The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-22
Senator Perkins Talks of
 Pacific Fleet.
LcNG CRUISE IS WISE STEP
No Unfriendliness Intended To-
 wards Any Other Nation.
sending of Admiral Evans's Fleet to Paciac. He Deeisres. wrn Give Us . Most valuable
 Prestige.

Washington. Feb. 2f--A defense of the policy Of sending the American battIeships to the Pacific ocean and maintaining that the vast expenditure on the new navy was fully warranted, was made in the Senate todsy by Sena- tor Perkins, of California. His re- marks were directed to the resolution which he had read at the desk as fol- lows:
 aResoiyed. that 1t should be the policy of this government while not adopting continuous program fixing the number of naval vessels of any type to be built in future years. to maintain its present relative position in comparison with the navies of the other great powers.'
 "The policy" he said, which sent the fleet to the Pacific is wise and necessary if we are to retain on that ocean, the prestige that will give fair and open field to our sea trade.s'
 This was in no way an indication Of any unfriendliness on the part Of the United States towards any other nation. The reception the fleet had received in South America. he declared, was an indication of the friendlinsss of those people toward the United States.
 
 San Francisco. is joined by the other effective vessels on the Pacific," Mir. Perkins said, i've shall have fleet of eighteen battleships, eight armored cruisers, thirteen protected cruisers. thirteen destroyers. five torpedo boats and two submarines. The battleships and cruisers alone aggregate 4zS.1Ts tons while the other naval power on the Pacifc--,J ,Japan--has only s7&.7Oi tons in all classes of vessels The Pa cific fleet will be amply able to pros fect our interests in that ocean"
 Attention was called to. the unbrok en record of bravery which the navy pre- sents from it's earliest beginnings. and on the Pacific those who man vessels win have tlTa example Of &gEaanosioFe Sioat Admiral Eimberly and Adnirea Dewey for 9insptFatiou, The senator sNefchea the growth e9 the new na*Sf from 1888 when the vessels of the fam oua White Squadron were authortxe0 4o tho ureseut day. When the Unttsd States has become the second eea pow CT 10 the werids suFpasging France by q small margin ir strength of our figlating force and Tar 0uterlppihg Ger-' many. Russia and Japan. And this lead, he said. the United States Is easi-. iy able to maintain, by authorizing only two more battleships of the big gun type.
 Reference was made to the change. in fhe character of battleshipr which resulted from the lessons of the naval angagements during the Russo-Japa- nese war, was taught the. importance of big ships carrying big guns 60 that a greater weight of metal can be Brought within a shorter battle line.
 sThe cost of the vessels of the new, navy built, building or authorized, is S3o9, ,s5s.1sO, while the total expenoi- lures on account of the naval estab- iishment since 1883 is $1,244.65l .0ls, said Mr. Perkins. "But this vast ex- penditure is not. as may be claimed by some, unproductive. The constFuc- fion of the ships of our navy gave such stimulus to the iron trade that now we are the greatest iron and steel nsnu- lecturers in the world. In 1880 there were only i40,000 wage earners In the iron and steel industries of the coun- fry. earning S55.000 900, and turning ont products worth 92s6.0O0. .000. In IeO5 there were 857,O00 wage earners, earning S4s2, coo, Quo, and turning out products worth S2,176,000.00O. And there is hardly an industry in the land that has not been benefited in similar way, though not perhaps in so marked a way. The money expended on the ships of war was not,therefore, an eco homie loss judged by a single trade alone"
 Senator Perkins closed by calling att 4entfon to the brilliant services of our fleet at the time of the Spanish-Amer- fcan war and to the deeds of heroism then performed.