The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1908-02-12
Our Great Navy.

Our Great Navy.
Just at this time when the great
battleship fleet is making a trip
more thanhalfway around the world,
when the dispatches are filled with
accounts of an attempt to blow up
one or two Of the magnificent vessels
in Admiral Evans command, and
when Hobson and the president are
striving to secure consent Of
congress to a plan that will
mean a much greater navy in the
near future it is pleasant to know
that all the world comedies that our
navy is the second strongest in the
world says the Augusta Chronicle.
lis surpassed by Englands alone,
and will continue to be indefinitely
on account of tina! nations scheme
of naval defense, always striving to
build as many ships annually as any
two nations combined. AS long as
this plan is pursued it is evident
that the United States will have to
contiue to allow Albion to bear the
title of Mistress of the Seas.
Just wherein the excellence and
strength. of our navy lies is told in
Brassey's naval annual, which IS an
authority in matters Of the kind.
Commenting on this there is a lun-
inous explanation in Harper's Week
ly written by Newton Forest, who in
the course Of his article tells the tlg.
ures in an interesting way.
Great Britain, United States,
France, Germany and Japan, is the
order in which the list of the worlds
naval powers begins.
Great Britain alone exceeds the
United States in fighting forces
aAoat. To attain it's position the
United States, during the twenty
four years which have elapsed since
the building Of the modern navy be-
gan, has expended s300,359, 1870, or
an average Of nearly s13.oOO,0OO a
year.
A comparison of the naval strength
of Japan and the United States is
doubly interesting in view Of the re-
cent departure Of the American
fleet of battleships for the Pacific,
and the significance which has been
attached to this event. The Amerl.
can navy has on its list % battleship>
of 10000 tons and over, while japan.
has l3; our navy has II coast-defence
vessels, Japan 8; we have Is armoreo
cruisers, Japan 13, But in the mum.
Der of torpedo 'oats and torpedo
boat destroyers Japan is far ahead.
She has 70 torpedo-boat and 81 tor
pedo-boat destroyers, while the
United States has only 80 torpedo
boats and 81 torpedo-hoat destroyers.
On the other hand, Japan has only
9 submarines while we have 10.
In the cost Of battleships Of our
navy the Connecticut and the
Kansas lead the others, the for
mer costing s7,667, ,6O6, and the lat
ter S7,O71,l l43. The cost of main
tenance of each type of warship is
as follows: Battleships, s636.5S7 ~;
armored cruiser, s755.l5l.47;; pro-
tected cruiser, s5S3,OO2.26; gun
boat, s1l5. .5s5.l2;; torpedo-boat de-
stroyer, SIT, 7,354.22;; torpedo-boat,
$50, $40. SO; submarine, S26,
The total number of ships in the
American navy is 1853; in the navy
of Great Britain, 454;; in the French
navy, sos; in the navy Of Germany,
21O and Japan has 1914. 1t will thus
be seen that while the United States
has the least number OF ships OF
these five powers, she is still second
in rank by her comparative strength
in battleship tonnage. Great Brl-
tain's tonnage of S21,3s0; United
States, 4O6.146: France, 1868, ,46l;; !,
Germany, 35S,461; Japan, 1s1, ,498.
The reason of the excess Of ships
in the French navy is found in the
fact that she has 27l torpedo-boats
and SO submarines. while England
has only II torpedo-boats and 48
submarines. and the Uuited States
only 81 torpedo boats and 10 sub1na-
rlnes.
The personnel of the United States
navy has always been considered
high in standard. but in number it ]
falls below those Of England. |
France, Germany, and Japan. But
the United States is one Of the three
countries among the FIVE mentioned !
which maintains a marine corps.
The other two countries which have
his branch the service are Eng
and and Germany.