The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1908-01-05
The Maintenance Of Our Naval standing

The maintenance OF Our Naval Standing
An indication of some of the things the
United States will be compelled TO do in
order to maintain its position as the sec
ond naval power of the world. and carry
out the revolutionized naval policy of the
administration. is contained in cabled
press reports of the performances OF
Englsnd's newest destroyers. Adherence
10 President Roosevelt's former plan. out
lined in his annual message OF 1896. would
involve only the upkeep of the navy at
its present strength, That is. each obso-
lete or WORKOUT vessel on reaching the
end of its period Of usefulness would be
replaced by new one of the latest i'm
proved type, But the policy which Mr..
Roosevelt announced I'm the message sent
in when Congress convened last month,
and OF which the spectacular cruise to
the Pacific is a part, eontemplates a ma
terially increased number of fighting
ships and men-an increase sufficiently
large to keep this nation among the two
or three powers which are strongest on
the sea- if not, indeed to place it at the
very top OF the list This means. OF
course, among other things, that the
United States must emulate to very
large extent at least the naval pro-
grammes Of other countries in which
heretofore Il has done little more than
take professional and technical interest.
Thus it viii be seen that from the admin
istratiOn's standpoint unusual significance
attaches to the performances Of Great
Britain's new destroyers
The Swift, the last of the boats IN he
launched. is under contract to make tbir-
ty-six knots an hour. and there is no
doubt Of her ability to do so. The Tar
tar. which preceded her off the WAYS not
long ago. ran a measured mile at the
rate of thirty-seven knots an hour, and
averaged more than thirty-five knots dur
ing six-hour run. These figures. oh
viously easily overshadow the best rec
ords OF our navy. Not only is the Swift
Of something like three times greater
tonnage than any vessel of similar class
owned by the United States. but she sur-
passes. in the matter of general desira-
bility ana effectiveness, anything of her
class afioat. Furthermore-and this will
interest some people more than ANYTHING
else-her cost Is far greater than thar nj
other vessels Of her type. being no less
than sl.500.OO0. In common with all the
other new British destroyers of smaller
tonnage and cost, the Swift uses oil for
fuel and is equipped with turbine engines
She has not been subjected to her final
trials as yet. but her immediate predeces-
sors have all gone through their PAGES
ana are regarded as more than satisfac-
tory by the admiralty.
The recently issued Naval Year Rool,
designates Great Britain as the onI,,
power whose fighting ability at sea Is
greater than that Of the Unitcd States
ana the facts outlined here indicate one
OF the directions in which that country
IS moving to maintain its supremacy. II
viii be particularly interesting to OH
serve how long the relative positions will
be maintained. for. while the ambitious
attitude Of the administration is per-
fectly clear, the position of Congress
which must supply the funds, Is neces-
sarily somewhat IN doubt and the stua-
ton is complicated by the apparent at
-empt. through the dispatch Of the Pa