Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-08-26
OUR TORPEDO BOAT DESTROYERs

troyer Paulding over the Rockland
course remind US that several of the
latest American ships of this indipens-
able type have exceeded the maximum
speed called for in the contract. The
Reid has been credited with maximum
speed of 345 knots and the Flusser with
1877. Like the Paulding, both of those
destroyers are Of 700 tons displacement
or slightly over. The Paulding's fast
est mile as unoflicially reported, was
at the rate of 80. "a knots an hour. The
required maximum speed in the case
of the Paulding was % knots. and in
that Of the Reid and Flusser . knots.
The navy will soon possess ten de-
stroyers Of the raulding class, five of
the REID or Flusser class. and five more
large seagong destroyers similar to the
Paulding and going by the name of the
Ammen class will soon afterward fol-
low them into the water Thus TWEEN
ty modern destrOyers will be added to
an establishment sorely in need of them
and at a great disadvantage when com
pared with the British and German ma
vies for lack of enough "watchmen of
the hcet " Lieutenant Commander
Yates Stirling. Jr.. recently said on
this subject Of our deficiency in destroy
ers The fleet must be defended at
night by It's destroyers: that to the
writer is the enc big question to which
the entire service should direct its at
tention if the navy is to be prepared to
render to the country proper return
on the day Of battle"
Like battleships and cruisers. de-
stroyers have had brief life as eff
fective warships. OF 1874 destroyers on
the British naval list, in commission
and building only 81 are rated as mod
ern. 90 are termed practically modern,
81 are obsolete but of some use. 3" and
36 practically of vrey little use. "
Germany is following the lead of Eng
land building destroyers of large dis
placement and straining after speed.
On Germany's l909-l0 building pro
gramme there are twelve ships which
according to specifications are to have
a maximum speed of "a knots, and in
commission and building her total of
destroyers on a late estimate was III.
Those recently built are asid to be
excellent sea boats, strongly construc-
ted. and in every case tested by accep-
tance trials in really bad weather in or
der To guarantee against leaking or
straining. 1t is further said of them:
"all are able to make or exceed their
contract speed Resides the twenty
modern destroyers of which we have
already spoken the United States has
s Xteen boats acquired since 1899. but
they are much smaller than the Pauld
ings and the Flussers and in effective
ness inferior to them. In short in com
parison with the other two great navies
of the world. the British and the Ger
man. the United States navy is not in a
position to plume itself upon its flotilla
of destroyers.
A good friend of the navy will be
vastly pleased with trials of the new
destroyers. but it is his duty to point
ont that ut least two other navies have
destroyers as fast or faster and more
of them. and that the interests of the
United States navy demand that the
notilla be rapidly increased until there
is safe proportion of destroyers to
hattleships and cruisers. New York
Sun.