Lodge was pres
! ent, as well as Chairman Hale of the
senate naval committee; Chairman
Boutelle of the house naval committee;
Captain Bradford, chief of the equip
ment bureau; Captain Brownson and
Assistant Secretary Roosevelt; Chief
Constructor Hichborn and Admiral
Matthews, chief of the bureau of yards
and docks, were also called to the con-
ference by the secretary, TO deal with
special phases of the question under
consideration. The conference had to
do with preparations for putting the
navy at the highest state of efficiency,
and the fact that Secretary Long is
consulting at every step with repre-
sentatives of the legislative branch of
the government, shows the desire of
the president TO keep within the strict
spirit of the constitution.
EUROPEAN AGENT HERE.
Secretary Long found time during
the progress of the conference to talk
moment with Mr.. Lane, who has sub
mitted to the department proposals for
the sale of certain warships now build
ing in Europe at private ship-yards.
What passed between them is not
known, but Mr. Lane fastened imme-
diately to the cable office at the con-
clusion of the conversation to commu-
nicate directly with his principals in
Europe.
The secretary made it plain to the
Legislators at the conference that the
department is very much better pre-
pared than has been supposed in the
matter of accurate informa ton of the
ship building in progress in European
shiD-vards.
But the point upon which the depart
ment now seeks to inform itself goes
beyond this and looks to securing in
formation as to which of these ships
can be purchased Immediately. 1t was
shown that very many more difficulties
exist than the public is aware of in the
requirement of such property as war
ships. Most of these craft under con-
struction are being built under special
orders for various governments. and
only few (and those, perhaps, not of
the most desirable tyDe) are in the
builders hands, in such shape that
they can be at once disposed of. In the
case of some of the European powers
under a strong monarchial form of gov
eminent. it is possible for permission
to be given at once for the sale of a
ship to another nation, but in the case
of more complex forms of government,
such as those that exist in the South
American republics, which have order
ed ships now under construction in Eu
rope, il is feared that grave constitu-
tional and legal objections exist to the
transfer of the rights of these countries
in their ships to the United States, ne
cessitating recourse to the legislative
branches of their governments Cor au-
thorization. This will be a time-con-
Stunning process that could scarcely be
entertained in our case.
TO BUY IMMEDIATELY.
1t is particularly with a view to ac-
quiring information on this point, that
is, the possibility of buying ships imme-
Cldleiy. mat Ctpldln bTOWESOH has
been selected TO go to Europe. He is
an officer of great discretion, and his
experience on the board CT inspection,
which is charged with the duty of
thoroughly examining all ships built for
the navy, has thoroughly familiarized
him with all of the details of the vari-
Gus types of warships, battleships. ar
mored cruisers, protected cruisers,
monitors and torpedo boats. During
~, ~ H.
made fully acquainted with the views
of the secretary and his advisers as TO
the proper scope of his mission, and he
will lose no time in starting for Europe.
After the conference he had q long
interview with Assistant Secretary Day.
of the state department, and arranged
to obtain letters of United States am
bassadors and ministers abroad, in
structing them to place overy force at
their disposal at work to help Captain
BrOwnson.
IN ENGLAND AND FRANCE.
Commander Brownson will sail from
New York for Southampton by the first
available steamer. and will prosecute
his duties in England and France with
the utmost diligence and dispatch. At
Southampton, where he will arrive
early next week, he viii be Joined by
tache of the American embassy at Lon
don. Commander Brownson will go to
France next with as little delay as pos
sible and will confer with Lieutenant
w. S. Sims, naval attache to the Amer
lean embassy at Paris and in his COM
pany inspect the two battleshipss Mar
shall F'lorian and Marshal De Odero,
now building for the Brazilian navy,
and which, it is understood, can be pur-
chased by the United States.
Commander Brownson is also charged
with the important duty of investigat-
ing the practicability of the purchase
from foreign manufacturers of ordnance
in case our own supply should
prove inadequate.
THE JAPANESE CRUISERS.
1t is known positively that negotia-
tons are in progress toward having the
United States acquire the two crack
cruisers now being built for Japan, one
at the Cramp ship yards at Philadel-
phia and the other at the Union Iron
Works of San Francisco. The nego-
tiations naturally are circuitous. as
here are three parties in il, namely.
the japanese government, the United