The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-24
Naval Officials Give Favorable
 Views on the Navy
LETTER OF ADMIRAL DEWEY
Admiral Dewey and Rear Admiral Evans Both Speak Warmly In De- fense of the Fleet and the
 Type of Battleshlps.

Chicago, November 2s.-Critics of the navy, who condemn warships because of minor defects, were publicly answered at a banquet tonight of the United States Naval Academy Alumni of the West. Six rear admirals sat at the banquet board at the Auditorium hotel and letters scathing recent critics and praising the navy were read from Admiral George Dewey, Rear Admiral Schley and Rear Admiral R. D. Evans.
 Rear Admiral Capps declared that the vessels of this country were fully abreast of the times. Each of the following opinions was written in response to a re- quest:
 Admiral Dawey's letter follows:
 'Of the battleships designed during the past five years l have spoken and shall continue to speak in the highest terms. The South Carolina and Michigan, the North Dakota and that class are in my opinion, equal in value to any battleship ot their displacement in any navy, and this Is. I believe, the general naval yer dict upon their power and efficiency.
 "The fleet of battleships now going around the world are of the older type and some of them have lived about half the life, as commonly estimated, of a hattleship of the first line. The vessels which have recently been received with such marked consideration in South America New Zealand, Australia, Japan and China, are the equals of foreign ves- sels of their date or design and com pletion and often their superiors. There is probably nowhere in the world today fleet of IS battleships. of greater fight ing strength
 Letter From SchIey.
 Admiral w. s. Schleys letter:
 q am wholly out of sympathy with those critics who find nothing good in what exists or whose policy appears to be destructive rather than constructive.
 ''I take exception to much of the ad- verse criticism today becauses the fact is withheld that many of the minor defects adverted to were incident 10 the time and type when those vessels were. con- structed, and they are common to large percentage of the war vessels of every other power. But the inference sought to be established that our ships are in- ferior in their classes to those in for eign naves is unfair, untrue and un- patriotic
 Rear Admiral Capps said:
 Opinion of capps.
 "I requested an opinion from only one other and this officer Is one who has served as conlmander-invchief of modern fleets for q longer period than any American naval officer now living. He is an officel of whom the President of the United States expressed himself in the following terms in letter. referring to a publication soon to appear:
 Your career has been one that has reflected homer upon the entire American people, and it covered a period which saw changes as great as those which divided the reriod ot the rowing galleys, which fought at Lepanto, from the period of the great sailing slip of the line that formed the fleets of Blake and Nelson, of Tromp and Deruyter and Suf1ren. While still one Of the youngest officers in the navy in the assault at Fort Fisher, at the close of tae Civil war, you won with signal galantry the honorable wounds that you yet bear; and you ended your career as the rear admiral who took on it's first and most important voyage the great battle- ship fleet whicb is at this moment en- gagged in making the longest voyage ever undertaken by any such fleet of any na- ton You have showr. the qualities Of courage and honor and trained efficiency
  the Amer,car navy; and l hope your book will he widely read throughout all the country, tor 1t cannot but tend in favor of a glowing and lofty patriotism
 Views of Admiral Evans.
 'sOf course, there is no doubt as to whom the President referred to in the foregoing. I will rea1 the letter from Reat-Admiral Evans.
 After an experience with our feet which few men have had, l am convinced that our shiIs, taken as whole, are equal to CT superior to those built by any other country. Of course, our first ships are not the equals of the last foreign ships and no sane man would expect them to be: but date for date o1 design, they are the equals Of any, except in the case of our latest designed ships. where the great superiority of ours is beyond ques ton. As fighting machines our designs of the last few years show greater advant- age over anything prepared abroad 1 havs made it my business to study the recent criticisms of our navy, published in various magazines and papers and l have no word with which to tell you how un- just, misleading and silly they are.''
 Young Man Electrocuted.