Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1898-04-09
wHY NAVE We NO DsSTROYeRS ?

Chicago Tribune: The Board Of Ma
val Control and the Congressional
committees that have had charge Of
matters Of naval construction In the
las. few years have committed grave
error in neglecting to construct any
vessels Of the type known as torpedo
boat destroyers. The House OF Repre-
sentatlvcs has done wisely In promptly
passing u bill for the construction OF
six Of these formidable naval wasps.
along with six additional torpedo
boats. But even under the creates,
pressure of haste II will require about
six months to get them into commits
sion. In the meantime any one Of the
Spanish destroyers now on the way to
Puerto Rico could probably sink our
few torpedo boats slngle.handed inside
of an hour.
Concerning the ultimate outcome of a
war betwe' the nav!cs OF the two
countries there cannot he q shadow of
doubt. Spain is beaten 10 begin with.
as all Europe has warned the Madrid
government. But there Is n possibility
that In the first engagements our navy
might suffer, chiefly on Account of our
lnmeptable lack Of the one type of boat
that has proved Itself the most fOrmid.
able OF all modern engines of war.
Unfortunately this type OF fighting
machine known as the torpedo boat de.
stroyer Is tho very one In which the
Spanish navy Is strongest. The AOtilla
10 In 4 lo M N Ia
the most dangerous Of Its kind In the
world. II cannot, OF course, cope open.
~ with our flrst-class battleships, hut
the remarkable speed of these wasps Of
the sea enables them to sting to death
any craft OF their own class. and then
fly at will out Of the way Of the larger
and slower vessels.
The destroyer Is an enlarged torpedo
boat. with both the speed and the size
TO 60 to sea with fighting fleet. The
trouble with the ordinary torpedo boat,
such as we now have In course of con.
structiOn to the number OF dozen or
more, Is that II Is Of little service any
where outside of sheltered waters. Eng
land early discovered In Its naval ex-
periments that greater size. weight ana
power was needed to make these yes
sells most effective. Furthei1nor, the
enormous increase of the torpedo boat
fOtillas of other European nations de-
handed some defensive action against
them. Hence Great Britain decided two
or three years ago to build fleet OF
vessels of the torpedo boat type. but
with displacement Of 300 to 400 tons.
as against the 100 or 40 tons OF the
ordinary torpedo boat. II Is unfOrtu-
nate that the United States DID not take
n similar step AT the same time, instead
OF putting all It's money into battleships
ana cruisers and small torpedo boats.
1t Is generally admitted In naval cir
cles that the destroyer Is the most dan
gcrous thing afioat for its size. There
are three of these In the first Spanish
fOtilla now headed this way-the Fu-
rOr, OF 4OG tons; the IlutOn, of 40
tons; and the Terror. 4OG tons. Besides
these there are three regular torpedo
boats OF the very latest design-the
| Ariets. the Azor, and the Raero, each
of 100 tons, the same as our torpedo
| boat the Ericsson. 1t will DE remem-
bered that when the Arlete was built
In London for the Spanish government
in 1887 1t was for time the most no.
table vessel Of its kind in the world, be-
cause 1t broke all records with a speed
of over twenty-slX knots an hour. But
that speed has been far exceeded by
the later type called destrOyers. The
Furor and Terror both have speed OF
/ twenfy-eight knots. The latest English