Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-03-17
AGREES WITH HALE.
RI. President Gives Approval to Maine
Senator'S Naval Policy.
,,r,cbincton Correspondence of Nc
u Work Heraid)

,,re,;nrton Correspondence of New
York Herald)
,,.iJent Roosevelt believes the war
- ow buiIt AMI being built constitute
sti,vy leren enough for the present needs
:" f,hc United States. With forty armGrcd
y" - either in the water. on the stocks
sn'P a,,,,horizcd, the President takes the
W announced a few weeks ago by Sen
'.em tile chairman of the Naval Affairs
Cnn,mttee- that from now on Congress
- he expected to appropriate only for
,i~btins ships to take the places OF those
n,,ich go ont of commission.
"rrhs nolicy falls far short of that out
navy, aa hy The General Board, of which
'i''Imir1l Dewey is president. That Board
"'utii,cd Il program, calling Tor Il fleet
" fnrt, eight battle ships and twenty
four armorrd cruisers. able 20 Dear tne
hr,,nt of lighting almost as wei as brittle
a v, President Roosevelt is content. in
,i,h face of the attitude Of Congress. to
w, with Il navy based on forty battle
,.r,,isers, torpedo craft, monitors. sub
,narincs and auxiliaries. while necessary,
are lot the ships which count heaviest in
war. .;+,, .,;r.>,
b,ttIpships ThcS" are all of the first
las except the Texas. Il second class
tTpe and not now of much use. There are
tfteen f;tttIoshrS building and author
,1e1 Thcsc include the two authorized
W. fine Congress lust ended. That makes
,ventv-eight battleshps in all. There are
sn,r arlnnrcd cruisers in commission and
,j-ht in cousc of construction. That
n,7kes twelve armOred cruisers.
This is =, total of forty armorcd ships,
fpcIuin" the Texas. The latter is the
srst Of the armorcd ships dcnstincd for
the reserve list. One battlcShip will BIZ
rrouircd next year to take her place.
Hr Roosevelt bellows that the Indiana,
,bc Massachusetts and the Oregon. which
were laid down in 1891. are still good,
,encnd:blc ships. which will not have to
be laid aside for many years.
Of the armurcd cruisers the New York
is the oldest, having been laid down III
80. resident Roosevelt considers tins a
hrst-cllSs ship. except that its battery Is
somewhat obsolete. With new guns. H."
thinks. it Will be ready for MANY NOR"
op;non of the brooklyn. sister ship of TIL"
New York, which was laid down III 1877;
The other armorcd cruisers. Of which
the first is til" Dakota. authorized in 1872
arc modern ships with which the naval
junk pile must not be mentioned i'll the
same breath for ~ score of years.
England has in commission and building
one hundred battlcships and armnred
cruisers Fourteen Of these were Ellu
down prior to 1854 and are practically OBJ
solete, leaving ciShty-siX armorcd ships
to he safely compared with those OF TIL"
United States.
France has forty-ninc buttlcships and
armorcd cruisers of which ten are prac-
ticaliv obsolete. leaving an efficient fleet
OF thirty-ninc armorcd ships, exclusive of
authorization during the last two years.
Those authorizations would put France
ahead of the United Stat"s in sea power.
Germany has, exclusive of authorize
tens for tn" last two years. t|Cnty-SiX
armored ships. of which eight were laid
down prior To 1851. leaving sixteen built
since tlvc years before til" Texas, OF the
American navy. was laid down. The
navicS of Russia, Italy, Japan and Aus
tria are much smaller. All the powers
have unnrmored ships in proportion to tho
iichtn. craft.
CONSIDERING ships built beioro 1881 as Oh
soIpi", the United States is the third SEA
power of the world in armorcd ships built
and building. England and France are
first and second respectively. England :
naval policy is based on the two power
nloa. the British feet being designed to br
sTrcri"r to the combined nav!cS of any
other two governments.