The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1898-05-24
WAR LESSONS
Maneuvers OF the Spanish Fleet
Point Out Some Serious
Naval Defects,
ana Show the Superiority of the
ArmOred Cruisers Over
Battleships.
The Slow Defense Vessels a Great
Hlndrance to Pursuit of
an Enemy.
Country Has Heretofore Held
That Defense Vessels Alone
Are Needed.

WASHINGTON, May 24-As a result
OF the maneuvers executed by the Span.
lsh fleet under the command of Ad.
mlral Ceryera, future naval construct.
ors Will give the armored cruiser a
prominent place in the types adopted
TOR defensive warfare. This rerhans,
is the best lesson taught up to this time
by the war with Spain. Such is the
opinion OF naval experts since Admiral
Cervera, with his speedy squadron, ar.
rived ~ days ago at Martinique Ii
marks the downfall of theory 50
strongly advocated by Captain c. +.
Goodrich, now in command Of the
Yale. and formerly professor Of the
naval war college, that the armored
cruiser had no place in modern navies.
Captain Goodrich is now probably
convinced OF the value of armored
cruisers. said prominent naval Of.
hcer, ''in view Of the fact that, as
commander Of the cruiser Yale, he had
been scouting for the enemy's fleet a
few days bofore its arrival at Marti.
nlque.
Az "a A4AOASu ~ ulStl - uOlGII -
more than swift sea going bat,lesnip.
japan recognizes this fact, and is the
only nation that was quick to take ad.
vantage of such recognition Her les.
son was learned at Ialu, where her
protected cruisers of great speed and
equipped with rapid firing guns, drove
from the scene CT battle the Chinese
battleships OF slow speed ard thick
armor."
That the lesson was we'll learned is
shown by the fact that Japan imme.
diately placed contracts with the Arm.
strongs of England for the construc.
tion of six battleShips Of great speed.
In order to get the speed. IS knots,
with the protection and armament
specified by the mihado government, it
was necessary to make the ships Of
great displacement. Two Of them, the
Yashima and Fuji, whicn are now on
their way TO Japan, are of II. l5O tons
displacement. The latter ships have a
displacement of 1850 tons each. On
their trials the Iashima and Fuji de.
veloped speeds Of lS.5 and 1872 knots
respectively.
These vessels are really the develop.
ment Of the armored cruiser type
What would we now give for such YES.
sells under the command of Rear Ad.
miral Sampson? Two Of them, with
the New York and Brooklyn, would be
able to destroy or drive away Admiral
Cervera's squadron. This government,
in building the Iowa, obtained a type
in some respects similar to the armored
cruiser, but her speed is only l6 knots
and under present conditions is prob.
ably but l3 or IA.
"Since the war began we have been
using vessels for purposes for which
their types unsulted them. For in.
stance, the Indiana and Massachusetts,
are coast battleships. Yet they have
been sent to sea cruising for the enemy,
when they were really intended for de.
fensive purposes.
Then we have been employing har.
Dor defense monitors for blOCkading z
purposes and for offensive warfare, the
result Icing to cripple the manouvering
quality of our fleet, and handicapplng
Rear Admiral Sampson seriously in his
offensive and defensive operations.
Every ship building policy has been all
wrong. The country has gone on the
theory that defensive navy was all
that was necessary. The present war
teaches that an offensive navy is ab.
solutely required.