The evening times., 1898-07-22


which our present battleships when load
to "a feet draft can enter at low water:
but We fall to see that this Is matter
of any particular consequence. So long as
a battleship can reach the naval stations
and dry docks where she Is to be equipped
and kept in repair. 1t Is matter of little
consequence whether she can enter the
other home ports or not. glance at
the above table shows that she can enter
nearly as many OF the commercial ports
drawing 26 feet as she can drawing "a
feet, anyway.
AS for being able to reach the naval
stations. battleships of any desired draft
can reach the Portsmouth and New York
navy yards, and the same is true Of the
anchorages at Hampton roads and Dry
Tortugas. To get up to the berths at the
Norfolk yard, some dredging would be
necessary for a vessel Of 26 feet draft or
more; but If the United States can
AFFORD to spend as many million dollars
as 1t proposes to upon new ships, 1t can
afford whatever may be needed to dredge
the channels leading TO its principal naval
stations. For that matter. IL our largest
battleships can reach the four stations
named above we do not see that they
need further accommodation.
Let us turn next to the matter of dry
dock accommodation. AT present We have
just uOGhS VII Tie Nod1t
which can take In battieships of the di-
mensions now proposed (excluding the
Port Royal and League Island docks,
which are inaccessible to our present bat
tleships by reason of shallow water).
Congress has just appropriated the funds
for five new docks. We know of no rea-
son why these structures should not he
made wide enough and deep enough to
take in whatever size OF battleship the
conditions of national defense makes 1t
wise for us to build.
When one really stops TO think of 1t,
how absurd seems the declaration that
this country has settled down to a basis
of a twenty-four-foot draft and a six
teen-knot speed as permanent limit for
its battleships. Other nations may pro-
gress as they please. sixteen knots Is fast
enough for us, How long is this standard
to last, pray? Are we to continue plac-
idly on that basis, no matter what prog
ress other nations make, until perhaps in
some future naval battle the superior
speed and maneuvering power of an enc
mys fleet may win them the day?
There have been various conjectures as
to the reasons why the Navy Department
adopted this low rate of speed for the
new vessels. 1t has been alleged that
the three or four great shipbuilding firms
who will doubtless take the contracts for
vessels of the Alabama class. now under
construction. 10 save the expense of du-
plicating drawings patterns. templates.
ETC.. and increase their profits. We do
not believe this to be true. Neither do
we believe that the navy officials merely
wished to save themselves the trouble of
making new designs throughout for these
three ships.
We believe the real reason is sort of
ultra-conservatism that prefers to follow
the beaten path 10 making any new ven-
lures and prefers to sit comfortably
down and rest content with twenty-four-
foot draft and sixteen-knot speed. rather
than to attempt TO follow English and
continental naval designers In the vast
strides which they have made in the past
four or five years.
We have abundant authority for declar
ing that the American people will not rest
content with naval progress of such a
sort. The people as a people want no
wars: they vastly prefer the arts of peace.
They want no huge naval establishment
and had rather build schools than battle
ships and factories than fortresses. At
the same time they will cheerfully and
gladly contribute all that is necessary to
make their national defense impregnable
on land and sea: and. thanks TO our for
tunate position. far less suffices to effect
this for us than for any other country.
But in these national defenses they will
brook nothing of a second rate order
armor plate is equal to any in
the world. American guns are on a par
with those of any country. Why should |
not American battleships be made equal !
in speed and maneuvering power to those !
of any nation? We have given the sole |
reason which has thus far been put for !
ward which deserves any credence, that !
of our shallow harbors. and we have |
shown that there is actually no serious |
obstacle in the way of adopting greater |
draft for our battleships If that is really |
an essential to their higher speed
We have no doubt that a large factor |
in the decision of this matter made by |
the naval authorities was the fact that |
II was made at a time when the pressure |
of other duties was well night insupport-
able. In the rush OF providing for the ac-
tual immediate necessities of warfare last |
May there was scant time to spare for
the solution of any difficult problems in
with the design of new vessels.
But that rush Is now past. We are in no
serious need of these three new battle
ships and do not want or expect to be.
With the five vessels now nearing COM
pletion our navy will be as strong in bat
tleships as any nation in the world eX-
rept England. France and Russia.
1t will be vastly better for our national |
defense to wait a year longer, if neces-
sary. for these three additional vessels,
instead of rushing ahead with their con-
on lines which every other ma
val power in the world has discarded as
obsolete.