The Cairo bulletin., 1907-03-26
METCALF T0RUSH
NEWBATTLESH|PS
SECRETARY or NAVY DETERM.
MED 70 HAVE BIG VESSELS
BUILT IN TWO YEARS.
RED TAPE CAUSES DELAY
Which Has Brought chagrin to q. al
Line officers--Department Tired
Of Old Methods Win Hurry
Work on Ships.

Washing on. March IN. Secretary
Metcalf's desire, which he has eS.
Ipresse,l In most positive manner. ID
advertise by May for bids for The
two battleships of the nraadnanlhs
type authorized by the fifty.ninih
congress and 70 open the bids by .Iuly
I. has met with the most hearty apr
proval Of the line officers Of the navy.
They are row hoping thar the aee-
retary win filIow up this preliminary
step BY insisting that the vessels
shall be completed and delivered tn
the government In two years at most
and preferably in year and a half.
Such rapid progress In naval con
struetion would be a new thing In
the United States, but Il Id believed
there ID no real obstacle ID Its way.
Siacc the beginning, a quarter III a
century ago, Of the birding of cur
new navy. here has never been i
ship completed and placed lii com
mission until d long time after its Iie
sign, that other nations. and parsic,l-
larly Great Britain had already pnt
in service ship or ships OF better
design, or of greater speed. or pos
sessing more or less superiority. due
to the progress Of the science Of
naval construction Ia the interim
which had elapsed.
Line officers Feel Disgrace.
Naturally. the disgrace which att
tsches to the slow construction OF
ships is felt most by the line officar,
Ewh0 III In no wise responsible Tor II.
Ebccause he II is who goes to sea on
board the belated ship, in command
Tor as an executive. navigating or
wcatch officer, and In whatever capa-
city he goes he Ii sure to be asked
by his brethren OF foreign nayies
why IL lis that his ship is so much he-
hind the ''so-andso" whatever may
b. the newest ship OF another nation
And II Is hard for him to explain
that with all our big steel and arInor
plants, the United STATES cannot
build ships rapidly as compared with
other countries. He knows and they
know. that the strides which the peo-
pie of this nation have made IN al
other mechanical directions have
been simply gigantic; that American
OF every kind takes SUI
Bremacy over that OF foreign manu-
facture. and that the very ship yards
that are turning out government
work slowly are at the same time
merchant ships in almost
nest record time.
Therefore, the line officer reasons,
and rightly. that bureaucracy and de-
aartmental red tape are the delaying
and these are the things
which il is hoped the secretary OF the
navy will eliminate in connection
with the two new battleships.
The British Dreadnaughi stands
now as the foremost example of rapid
naval construction. One year from
he date II was laid It started on its
trial trip, and now, less than six
months later, is doing extended
cruising, with all guns mounted and
oily ready for service.
M Haste. in United States.
Our own most recent bastieships.
aid down four years ago are stiIl in
IN unfinished condition. requiring
nonths OF work to complete and lack
ne some of their guns. II our new
hips of the approximate size OF the
)readnaught. are built as slowly n
proportion 70 the tonnage. as were
hese last. they will rot be ready IN
I've years from the time Of laying
own.
The general board a the navy. q
rhich Admiral Dewey is president.
as strongly urged upon the secFstarv
t the navy the great recessiy of
tipulating that the big ships shall h
ompleted In two years 81 most. AMI
I commanding The various construct
le bureaus to des.st from the things
hitch cause delay and n use their
tmost endeavors to get the shsps In
So ic their own dsy and generation
lstead OF after other nations have
esigned and commissioned ships o.
Iperi0r qualities.