The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-03-13
COMES To STUDY
NAVAL METHODS
Frenchman's Mission to
This Country.
ATTACHED TO THE EMBASSY
OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS
WILL SEND AGENTS.
Success of Americans on the Sea Has
Attracted World Wide At
tention to Our
Ships.
ATTACHED TO THE EMBASSY
OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS
WILL SEND AGENTS.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

WASHINGTON, March 12.-Lieuten-
ant de Faramond of the French navy
recently arrived here in company with
the French ambassador, NJ. Cabon,
to become naval attache Of the French
embassy. Lieutenant de Faramond
has had much experience as naval
observer, following the Japanese and
Chinese vessels through the China
Japan war, and now coming here to
study American naval methods. Speak
ing of the American navy to-day Lieu
tenant de Faramond said:
1.-The American navy has attracted
worldwide attention within the last
year, and this is leading European
| countries to send naval attaches to
Washington. This will be the first time
the French Government has had a ma
val attache with the embassy. A Ger
man naval officer is coming to the Ger
man embassy, and other countries will
doubtless follow their example. Dur
ing the Spanish American war this
country afforded splendid opportunities
for naval study. 1t was the first real
test of modern fighting vessels. and ma
val science must draw it's conclusions
largely from what the American navy
Spain. 1 think it is universally con-
coded in Europe that the American
navy has a splendid record. not only
in a general way, but in technical mat
tiers of naval detail. 1t demonstrated
the effectiveness of the rapid fire gun
of medium caliber rather than the
larger guns. 1t also seemed to show
that the power Of a navy is more in
its weapons of attack and offense. its
capability of giving blows, rather than
in its heavy armor and capability of
resisting blows.
I'VE in France were quite aware of
the growing power of the American
navy even Def, 10 the recent war. Our
chief naval constructor, NJ. Berlin.
came to this country prior to the war
and made a tour of your dockyards,
arsenals, etc. On his return he made
an official report, 8 owing the great
improvements the American naval
constructors had brought about. par
ticularly in the arrangement of bulk
heads and in the distribution of armor
so as to protect vital points. We also
know your American armor, and are
using the Harveyized American process.
which has been found entirely satisfac-
tory thus far.
Lieutenant de Faramond says foreign
naval observers are not only interested
in the results of the war, but are also
observing the large amount of naval
construction now in progress in the
United States, and the naval improve
ment it involves. From Italian naval
statistics he shows that the United
States was to-day reckoned second
among the great powers in point of
warships under construction. The ton
mage by countries is as follows: Great
Britain, 153, 1872 tons; United States, S.
u IN n
France, 1868; Germany, 1855; Italy,
1872.
AN interesting line of inquiry" said
Lieutenant de Faramond, lis as to why
you are building SO many heavy ships,
ironclads as we call them, as against
the lighter, Swifter cruisers. The iron
clad is essentially a home ship, and is
not fitted, owing to her bulk and lack
of coal capacity for crossing the ocean,
or for long cruises. The French navy
has in commission fifteen ironclads on
the Mediterranean and eight in the
Northern squadron; but those are
purely defense vessels and never leave
the home ports. The performance of
your battleship Oregon in running
$4,000 miles around South America was
remarkable for that reason, and her
present trip across the Pacific is equal
ly remarkable. But, judged by the
usual naval standards, an armored
cruiser would have been much better
equipped for these long voyages. She
has the speed. the coal. and at the
same time sufficient armor to make her
defensive powers almos equal to those
of the ironclad."
The lieutenant says France has gone
farther in adopting the torpedo boat
as an effective naval weapon than any
other country. She has in all some
$50 torpedo boats, some of them very
swift
Lieutenant de Faramond says he
thinks the adoption of the water tube
boilers in American warships will be a
further improvement and will make
them much more effective for long
cruising This class of boilers, he says.
has been adopted by the British ad-
miralty for the Powerful. the Terrible
and ships of that class, and quite gem
orally by the naval authorities of
France, Asia. Japan, Chile. Argentine
and Italy. NJ. Viaud, a naval con-
structor of the French navy. is at pres
ent in Washington on an unofficial mis-
sion and will confer with our naval
constructors on this new method Of
boiler construction.
Admiral Dewey is generally recog-
nized abroad as entitled to rank as one
of the great naval commanders -
said Lieutenant de Faramond. "Such
a man does honor to the naval frater-
nifty the world over"
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MkcKEO MEM pAIN A