Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-04-24
WASHINGTON LETTER.
tFl9m Monitor Corre.pondent,

Az moment when all eyes arc /
nxed upon great naval struggle IN
another hemisphere it will be inter
esting to look TO our own naval
strength. When Senator Hale an
nounced in the Senate that the time
had come for Congress to curtail
the building up of the navy and to
settle upon definite policy which
should hereafter be pursued, he placed
the amount which would be necessary
TO appropriate annually "to make
good the ravages of time" at from
$4,000 900 to s15, 600, 900 year. This
would furnish about one new battle
ship year, and in those years when
1t was deemed wiser TO construct
smaller vessels, several cruisers, or
scout cruisers. 1t would also allow
TOR the construction of a number OF
golfers or other small vessels. AT
that time, naval officers protested
that the Senator had placed the
amount too low, that it should have
been not less than $50 600, 900 a year
and they supposed that the President
would support them in their intention.
Now, however, they have learned
that Mr. Hale consulted the President
before he announced his proposed
policy to the Senate and thai Pres
ident Roosevelt is prepared to accept
for the remainder of his term naval
programme which will allow for the
construction of single battleship
each year, although it is not certain
but the President will urge that no
year pass without one new battleship
being authorized. Il is believed, how
ever, that the lighter class of vessels
nee not be built and kept in commits
sion continuously, as they can be pro-
| vided on short notice. Moreover, If
the Merchant Marine Commissions
report is acted upon by the next Con
gress there will be constructed for the
merchant service a number of pas
senger and freight vessels which will
be entitled to subsidies and which
must be held at the disposal of the
Government in time of war. T..
Comparatively few people realize
the extent to which the American
navy has been built up in the past few
years. Today there are in the navy
of the United States "a battleships of
10000 tons or over, II coast defense
vessels, 10 armored cruisers, 5 cruis-
ers above 5000 tons, II cruisers of
from 5000 to 5000 tons, % cruisers of
from 1000 to 5000 tons, 16 torpedo
boat destroyers, 80 torpedo boats and
submarine torpedo boats. The total
tonnage of the navy is 643, 1893, repre-
sented by total of AT vessels. In
point of tonnage the United States
stands third on the list of nations of
the world. First comes Great Britain
with 552 vessels aggregatiug /, 926, 1000
tons, second France with sos vessels,
IT'S, 900 tons.
While the American navy may look
small when placed beside that of
Great Britain, it must be remembered
that Great Britain and it's possessions
spread all over the world and that in
the event of war Great Britain would
have the utmost difficulty, even with
it's great navy, in protecting all of it's
insular possessions. 1t has always
been the policy of Great Britain to
keep it's navy equal in power to any
two of the European powers, although
taking into consideration the number
of obsolete vessels on the British
naval list it is now doubtful if he1
naval strength equals that of France
and Germany combined.
So far as seamen are concerned the
American navy is weak and Congress
must soon make provision for the
number of new vessels nearing com
pletion. The total at present is 2,17-
officers and 1921 men. To this mus
be added, however, the Marine Corp'
which is composed of 222 officers ant
7,4O7 men. There is, of course, con
slant pressure exerted by certain off
GERS whose forte is in the line of nava
construction, in favor of increasing
the navy itself, but the President anC
, the leaders in Congress are of the
opinion that navy which shall re
: main at about the present strength
so far as numbers and tonnage arr
concerned, but which shall be steadil!
modernized and always trained to thu
highest possible state of efficiency
f! will afford as effective means of de
[ fence as is necessary to the safety o
the country.
: Apropos of the above reference t,
the obsolete character of many of tn,
British naval vessels, it ia noteworth,
: that at a very recent sale British nava
: vessels which cost to build and equil