Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-17
Admiral Converse Combats
Criticisms on the Navy.
ALWAYS UP TO THE. TIMES
Recently Built Ships Much Better
Than the Older Ones.
BUT LATTER CAN FIGHT, TOO
Many Lessons Learned From the
= Russo-Japanese War-Few Mis-
takes Made and None Serious.

Secretary Metcalf has made public the
report OF Rear Admiral Converse, L. S.
Is. retired on the fighting ships of the
navy called forth by many criticisms
recently published in magazines and
otherwise.
Admiral Converse characterizes the crit
itisms prepared by persons whose
knowledge of the subjects discussed was
limited and incorrect" There was. he
SAYS. ample justification for the adoption.
of the battleship designs which have been
followed. 1T is not claimed that mis-
takes have not been made he adds,
"or that our ships are without faults.
but in view of the then state of the art
of battleship building, this fact is not to
be wondered at. 1t is remarkable that
none were really serious In this respect
our record will compare favorably with
that of foreign naVieS.
In the ninety-one pages which the adj
mral devotes to the defense of the navy
the subjects dealt with include battle
drills freeboard of ships. heights of gun
positions. torpedo defense guns. battleship
armor. ,turret designs. ammunition hoists
and out-turning screws, kearSarse and
Kentucky, and general notes. His en-
phatic conclusion is: Our ships are not
inferior to those in foreign service
We have" he says. made compro-
81
cause it is impossible to construct "a. per-
feet battleship; such compromises have,
perhaps. detracted from the desired per-
feet ship in some respects. but at the
same time have made 1t possible TO inn
prove upon some other existing disad-
vantage. and on the whole, the COM
promises. each and all, have tended to-
ward nearer approach to the desired
perfect finality. Other nations have
Iabored and will. like ourselves. continue
to labor under this same difficulty in en-
deavoring to approach as near as possible
to that impossibility-a perfect battle
ship.
In making compromises in the building
of our ships i am satisfied that in every
instance all concerned in the work have
acted honestly and periodically, and only
with the desire to produce the best ship
possible. The result has been in each case,
ship by ship and year by year, an i'm
prCvement upon all that have preceded.
and no snip has been built by us inferior
II those of any nation designed at the
same time.
Inferior to None.
The quality Of the material of our
navy is inferior to none: in quantity of
vessels alone are we lacking. With an
increase in number of ships the American
navy will. have been supplied the only
feature necessary to make it second to
none in all that tends. toward fighting
efficiency and when the stress. of actual
combat if such should ever unfortunately
come, brings the only really practical
test our country need have no mis-
givings or fear but that our battleships
will give an excellent account of them
selves and prove themselves all that we
have designed them for and know them
To be-
The admiral says. in treating of battle
drills, that it was not until the spring
os 1893 that our new navy achieved the
size of a squadron eight battleshps; and
not until last spring that we acquired a
fieet--two squadrons. 1t then, for the
first time. became possible to carry out
fleet tactics. These were begun in July.
We're interrupted for target practice and
resumed again in the present voyage to
the Pacific coast. Battle drills. training
II meet the enemy under conditions prob
able or liable to occur. have been given
much attention in recent years, he says.
although carried out with the limited
number of ships available. Great ad
vantage is looked for. as the result of
such exercise by the sixteen battleships
in fleet assemblage. In this connection
the admiral remarks: The personnel of
our navy. i'll ambition and professional
knowledge, is second to none in the
world