The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-13
Has Aroused the Admiration of the
World.
FRENCH EXPERTS VIEWS
FOREIGNERS WILL NOW STUDY
AMERICAN METHODS.
Naval Attache of the French En-
bassy Speaks of the Results of the
Late War-United States Ranks
Second In Number of Ships Under
Construction.

w washington, March l1.-LiculeHe'ilt
de Faramond of the French navy re-
Gently arrived here in company with
the French ambassador, M. Cambon, to
become naval attache of the French
embassay Lieutenant de Faramond
has had wide experience as a. naval Oh
server, following the Japanese and
Chinese vessels through the China
Japan war, and now comes here to
study American naval methods. Speak
ing of the american navy today, Lieu
tenant de Faramond said:
"The American navy mas attracted
worldwide attention within the last
year, and this is leading European
countries TO serd naval attaches 10
Washington This will be the first time
that the French government has had
81 naval attache at the embassy. a
German naval officer is coming to the
German embassy, and other countries
doubtless will follow in the same line.
Since the Spanish-American war, this
country affords splendid facilities for
naval study. 1t was the first real test
of modern fighting vessels, and naval
science must draw its conclusions
largely from what the American navy
accomplished during the war with
Spain. L think it is universally con-
ceded in Europe that the American
in q general way, but in technical mat
ters Of naval detail. 1t demonstrated
the effectiveness of the rapid-fire gun
OF medium caliber, rather than the
larger guns 1t seemed also to show
that the power of the navy is more In
its weapons of attack and offense, its
capability of giving blows, rather thaII
in it's heavy armor and capaplllty OIL
resisting blows.
We in France were quite aware OF
the growing power of the American
navy, even before the recent war. Our
chief naval constructor, M. Bertin,
came to this country prior 20 the war
and made a tour of your dock yards,
arsenals. etc. On his return he made
an official report, showing the great
improvements the American naval con-
stluctors had brought about, particu-
larly in the arrangement Of bulkheads
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 satis-
factory thus far"
AMERICA STANDS SECOND.
Lieutenant de Faramond says for
eign naval observers are not only in
terested in the results of the war, Dut
are also observing the large amount OF
naval construction now in progress in
the United States, and the naval i'm
provement it involves From Italian
naval statistics he shows that the
United States is today reckoned second
among the great powers in point of
warships under construction. The tom
mage by countries is as follows: Great /
Britain, 153,132 tons; United States, 56,-
425 tons; Japan, 1890 tons; Russia, |
29, ,O4O; France, 1865; Germany, l6,545;>
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 home snip, and is !
not fitted, owing to her bulk and lack /
of coal capacity, for crossing the ocean, |
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 re-
for that reason and her pres
ent trip across the Pacific is equally
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 almost equal to those of the
The lieutenant says that France has
gone further in adopting the torpedo
boat as an effective naval weapon than
ary other country. She has in all some
250 torpedo boats, some of them very
swift
Lieutenant de Faramond says he
thinks the adoption OF the water tube
boilers in American ships 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 adj
miralty for the Powerful, Terrible and
ships Of that class, and quite generally
by the naval authorities of France,
asia. Japan, Chilli, Argentine and
Italy. N. Viaud, a naval constructor
of the French navy, is at present in
Washington on an unofficial mission,
and will confer with our naval con-
structors on this new method of boiler
Admiral Dewey is generally recog-
nized abroad as entitled to rank as one
of the great naval commanders" said
de Faramond. Such man
does honor to the naval traternity the