Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1903-12-30
OUR NAvY's GROWTH.
Naval Strength Has Increased Three
fold In Five Years,

~ St y 49,
persons realize how much bigger and
stronger the United states navy Is
now than II was at the time Of the
var with Spain. Everybody knows
what the navy did in that war-how
IL swept the fleets of Spain from the
seas and astonished the carping Euro.
pean critics. Today the American
navy is three times as big and three
times as strong as II was then, besides
being UNNECESSARILY better In other re
spects. And yet only a beginning has
been made on the naval program
which must be carried out to enable
got and maintain its place as a world.
power.
This duplication of the navy in mum.
bers and power in the last five years
Is all the more remarkable because
the Spanish war is the only one the
United States ever fought at the close
of which the navy-no matter how i'm
portant the part 1t had played In the
struggle-was not permitted to fall In
to neglect and decay.
At the outbreak Of the war with
Spain We had fifty-eight warships Of
all classes. Today. counting vessels
ready for service and those which
could be placed in commission with
little delay, we have a iieet number.
ing 1872. These figures do not take In.
to account old-style wooden ships or
those classed as "unserviceable." So
much for numbers.
As to strength, that quality of a
navy is best represented by its bat.
tleships. When the war with Spain
broke out we had four first-class bat.
tleships. and mor building and auth.
orized. We would have foir and a
quarter times as many battleships now
as we had al the beginning Of the
Spanish war-that is, seventeen
were 1t not for the fact that the five
battleships of the Virginia class-the
Virginia, Nebraska, Georgia, New Jer.
sey and Rhode Island-which by the
terms Of the contract with their build.
ers were to have been finished this
winter, are from fifteen to eighteen
months behind in construction.
When the war with Spain broke out
we had two armed cruisers, the Brook.
Ign and New York. Now we may
credit ourselves with at least four, for
the Colorado will be delivered by Aug.
ust 1 next, and the Pennsylvania about
a month later In the natural unrushed
course OF events; If war or a prospect
Of val arose they could be hurried to
completion much earlier. In a com
p%aratively short time, however, we are
assured of having eight armored cruis'
ers in commission and two more ap'
preaching completion.
When the war with Spain began we
had no single turreted harbor defense
vessels; now we have four-the pow
erful monitors Arkansas. Florida. Ne
vada and Wyoming-most formidable
craft, with their 11-inch armor and
their Pinch guns.
Users in commission or shortly to be
placed in commission. This is moi
counting three others which. accord
ing to contract. we're to have been de
livered this winter or in the spring
but on which the work is behind. W.
may fairly say, however. that we have
twenty Of this type of vessel now, az
against the eleven we had at the be
ginning OF the wal with Spain.
We had eight gunboats OF the Ban
croft class when the war broke out
and now we have twelve. We had nc
small gunboats suitable for police
work, now we have a feet of twenty
one. Neither did we have any torpe
do boat ~destroyers, and now We have
a fleet Of sixteen, while our torpedo
, boats have increased from twelve t
~thirty-ive, and our submarines grown
from nothing to eight.
We also have five fine auxiliary
cruisers of the Dixie and Buffalo class
where we had none before the Spanish
, war. and q fleet of converted yachts
twenty-three In number. where we hat
no such craft before. These. with on'
} exception, are all stable vessels o.
/. iron or steel, and what a converted
j.. yacht can do when properly handled
Is shown by the record of the Glouces
ter at the Santiago sea fight.
! What may be called the non.com
Blatant part Of the navy was absolute
i. ly n%on-existent before the Spanish war
Now there is a feet of sixteen col
liers and fourteen hospital and supply
| ships, including refrigerator ships. dis
( filling ships. repair ships. etc. Be
sdes there are forty-two vessels, In
Guiding twelve first-class battleships
under construction.
It should also be stated that sine,
the beginning OF the Spanish wal thu
, navy has built or purchased eighty
seven coal barges, nine ash lighters
ten water barges, and seven ammuni
tion lighters.
As to cost, Il will take over SIS,
100000, in addition to the millions al
ready spent on them. to complete the
ships now building, not including Their
armor or armament-just TO get the
hulls ready to receive their guns and
In a condition to have the armor put
= on.
Altogether the American navy, al
though far from what II should be In
size and strength, has made great
: strides since the Spanish war, and the
fleets upon which we looked with &C
much confidence and pride then, and