The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-09-27
IN THE EVENT OF WAR.
would Cost England $4,000, 900 :
Week for Command of the Sea.

mere Is no nation in the world whose
prosperity is so intimately bound up
IN It's navy as is the case with Great
pritain, so that under these clrcum-
stances IL Is of peculiar interest to in
quire what would be the cost to this
country should 1t ever be involved in a
naval war with a first-class power,
says London Tit-Bits.
me four principal British fleets in
commission in time of peace are the
mediterranean. Atlantic. channel and
nome fleets. Together these are COM
posed of thirty-eight battleships and
iorty-six cruisers of varying age and
gun power Every modern battleship
may be taken, in round figures, as hav-
ing cost at least $4,000. 900 before she is
IN a nj condition TO hoist her flag, while
n cruiser may be set down as repre-
Nehting E1.000000 hard cash. These are
INSIDE figures. as the official returns of
u'e cost of various vessels in the navy
WI amply demonstrate. Thus the
Nalue of our four principal fleets
amounts to the enormous total of
'sl22.0oo.000 sterling. or. roughly speak
ms. one sixth of the national debt.
IN a years campaign the damage
done to these ships, whatever their
fortunes. may be taken as at least 10
Der cent of their original cost. This,
so that we must be prepared for a loss
II at least e12 900 900 upon our ships
alone. and the cost of a years naval
warfare TO this country for damage
done to it's ships alone would be more
han the entire revenue OF a good many
states
So far. II must be remembered. at
tention has only been paid 10 battle
ships and cruisers; but there is third
<.f- l. . ,,f
important part in any naval war in
which this country is involved. This
cls ss contains the torpedo boats and
torpedo destroyers. Attached to the
four fleets just mentioned are about $50
OF These mosquito" craft, each one of
which has cost at the very least e100.-
600 TO construct. or a total Of G15.000.-
900. The danger Of damage to these
craft is infinitely more than il is to
the larger ships OF war, as the work
they have to perform is the most
hazardous OF all: while their chance OF
being repaired. once they are put out
of action. is correspondingly less.
\ modern battleship of the Dread
nought or Lord Nelson class is built TO
stand a tremendous amount OF batter
ing before II becomes total wreck.
but one well-dirccted shot from a
twelve-inch or a ten-inch gun is cal
culated to send torpedo destroyer i'm
mediately 10 the bottom of the sea
Still. only allowing lG per cent again
II the initial cost of these vessels as
The amount of damage that would be
lone 10 them in. % war of twelve
noTths' duration. We have another
g 10000 TO add 10 our little bill.
Another important item to be taken
into consideration Is that of ammuni-
ton 1t has been calculated that q
tweive-inch gun with a service charge
costs over f200 every time il is fired.
and when II is remembered that the
Dreadnought and her sister vessels
each carry ten of these guns il will be
seen that a very considerable fortune
Would be blown away in the course of
n days fighting. These ships. it may be
explained are all so constructed that
the whole Of their ten great guns can
be brought TO bear on either side Of
ihc vessel. so that one single broadside
would cost $4,000.
II was estimated that in a single day
the Russian fleet at Port Arthur. short
iy after the commencement of the war
with Japan fired away ammunition 10
the value OF at least e100,000 sterling.
and this without doing the slightest ap-
preciable damage to the japanese fleet.
Another item that would prove an
expensive one during a years war ia
the renewal 90 the guns of our fleets.
II was proved during both the Cuban
aud the Russo-Japanese wars that the
modern high explosives with which the
shells are charged. are very destruc-
tive TO the interior of the barrels. and
IA was found that Admiral Togo had al
most to completely re-arm his feet be-
fore he had been at sea more than six
months.
II viii be seen, therefore. that the
money this country would have to pro-
vide for ammunition and guns for its
fleets i'm a years fighting would amount
To a very large sum-certainly not less
than 10000, 900 sterling. and probably
a great deal more. Still. accepting G10,-
100000 as the amount TO he spent under
thss head. the cost of the campaign has
now been brought IN TO. approximate
ly. f24.000.000.
Scarcely less important to a fleet in
time of war than ammunition is coal.
Every modern warship is designed to
develop enormous engine power and to
travel through the water at tremen-
dors speed. And the greater the speed
the greater the consumption of coal.
IL is for this reason that in time Of
peace vessels are very rarely driven
nj their full speed. A ship like the
Dreadnought, with it's huge displace-
ment and its engines working al their
full $4,000 horsepower. would literally
eat coal by the hundred tons and this
remark applies with even greater force
to the new cruiser battleships of the
Invincible class. whose turbines are de-
sigped to develop no less than Al COO
HrSe-power when driven at top speed.
4 coal bill 90 at least 100000 900 or
$50. oG0 900 might safely be looked for
when the whole available strength of
the British navy took the seas to fight
for the integrity of the empire, so that
the bill now grows TO from G 10000 900
10 $50 900. 900.
There are a thousand and one other
expenses. direct and indirect, that
would have TO be provided for when
preparing for a great war at sea. New
ships. for instance would have at once
TO be laid down i'm every available dock
ward I'm the kingdom to replace those
sunk or otherwise rendered useless.
There would also be the wages of the
officers and crews. their food and main
tenance. hospital charges, and pensions
for the crippled and for those perIna-
nently disabled. so that IL may safely
be said that a naval war would cost
this country at the very least e2.0O0 900
sterling every week that IL lasted Tn
Ger these circumstances il will be well
understood that those in charge OF the
affairs of the empire are prepared 10