Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1906-10-10

rapid as that Of the armored cruisers
above mentioned, but they displace only
o,7oO tons. and carry none of the eight
inch guns, such as constitute the main
battery Of each armored cruiser.
On the stocks IN New England ship.
yards bur less than half finished, are
three thoroughly unique ships that are to
be christened, respectively Chester, Biz
mingham and Salem. These are TO be
known as scout cruisers" from which
name their function In naval warfare may
readily be guessed. and the idea Of having
such ships In the feet has been borrowed
by Uncle Sam from Great Britain, where
several such craft have recently been con
structed for the purpose Of keeping tab
on an enemy's fleet. Since a scout cruiser
upon discovering the approach Of hos
tile squadron must not only be agile
enough to evade capture. but must also
be qualified to race home and give warn
Ing, it goes without saying that speed
is a prime requisite in such vessel, and
accordingly the trio Of new Yankee scouts
will each be fitted with engines Of 10000
horsepower, capable Of driving her
through the water at a clip Of 2s miles
per hour. or better.
The new scout cruisers will be doubly
interesting. from the fact that the Navy
Department will try an innovation In
the means Of obtaining speed. One Of
the ships - the Birmingham will be
equipped with ordinary triple-expansion
engines Of the same general pattern as
those installed In all our warshlps for
years past, but the other two scouts VIII
be fitted with steam turbines. the newest
wrinkle In power-producing machinery
and apparatus, such as has gained credit
for the exceptional speed of the new
transatlantic passenger steamers Of the
Cunard Line. Two different styles Of tur-
bines will be tested In order to determine
their compare i've merits The scout
cruisers win have a uniform length OF
400 feet, but their light construction can
be appreciated from the fact that each
will have a displacement of only $3.50
tons. Such a ship is expected to run
away rather than hght, and this type OF
cruisers only means Of self-defenses VITA
be found in a dozen three-inch rapid-hre
guns. Inasmuch as the cruisers will draw
only about 10 feet OF water, they win be
able to navigate in shallower water than
other warships Of large size.
Yet another tendency lately manifest
in the new policy for the development
OF the United States Navy is found in
the increasing attention being paid to
submarine torpedo-boats. Yankee In
ventors with the proverbial ingenuity
Of the race, have produced decidedly the
best underwater fighters that have been
evolved anywhere IN the world but Uncle
Sam, for one reason or another, has not
paid as much attention to these new ter
rors as have European nations that have
not had available anything like such good
examples. Latterly. however, there has
been an awakening -Four submarines
are we'll on the way to completion at the
big shipyard at Quincy Point, Mass,
and 1t is now proposed to devote fully
81 ,000,0 600 to further construction In this
line as soon as our naval experts can de-
termine just which one OF the several
inventors in the field is offering the best
type of craft for work under the waves
The recent tremendous Increase In the
United States Navy has caused the Of
ficials at Washington to be sorely put to
it to provide officers and men for all
these floating fortresses. It Is not mere
ly that there has been a heavy Increase
in the number Of ships, but almost every
one Of these newcomers requires almost
twice as many bluejackets as were need
ed on the biggest battleship we had in
service at the time OF the spanlsh-Ameri-
can War To remedy matters the Navy
Department is using every possible means
to encourage enlistment in the Navy, and
the enlarged Academy at Annapolis is
graduating new officers ahead of time, In
m knor xr4fs he
most equally serious is the need for flag
officers of experience to command the
fleets and squadrons into which our grow
Ing Navy must, BY reason Of its size. be
divided. One result Of the cry for more
officers viii be that in future, promotion
will be more rapid and younger officers
will be given the positions Of responsible
ity. WALDON FAWCETT.