The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-05-22
The Foreigner Has Been Studying Our
Ships and Fighters During the
War and Since.
FOUND NEW IMPROVEMENTS
OUR NAVAL CONSTRUCTION PRO-
CEEDING ALONG NEW LINES.
Manner of Selecting Man-of-War Re-
and Makes Better Men.

WASHINGTON, May H.-Capt. Lieut..
Won Reuber Paschwitz, naval attache of
tie German embassy, talked interestingly
to-day as TO his observations of the Amer
lean navy. covering not only the war period.
but an inspection of our ships, navy yards
and naval methods in the period since the
war. This officer made such favorable &c
port to the German admiralty concerning
the consideration shown him ty Ar srican
naval circles that it brought strong letter
Of thanks from the minister of marine of
Germany to Secretary Long and TO some
extent Offset the tension arising over alleged
differences between the American and Ger
man naval officers in the Philippines
Speaking of the technical construction OF
American ships. Captain Won Reuber
Paschwitz said: 1T is quite noticeable that
your American naval constructors and ship
builders show the characteristic energy nj
Americans in wishing to find something
new While the American ships are built
on the same general lines as the sGerlnan
and English ships, yet they show tend
Ell cy to try new ideas. to experiment on de-
tails. For instance, the disposition of am
n nunition and the ammunition hoists are ad
mirable contrivances. The ammunition is
served through one central chamber, and Is
delivered Immediately back of the gun ready
to be placed in the breech and fired. This
is so obviously the right thing and so prac-
tical in the rush and confusion of action
that all navies followed the lead of your
American constructors when they first
adopted this method of getting the ammuni-
tion to the gun
There are many of these small points
which appeal to the naval observer, if not
to those unfamiliar with naval architecture,
and altogether they are developing and per-
fecting the ideal fighting vessel. In the
placing of guns and armor the American
and German ships are much alike, except
that we have never resorted to your device
of the double-decked turret, which is prob
ably not beyond the experiment stage. The
large coal capacity of American ships is
capital feature which will prove especially
serviceable If you are to have outlying ter
r:tory such as Hawaii and the Philippines"
"How does the personnel of our navy
the officers and men-compare with that OF
other navies?" was asked.
DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS.
1.-THE American naval officers have much
technical knowledge, perhaps more than
German officers, but it is question whether
the technical cannot be carried too far to
the exclusion of those larger subjects of
torpedo maneuvering, etc. You have just
united the engineer branch with the regular
line of the navy so that hereafter all your
naval officers will also have to be steam
engineers. That is carrying the technical
knowledge very far and will put such great
requirements on your officers that the re-
suit will be awaited with much interest
by students of naval affairs. When officers
are compelled to master such mass or de-
tail tley have scant time for considering the
larger questions of attack and defense and
the real science of warfare. They become
too technical. The great naval commanders
are not merely engineers, but men OF In
tellectual attainments, thought and states
manship as we'll as technical knowledge of
ropes and irons.
when your torpedo boat service is fully
developed it will be found that your officers
have another large field of usefulness As
yet the American torpedo boat service Is
not organized as with US. We have these
craft formed in divisions, with special drills
and maneuvers suited to their size much
as troop of soldiers would be drilled.
But there is little in that line here as far
as 1 have observed. and the uses Of the
torpedo boat are yet to be realized. AS 1
have seen them they are much occupied
as dispatch boats, carrying messages ETC.,
tack or defense. Probably when all your
new destroyers and torpedo boats are COM
pleted this organization will follow. and
then will come this new line of study and
practice for your officers. giving them with
all their other duties an unusual amount
of technical knowledge to master.
"As to the American sailor. IL Is hard to
judge him by any foreign standard. as your
ideas and ours are totally different.
Physically the American sailor is a splendid
specimen. The American method of recruit
ing is calculated to get good class of men,
drawn from wide stretch of country and
with frequent infusions of new blood while
with us sailorng is almost life business.
Probably as a whole the American system
gets a better class of men than that In
vogue abroad. 1t certainly tends TO give the
men greater self-reiiance. and that in turn
may be the reason they are such good
fighters. They certainly know how to keep
your ships in ship shape, and the discipline
and general conditions observed on board
an American man-of-war are probably equal
TO those of any naval service In the world"
How does the rate of American naval
ship building compare with that OF Ger
many?"
NAVAL SHIPBUILDING.
"It Is proceeding at about the same rate
and 1t seems as If the American navy would
develop on about parallel lines for some
years to come. There is nothing unusual or
significant from a political standpoint I'm
this era of naval construction on both sides
of the water. II is simply the adapting OF
new ideas to new conditions; the bringing
Of naval armaments up 10 the standards es-
tablished by modern naval science. With
US general plan OF naval development has