The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-03-26

The navy Is ready as far as IL goes. and
the ingenuity of the Yankee nation will
help us IL necessary, as IL has helped
us before. The contest would not be a
short one, however. since the Spaniards.
no matter how treacherous they may
be- are not towards. nor have we any
reason to believe them incapable of
fighting their ships, both built at home
and lately acquired. Victory will al
ways be won by the side which is able
to command the most nerve and the
best craftsmanship. and while accident
may possibly step in and help one side
or the other I'm some Instances Ameri-
can naval men always try TO eliminate
chance as much as possible from their
side OF the game.
The old monitors? Certainly they
are capable OF effective work, not in
the way OF aggressive outside fighting.
to be sure but they could undoubtedly
be used TO great advantage as coast de-
tenders. There are bakers dozen OF
them. eight OF which have long been
moored in a string at the League Is
land navy yard. They have not pre-
sented a very imposing appearance
there, il is true. being small In size and
sitting low i'm the water. but nearly
every one has given a good account of
itself in the past. as can be seen from
the great dents made by old fashioned
spherical cannon balls I'm the armor
plating OF the turrets.
Contrary to general belief, perhaps II
would not be necessary TO fit them with
new guns. In fact. this could not be
done even If we had new guns to put
aboard OF them. which we have not.
The old guns are in good condition.
however. and while they could not be
used at the long range OF the modern
gun they are by no means to be sneezed
at even in these days OF high power
ordnance. They are OF smooth bore.
and they carry spherical balls only.
but the proJectiles are Is inches in d.
ameter, they weigh 300 or 400 pounds
each, and the powder charge is 120
pounds. The old style pebble powder
would have to be used. but It would
carry the projectiles two or three miles
with sufficient force to make IT unpleas-
ant for any vessel that should be struck
either on deck or just below the water
line. especially IL shells were used, as
would probably be the case, instead OF
solid shot. and. striking anywhere. such
shells would work great havoc with any
but heavily armored ship.
II have often been asked as to what
type OF vessel the United States. ought
to build in case a really effective navy
were to be created. and my answer has
invariably been that we want vessels of
all types. do not see any sense in the
cry that battleships should no longer be
considered desirable just because the
Maine was blown up. 1t was as well
known in advance as now that no ves-
sci ever built. whether torpedo boat
monitor. cruiser or battleship, could
withstand the impact of such an ex-
plosion as that which destroyed the
Maine.
$50 I should say build more battle
ships. because they are necessary for
sea fighting. But monitors should by
no means be neglected. for they may be
made of great use as coast defenders.
Cruisers also are necessary, and so are
gunboats, torpedo boats and all the
others.
But the navy needs something else
besides ships and guns and ammunition
just now, and the need Is decidedly i'm
peratlve too. 1t is trained men. If