The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1901-08-20
SUBMARINE BOATS A SUCCESS
seaitle Pos,-In;elligencer,


France is thoroughly alive to ,h'
value Of submarine torpedo boats fol
harbor defence. and the recent success
ful trials OF ;he last vessel Of he class
ru, into commission have greatly
strengthened confidence ia the pract-
cabh;y Of these vessels This vessel.
the Gustave Zede. made the voyage 70
Corsica unier her own steam and par
ticlpatei IN the naval maneuvers in the
harbor Of Ajaccio. Here. according TO
official reports, she successfully ;orps-
doed tia, 6at;leship Jaureguiberry, and
rads her escape undiscovered by any
vessel OF the fleet
As a result Of the successful trials Of
this vessel and others Of her class. the
French naval program eontemplates
the extensive buili,ag Of more subma-
-lne boats. until a feet of six,y.slgh;
is assembled on the active navy list
BY the end Of the presan; year France
win have fourteen submarine vessels in
active service. twelve Of which have Al
ready been completed. Twenty more
have already been pu; on the stocks,
al OF the same type They have a dis
placemen; Of sixty-eIgh tons with a
length OF rs fee; I inches, a beam OF
feet inches. and draft Of feet
They have a speed Of nine knots and
each viii cost ia the neighborhood OF
$4,000 Three others Of slightly differ
ent type viii be commenced this year.
In 1903 FIVE will BE- commenced at Tou-
Ion. and in 1904 the construction Of
,wsn;y-six Others will be commenced.
OF course, there is an attempt to pre-
serve absolute secrecy as TO all details
Of construction and operation Of ths
vessels OF this type, bu, 50 far there
IS nothing 10 Indicate that they are any
better or more practicable than ihs Ho,-
land submarine boats, the type selected
for use in The navy Of the United States.
Up to the present time all the reports
on the workings Of The Holland have
oeen decidedly favorable, AMI naval Of
fcers Of high rank, including Admiral
Dewey, are on record as fayor,ng a con-
siderable construction 1f submarine yes-
sels. Congress, however, has been slow
10 act upoa the mater, and our construc- |
ton program is far behind ;ha, Of /
France There are but five Holland F.
boats under construction or authorized
TO be constructed al the present time, .
the second Of which, the Adder, was
launched a; Elizabethport y. J., on
July % II this year.
There Is reason to believe tina: a. the
coming session the navy department: .
will recommend 10 congress tina; pro-
vision be made for the construction Of
q large number OF vessels Of this type
This is borne out by the t4c, that the
orders detacholng Lieutenant H. H.
Caldwell from the command Of the sub
marine boat HOLLAND has been revoked.
The reason given for continuing him In
command is TO secure the benefit OF liz
experience in preparing reports upon
the subject to congress; and further, It
was considered important to nave him
in command during the maneuvers u
the North Atlantic Squadron His SER
vices viii also be OF much value in the
Of officers who may he de-
tailed to the command Of the vessels
now under construction or recently
launched, when they may be Du. in
When congress again takes up the
question, the significance Of Admiral
Dewey's views on the subjec, CT sub
marine boats should not be lost algh. Of.
1t was Admiral Deweys opinion, fra1k-
" expressed, that the moral value Of
, fleet Of submarine vessels was almost
nesdmable. He confessed that if the
Spanish defenses at Manila had been
with few vessels Of the Hol-
and type he would have been unable 10
seeD the blockade of the hsrbor during
he interval after the destruction Of the
Spanish feet and the arrival of the
american army at Manila The strain