The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-15

BELIEVES BIG WARSHIPS
BETTER THAN SUBMARINES
lessons Are Drawn From Great
Sea Fights of Recent
Years.

j. F.. Reilly, a well-known Journalist OF
the Atlantic coast, Is at the Wilson. Mr..
Reilly Is well posted on things nautical,
on tho Atlantic coast, and In discussing C
the present opposition to r. greater navy
that has recently developed In Congress,
based on the scarecrow OF submarine tor
pcdo boats, eaid. among other things.
There is now, and has been for years,
periodical CITY against larger navy
and a stronger army, and 1t reaches It's
zenith whan Congress rs in session. 1t
were fdlo TO speculate as to it's causes. for
they lie hidden IN that mausolcum of
blasted hopes md wrecked ambitions
which We call the lobby
Cry Against Big Navy.
Now let us sec what Ii all means,
England has just launched and is fitting
the Dreadnaught. the largest and most
powerful battlcship In the world. Naval
authorities assure us thar this ship Is
Praatical answer TO theorists. who say
that tho moral effect OF submarine de-
stroyers fs greater than the veritable
presence of battleships.
Result Of Big Battle.
"If the battle OF the Korean straits bad
not been fought, and It's details were not
known, II is problematical how far the
moral effect advocate could sway the
Naval committee and the people. but that
naval action changed all preconceived no.
tions OF these engines of war, and where
1t is claimed such boats blew UP the Rus
has no corroboration in the official reports
of that encounter. We know the eight
inch and ten-inch shot and shell defeated
the Russian and destroyed his fleet.
Views Of ON Expert.
Now comes expert, In the columns
OF the Chicago Record-Herald. 10 tell OF
a new submarine that hns sighting ap-
paratus with which when the boat Is sub
merged, by the aid OF a pcriscopc the
man directing the boat may see all around
the horizon at Will Because of this fact
the boat Is said TO be more dangerous to
an enemy. You will recall In 1862, OF
Charleston harbor, in South Carolina, that
the Housatonic was blown out OF the wa
ter by an internal machine OF tho sub
marine make That boat nor her crew
were ever heard of again, and that is the
only Instance on record of submarine q
attack on an enemy in naval annals
Many experiments have been made, II
is true. but their history Is punctuntcd
with deadly failures, and. as matter Of
submarine warfare Is wholly in the realm
of experiment and hypothetical opinion.
Practical Results.
"on the other hand, wo have the practi-
cal results OF the China naval war; the
brilliant work Of Dewey in Manila bay
and the equally, good work Of Schey Ut
Santiago. and later still. the wonderful
work OF Admiral Togo In the Korean
straits. These engagements were decisive
ones. and changed the map of the world.
and never could haye been had the com
batants feared the submarine through It's
moral effect upon men.
Admiral Dewey Is now an enthusiast
for greater and heavier navy, and now
Capt. Mahan Is leaning that way
Il fail to how even a perfect sight |
Ing machine can make perfect fghting
machine, The men who handle the United |
States naval submarines may justly be |
said TO be the peers of any in the world, |
and yet their reports arc wholly of a !
tentative nature. and not at all satisfac- |
tory.
Question of Operation.
That a submarine boat could operate
safely In smooth water IL known to be /
true, but naval battles never take place |
in such waters. 1t taxes the scaworthi- |
ness OF the great ships and the seaman |
the ooisterous winds and seas of the At
lantic coast. and there are nine months |
in every year when such vessels as sub
marines would not dare to go out over
any bar.
Moral Efficiency.
The men with whom l have talked for
publication in Eastern newspapers are all |
OF he opinion that the moral effect OF |
be greater on the naughty incumbents OF
European thrones than all the submarines
from Dan TO Beersheba. The American
naval officer and the man behind the
aforesaid moral effect,
Theory and Practice.
You mny recall that theories on this
Side OF the water blew up the Russian
fleet In Port Arthur long before the Japa-
nese siege guns did the work from 2O3-
Meter Hill. IL Is just with submarines
In general While there is money to be
made In constructing them, they VIII find
advocates, but the essence OF war. which
means the powess OF nation Will seek
the open sea, where they may fight |
and. mayhap. die In the open. 1t Is well
10 add here that Shermans great deflni-
ton OF war, by land or sea. is just as true
now az over. l. e., War is he'll You |
cannot refine it. and naval men Will have
naval ships to fight naval battles