The Washington herald., 1908-02-22
Superior to japanese Fleet.


that viii give fair and open field to the
American trade.
Superior to Japanese Fleet.
When the feet now on its way to san
Francisco IS Joined by the other effec-
tive vessels on the Pacific. it will make
fleet OF eighteen battle ships, eight
armored cruisers, thirteen protected
cruisers, thirteen destroyers FIVE torpedo
boats. and two submarines. The battle
ships and cruisers alone aggregate 42S. .l72
tons, while the other naval power on the
Pacific-Japan-has only S74.7Ol tons in all
classes of vessels The Pacific fleet will
be amply able 10 protect American inter
ests in that ocean.
Sketching the growth Of the new navy
from 1888, when the vessels Of the famous
White Squadron were authorized, to the
present day. when the United States has
become the second sea power in the
world. SURPRISING France by a small mar
gin and far outstrpping Germany, Rus
sia, and Japan he said this lead could
easily be maintained by authorizing only
two more battle ships OF the big-gun type
this year. and the United States would
still lead France by 10000 tons in sea-
ishting force.
Need for Larger ships.
Calling attention TO the change in the
character Of battle ships which resulted
from the lessons of the naval engage
ments during the Russo-Japanese war,
which taught the Importance Of big ships,
carrying big guns, so that a greater
weight Of metal can be brought within
Ehprter battle lire, Mr.. Perkins declared
that as a consequence all the naval pow
ers are building ships carrying Pinch
rifles for offensive purposes and COM
paratively few small rapid-fre guns for
defense against torpedo-boat attack.
we have two ships OF this type under
way" he said, each being of 20.O00 tons
displacement and carrying ten Pinch
guns. July l. 19O7 our navy consisted Of
525 vessels, OF which 2S5 were ready for
service. Our fighting strength resided in
IA vessels. comprising p battle ships, 10
armored cruisers. Il cruisers. 16 destroy
ers. p torpedo boats L submarines, and
II coast-defense vessels. These were man
ned by 2cS1 officers and 34,952 enlisted
men. with S.4l4 officers and men of the
Marine Corps
Big Navy Aids Iron Trade.
Mr.. Perkins presented figures showing
that the cost of the vessels Of the new
navy built or authorized was $SO9. SIS. 100.
while the total expenditures on account
of the naval establishment since 1855
amounted 70 $l9i4.65l.O29
But this vast expenditure is not, as
may be claimed by some. unproductive.
said he. 'The construction of the ships
OF our navy gave such a stimulus to the
iron trade that more iron mills We're es-
tablished, better material was produced,
prices We're lowered and iron and steel
came into general use in all kinds of con-
struction. so that now we are the great
est iron and steel manufacturers in the
world
IN 1850 there were only 10000 wage
earne-s in the iron and steel industries
of the country. earning S59OOO.OO0 and
turning ont products worth S296,0O00GO. In
1905 there were $1,000 wage earners,
earning SiS2.010.00O and turning out prod
ucts worth $2.176cc0.O0O.
supports Many wage-earners.
THE average wage increased from 500
10 $3.50 one years wage of workmen in
tie iron and steel industries will to-day
more than pay the cost Of all the vessels
Of our new navy built building or au-
thOrized. and One-half the value Of the
iron and steel product for a single year
viii pay the entire cost OF the naval es-
tablishment since 1SS3
That the encouragement given to this
industry by the construction of ships of
war had very potent influence in bring
ing about this result cannot be doubted.
And there IS hardly an industry in the
land that has not been benefited in a
similar way, though not perhaps in so
marked degree. The money expended
on the ships Of war was not, therefore.
an economic loss, judged by single trade
alone.