The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-05-22


VcSscIs-The Opinion of the santI-
ngo CHIssains-Nn Unsettled Policy
Naval officers generally are evincing q
wholesome interest in the future fighting
ships that the Government must build to
retain its place as n first-rate Power on
the seas, and a discussion Is now being
Waged among those best qualified to
judge over the relative merits of battle
ships and armoTed cruisers as essential
10 the fleet The wide diversity OF opinion
and the strong arguments on both sides
Of the question Il Is claimed Vindicate
The wisdom Of Congress at its last session
in TeseTving ali appropriations Tor large
vessels, and substituting TeGuisition up
on the Navy Department for new plans,
to be presented TO Congress in December,
for ships Of the highest type, with the OBJ
jet Of having definite policy adopted
in place of the former method of voting
millions OF dollars to be expended upon
plans devised 10y members of the Naval
Board On Construction who seldom 90 TO
sea
This action Of Congress was encouraged
by the protest of lighting officers against
the futiIity of building six monster cruis-
ers at & cost exceeding S5.0g5,g50 each,
when The type was regarded with disfdv-
or by the great majority OF officers who
saw actual service in the war with Spain
The Construction Board has already tax
en- the proposed programme officially II
hand, but II is already evident that the
whole line and staff of the navy are to have
influence in the final decision. and that
any plans prepared by the rear admiraIs
at the head of the naval bureaus viii
eventually De passed upon by the experts
of the inspection board and by others
whose experience and ability command
respect at home and abroad
In a sweeping generalization It already
appears evident that the group of officers
known as the Santiago captains believe
in heavy, moderate speed battIeships ex-
clusively, and would reIegate all aTmored
cruisers to the scrap heap It Is admit
TED that they are Influenced by the per
fcrmance Of the United States battIeships
at Santiago against the Spanish armored
cruisers and their opinion that neither
the Brooklyn nor the New York was an
element in that enga cement
They ignore the fact that no Spanish
ship made over thirteen knots on that
July s. and that the victory would prob
ably have been less complete had the
CristobaI Colon and her sister ships been
in condition to run away at twenty-knot
gait. as a cruiser should This IS the
view taken by most Of the younger men
in the service and particularly by those
who do not think that Santiago proved
anything conclusive about armored fight
ing types The men who fought at Ma
Mia Bay without armor, and the men
whose experience was mostly in bIockad-
ing Cuba's commerce and in scouting. are
also opposing the idea of navy wholly
Of battleships, and are producing telling
arguments in favor of great ships Of high
speed and wider cruiser radius than a
ship ever built; ships that can steam
quickly across the Pacific and back
The whole matter was placed squareIy
before the navy a few months ago in a
memorable paper by Naval Constructor
Taylor. himself one Of the notable lead
ers of opinion in matters OF this sort.
which was published to the service in the
proceedings Of the Naval Institute ar An
napoIis. After presenting all the facts
regarding the latest designs, he asked
whether battleship speed ought to be in
creased 10 twenty-one knots, in view Of
the great sacrifice Of offensive and defen-
sive power that must accompany the in
creased speed. and whether any more
great armored cruisers OF the MARYLAND
class ought TO he built. Discussion was
invited, and the responses are of a char
acter. that may prove invaluable, in view
Of the unsettled policy in Europe on the
subject. and the fact that the United
States has TO make a poIicy-of its own.
after the manner of Germany and Japan.
with little regard to the naval vagarIes
Of England and France, which at one
time were responsible for adding a num-
Der OF useless vessels 10 the new steel
navy Of America
To show The trend Of the 7iec,,ee5c,,
quotations are made from Rear Admiral
Robley D. Evans on one side, and Com
mander John N. Eliicott, on the other, as
typical Of q large number OF expert views
Admiral Evans said:
y say unhesitatingly that we are max
ing d serious bIunder in building ships 50