The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-09

officers and men as 1t is to-day, and the
great efforts made to increase the number
of officers and men, the possibility of hav
order TO secure the same fighting strength
as contemplated was regarded by officers
OF the t,a navy with
called before it the members Of the Board
of Construction to secure their testimony
as to the TeIatys efficiency Of 12ooo;ten
testimony of these officers ot long
experience and training. and charged
with the grave responsibilities Of their high
could not but recede from his position. He
succeeded. however. in securing a COM
promise for two ls.oOo-ton ships. Instead Of
vided for in the House bill
In the hearing before the House Com
mittee. Rear Admiral O'Neill president Of
memorandum from the Board of Construc-
tion on the subject Of the size Of ships In
which the question of seaworthiness. dis
placement. draft speed. armor and arma-
ment. and coal supply were treated, intro
ducng 1t with views of his own.
Admiral O'Neill stated that the Oregon
designed in 1890. followed by the Iowa Of
II 1863 tons displacement in 1892. the Kear-
sarge Of 1l:53s tons in 1895, the Maine OF
Jersey of 5000 In 1850. and the Louisiana Of
1900 tons in 1902 Some idea of the formid
able character Of the vessels Of the Louisi.
ana CidSS may ne 1OTTIltu "Heu IL Is uOlSu
that their displacement will be considerably
more than half again that Of the Oregon,
which the people of the United States are
accustomed to regard as pretty good ship.
STEP BACKWARD.
ITO go back to the Oregon class" he said.
would be about like giving UP electric for
horse cars" What Is necessary in battle
ship is concisely stated by him as follows:
worthiness. without which she cannot keep
the sea or use her guns in rough weather.
II our battleships are to be effective. they
must first Of all have good seagoing quail
ton, provisions and coal In order to engage
any adversary that they may encounter;
protected by armor and have coed sea
speed. These elements are all represented
by weight. and the capacity of the vessel TO
ssansh w sFons In ana n %e sessned dee9
mines to a large extent the value Of the
ship for naval purposes. Large displace-
defense and great endurance. if the design
Is we'll worked out, whereas small dsplace-
ment means the contrary
He further noted that the total cost OF
the Oregon. 1920 tons displacement. was
$6575, 032., while the 160OO-ton bat:leship will
cost 81. 800 Goa difference Of only 1924. 9Ss for
a ship 5000 tons heavier.
The Board of Construction, in a prepared
statement, designates the proposition to re-
turn to 12,ocO-ton hattleships as an .'unwar-
It is pointed out that to prepare new de-
signs for 2OOO-ton ships would take at least
a year and cause a delay of this period In
the construction of the vessel. They would
have the armor and armament Of an ar
mored cruiser instead of those of frst-class
battleships, but they would have speed only
of the battleships. so that they would in a
measure hybrid with the worst and not the
best qualities of the two contributing classes
The board evidently looks forward to the
construction of even heavier ships for 1t
says: In our 16000-ton battleships we are
still far from the size where increase of dis
placement does not result in corresponding
Increase in power