The National tribune., 1909-11-11

OF these tremendous fighting machines.
Capt. Richard T. Mulligan, who has
been an Assistant In the Bureau of Nav
Igation for two or three years, Will have
one of these coveted commands. The
new ships will be assigned TO the At
lantic battle fleet. and in all probability
will take part in the battle manuyers
of next Summer off Provincetown.
Only two or three years ago the Con-
necticut and the Louisiana, which are
$4,000 ton ships. were looked upon as
embodying the best and most formida-
BILE principles of fighting ships, But
they will look small I'm comparison with
the Delaware and North Dakota. The
Connecticut went 1878 knots an hour
on her trial trip-more than three knots
slower than the North Dakota, and
navy officers say that speed is very
important factor in lighting sea bat
ties of these modern times. The best
of the armored cruisers. which were
built more for speed than for fighting
power, made only triie more on their
trial trips than the North Dakota. The
North Carolina, one of the crack arm
ored cruisers, made 22.4S knots on her
trial trip. The two newest dread
naughts. just launched, are almost
twice as heavy as the Kentucky and
Kearsarge, sister ships of 1880 tons
each, which We're launched at Newport
News about 10 years ago. 1t will not
be long now before the Navy experts
will be celebrating about sending such
ships as the Kearsarge and the Ken
lucky to the navy yards to be tied up
indefinitely or to be placed in reserve.
The Indiana and Massachusetts. of
1e,2SS tons burden each, are virtually
retired from the battle line.
Meanwhile Secretary Meyer is trying
to have work pushed on big new dry
dock for these great war craft that
there may be a satisfactory place to
dock them. He summarily modified
plans for a dock at the Brooklyn Navy
Yard not long ago. that it might be
constructed on larger dimensions.
There has been trouble with the con-
tractors, who faced exceptional diff
culties. but a new contract has been
awarded and the work will soon be pro-
crossing.
Expensive Weapons.
The new ships cost in the aggregate
about $10,000,0e0, which is quite dou-
ble what a warship cost 10 or Is years
ago. II the $4,000 ton ship is to be
built it probably will cost nearer s15,-
e00,000, and the cost of maintenance
will be nearer S1,50O000 a year than
the present cost of s1,0O0,000 for a
ship of the Connecticut class. More
men are needed for a ship like the
North Dakota It costs more now to
maintain a sailor, as we'll as a soldier,
than it did before the Spanish war.
Then the average was about $1,000 a
year; now it is mounting to $1,000 q
year. The cost of coal for a North
Dakota will be materially more than
for Connecticut, and the prices for
the best steaming coal-which is the
only kind the Government buys for
its war fieetS-haVe been soaring. All
these things mean that the aggregate
for the support of the Navy is larger
now than it ever hase been-around
$3.50, 100000. And it will be only a
few years-perhaps two or three years,
before the annual appropriation for the
Navy will be S150.000,000, which
amounts to about 100000 daily.
The purpose is to have n battle
fleet of dreadnaughts. At first there
will be squadron. In something like
IL months more, perhaps Is months.
| the Government expects to have four
such ships in commission. But it will
be but about three years before there
will be at least eight of them, and they
will supplant such ships as the Maine,
Ohio, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Ala
| bama. The latter ships, most Of them
now in the Atlantic battle fleet, will be
put into reserve or, possibly, trans
ferred to the Pacific ocean to form with
the formidable armored cruisers O Pa
ciffc battle fleet.
While the United States Navy now has
/ the most modern warship in the North
Dakota. Great Britain has more of the
| biggest ships afioat. Accordingly, those
! who like to brag about these tremend-
Gus preparations for war, or, as some
advocates prefer to phrase il, for pre-
venting war, do not have all the argu-
ment on their side. The British, on
the whole, have been very much in ad-
/ vance of us. They were pioneers in
the all big gun batteries. The fast
| 10000 ton ships do not need to cumbei
| their decks with small caliber guns
They can fight at longer range than is
possible for small caliber rifles.
And gratified as friends OF the Navy
are that the United States has been
catching up and even surprising the
| European powers in building tremend.
Gus fighting ships, it is fully realized
| that the race has only just begun
Germany is trying TO surpass England
That rivalry is impelling both those
| Nations TO strive TO their utmost capac
| ity, and If the United States sustains 6
record of having the best ships-not the
most ships-there must be a steady ad-
vance. The current achievement, how.
| ever, is especially satisfying because
the American people, acquiescing cheer
fully In the enormous expenditures foi
| the Navy, want the best that money
can buy. 1t has been contended thai
they have been getting the best. The
| North Dakota and the 14-inch gun from
the Midyale works go to prove thai
contention for the time being.