The Washington times., 1904-06-12
BUILDING OF ARMoRCLADs.

a representative Of the N ztin.' OF
Paris. who has been TO Brcst for the
launching OF the new armOrelad Demo
cratic has ELECTED an interesting state
mcnt from Vice Admiral MaIarme. the
French maritime project lie inquired
OF the vice admiral whether he did not
think the opportunity favorable 70 en-
tighten the country as To the necessity
Of building armorclads. The Russo-Jap-
anese war had produced confusion in
peoples minds. They were asking them
selves whether % was really Of any
great use 70 continue building such Gust
~ ships which torpedo might put hOrs
de combat. The vice admiral replied
as follows;
Il understand the anxiety felt by the
public. and 1 am glad 10 have this op-
portuuity Of saying how matters stand.
Armorciads are necessary. as large
ships powerfully armed and defended.
are alone capable Of securing the SUI
premaCy of the sea. Look at what took
place AT Port Arthur. There is "A dispO-
sition 20 judge the operations exclusive
ly by the uncertain facts which reach
us by telegraph. The whole merit is
attributed TO tOrpedOes, and with the
aid Of imagination part OF the doubtful
successes Of the japanese Is attributed
20 submarine boats Do you suppose
that, even If all this tOTpedOing be true.
the torpedo boats and light craft could
nave accomplished such exploits lf they
had not been supported by a strong ar
mOrclad squadron What would they
have done by themselves They could
not have remained on the high seas In
definitely. and would soon have run short
Of coal Their crews would have been
harassed. and eneTvated, AID would Ger
tainly have been destroyed. Torpedo
attacks are much less formidable than
Is generally supposed. In order to sue
coed a large number Of boats must be
employed. They must be vigorously
handled. which can only be done with
men who are fresh and ready for the
fray, and they must be managed with
great skill. These attacks are very diff
very risky at night. That is contrary 70
the general opinion among the public,
but Il Is, neVeTth eless. true. In the day
time a numerous f1Otilla Of torpedo boats
might at the cost OF half its number
infict important losses on a squadron
At night It's chance OF success would be
diminished by half, as the conditions
would be much less favorable.
Il am not an exclusive and unreasOn-
able partisan of armOrcladS. ! am. on
the contrary. convinced OF the utility OF
torpedo boats and submarines Inese
small craft play an important part In
naval warfare, but 10 obtain good re
suits from them they must be backed
! BY a powerful naval force. That can
be provided by armorclads and pOrtect-
ed cruisers. Guns are unQues-
tionably formidable Instruments. What
took place at Che-mul-pho has not at
tracted sufficient notice. The japanese
began their fire against the Nariag at a
distance Of 5000 meters, and their shots
took effect. That il a circumstance
which deserves pointing out, and which
we should turn TO account. Long
range firing practice must be Increased.
We have well-trained and devoted per-
sonnet, whose professional value Is uni
versaIly recognized. II must be increased
tenfOld by constant training. The Eng
! fish, who obtained remarkable results.
/ pra ctice. have made Il real sport. The
| Democratic Will soon add 70 our fleet a
| powerful armed unit. 1t is one Of the
most perfect types Of ironclad. I'm
press upon your readers that II Is not
money thrown away.'-PariS Core
! spondent, London Times.