Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1908-02-22
UPHOLDS OUR navy
ADMIRAL CONVERSE REPORTS
BACK TO CRITICS.
Fighting Ships of American Navy Good
as Any in WorId-Lack Only in
Numbers-There Are a Few Faults,
but Not Serious-Personne or Navy
Second to None in the World.

BY direction of the president, Sec
rotary Metcalf has made public the
report of Admiral Converse on the
lighting ships of the American navy,
called forth by many criticisms re-
Gently published in magazines and 9TH
erwise.
This report was prepared primarily
to satisfy the president as to the exact
state of our naval ships compared with
those of other navies, and its publica-
ton is authorized with the design to
reassure the American sailors as to
the quality of the ships with which
they must go into battle
Admiral Converse characterizes the
criticisms as prepared by persons
whose knowledge of the subjects dis
cussed was limited and incorrect"
There was, he said, ample justifica-
ton for the adoption of the battleship
designs which have been followed. ut
is not claimed that mistakes have not
been made, he adds, "or that our
ships are without faults, but in view
of the then state of the art of battle
ship building, this fact is not to be
wondered at. 1t is remarkable that
the mistakes were so few and that
none were really serious. In this re-
spect, our record will compare favor
ably with that of foreign services"
In the 81 pages which the admiral
devotes to the defense of the navy,
the subjects dealt with include battle
drills, freeboard of American ships,
height of gun positions, torpedo de-
Tense guns, battleship armor, turret
designs, ammunition hoists, in and OUT
turning screws, the Kearsarge and
Kentucky, and general notes. His
emphatic conclusion is: Our ships
are not inferior to those in foreign
services"
Made Necessary Compromises.
1--WE have" he says, made compro-
misses in our designs of battleships,
because it is impossible to construct
a perfect battleship; such compro-
misses have, perhaps, detracted from
the desired perfect ship in some re-
spects, but at the same time have
made it possible to improve upon
some other existing disadvantages and,
on the whole, the compromises, each
and all, have tended toward a nearer
approach to the desired perfect final
nfhnr n nd
will, like ourselves, continue to labor
under this same difficulty in endeav-
oring to approach as near as possible
to that impossibility-a perfect bat
tleship.
Lacking Only in Numbers.
THE quality of the material of our
navy is inferior to none; in quantity
of vessels alone are we lacking With
an increase in number of ships the
American navy will have been sup
piled the only feature necessary to
make it second to none in all that
tends toward fighting efficiency. And
when the stress of actual combat, if
such should unfortunately come, brings
the only really practical tests, our
country need have no fears or mis-
givings that our battleships will not
give an excellent account of them
selves and prove themselves all that
we have designed them for and know
them to be-"
The admiral says, in treating of bat
tie drills, that it was not until the
spring of 1908 that our navy achieved
the size of squadron-eight battle
ships; and not until last spring that
we acquired a fieet-two squadrons. II
then for the first time became posi-
Bile to carry out fleet tactics. These
were begun in July, were interrupted
for target practice, and resumed again
in the present voyage to the Pacific
coast In this connection the admira
remarks:
THE personnel of our navy in am
bition and professional knowledge, /:
second to none in the world"