Arizona republican., 1908-02-17
OUR WARSHIPS
 ARE ALL RIGHT
The Reply of Admiral Con-
 verse to the Critics
The Only Thing He Says the American Navy Lacks is Quantity.

Washington, Feb. 16.-By the direc- ton of the president, Secretary Met calf today made public the report of Admiral Converse on the fighting ships of the American navy, called forth by many criticisms recently published in magazines and otherwise. The report was prepared primarily to satisfy the president of the exact state of the naval ships as compared with those of other navies and the publication was authorized with the design to reassure American sailors as to the quality of the weapons with which they must go into battle.
 Admiral Converse characterized the criticisms as, prepared by persons, whose knowledge of the subjects dis cussed was limited and incorrect" There was, he said, ample justification for the adoption of the battleship de- signs which followed. Tt is not claim ed that mistakes were not made" he adds. ''Or that our ships are without fault but in view of the then art of ship building, this fact is not to be wondered at. It is remarkable that the mistakes are so few and that none arc iNtA4lN fAAOuS. III NAlAS ltoNtNl pui ltN- ord will compare favorably with the foreign services"
 In the ninety-One pages which the admiral devotes to the defense of the navy, the subjects dealt with include battle drills. the free board of Ameri- can ships. the height of gun positions torpedo defense guhs. the battleships' armor, turret designs. ammunition hoists. in and out turning screws. of the Kearsarge and Kentucky and gen eral notes. The emphatic conclusion is that our ships are not inferior to those in the foreign services.
 Says the admiral
 The quality and material of our navy are inferior to none In the quantity of vessels alone are We lack ing. Wh$ an increase in the number of ships of the American navy has been supplied. the only feature neces- sary to make it second to none in all that tends toward fighting eff ciency, ani when the stress of actual combat brings the only really practical test our country need have no fears or misgivings that our battleships will not give an excellent account of them selves and prove themselves all we de- signed them for and know them to be The personnel of our navy. it's am bitiOn and the professional knowledge of our officers are second to none in the world
 Considerable space is devoted to a refutation of the charge that American fighting ships do not. set as high out of the water as those of foreign na- vies. It is admitted that the Indiana and the Kearsage classes, the first battleships of the navy. are too low forward for efficient fighting in a rough sea. but the remainder of the battleships could without doubt give a good account of themselves in a fight at sea in any weather in which it is at all likely for a fleet to be en- gagged. It is stated to be the policy of the American navy ito always have our vessels armed better than our op- pOnents.' N
 Admiral Converse says: ''The Jap anese in their most recently designed ships have, notwithstanding their in- crease of speed and length, not raised their gun positions nor fire board, which is one of the results gained from their experiences in their recent