Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1912-02-10
BIC NAVY PLANS
STILL IN ETHER
Doubtful if Proposal for
Two New Ships Will
Go Through


representative 20 derv the rcgues.
,f the navy department for be- con.
slruction of two big bottlcslirs dur
ue he comm" year. Officials of tho
department we're convinced some time
1eo that their request had little
chance of sanction hv q house which
is economically inclined II seems
hardly probable that The senate will
insist that the house win a.celc 90
the wishes Of The navy department.
although such a thing Is within the
range OF possibilities.
rive years ago Mr.. Roosevelt. then
president asked congress to author
ize tho building Of four big battle.
ships IN a single year. II was gen.
orally believed al the time that the
colonel asked for four ships in order
that he might be SURF that be would
get two.
The year OF tho Roosevelt request
the Republican majority In congress
let II be understood that the inten.
ton was TO build two battleships a
year each succeeding year until the
Panama Canal was opened. and by
that time Il a urged the navy
would be big enough for offensive
and defensive purposes and that Il
would only DO necessary 10 build
ships as other ships became antlquat-
Cd and passed out Of service.
Soon Become ~OutofDate.
Ships are becoming Anticipated rap
Idly. They seem TO get into their
second childhood before they have
reao' ed the age Of youth. The last
report Ia that tho Koarsnrge and the
Alabama, frst-class b~attloshlps only
a few years old, are nearing tho out.
of-dats condition. Tho navy depart.
mont officials say that n no ships
are built FOR some years We viii have
10 begin building tho navy all over
again, a proposition TO which some
men do not accede The peace al.
vocaies hope that n no more vessels
are built the necessity for future
construction will pass and that with
Hague tribunals and arbitration trea-
ties turrets and twelve inch guns will
g. 10 the scrap heap.
Some Of the members ~ the ma
jority In the house say that they do
not agree with the peace advocates
and that there is no intention Of let
ting the navy 70 10 the scrap heap
and that the Democrats can be de-
pended upon 10 keep the navy up TO
the fighting STANDARD The program,
however does not %necessltate the
building Of two great ships this year
NJ a cost OF something like thirty
Il Is Just Nifty years ago now that
'he famous ironclad Monitor was
launched at the brooklyn navy yard.
that day iron and steel ships
gradually have taken the place OF
old wooden lr.gates There Ia a
tremendous contrast, however, be-
tween the FIRST ironclads. the north.
ern Monitor and the southern Merit
mac and the ~drcadnaughts OF today.
Nays Growth Shown in Models.
In the new National museum in
Washington Americans can learn by
Inspection " many models, the de-
velopment Of the navy in the last
half century The models follow a
fyed scale They are not large, but
hey show every detail Of every class
~ var ship Of the navy from the very
beginning OF wal vessel construction
IN this country.
The old Constitution. which won so
many notable victories I'm the War
n 1912 over British vessels. Is shown.
md near her Is n model OF the great
pat war vessel anoat, the recently
constructed American battlcshlp Flor
da
u Is n long time since the day Of
the supremacy Of the wsoden ships.
but that time Is spanned by the lives
" men still active There are in
Washington several old sailors on the
list who served on the Cousti.
ution and the famous ~ by no means
famous Constellation The
Constellation Ia gone. but the old
Constitution Ia moored IN the basin
" the navy yard at C~harlestown,
II generally has been sup
posed hat most OF the timbers OF the
Constitution have been replaced. but
\ Ia said that a large part Of the oak
which first entered into her construc.
Ton is there today. weather proof
Ind sea proof
To pass from war ships 10 pleasure
attention has been called re-
'ently 10 the fact that the yacht Pur.
tan which won the Americas cup
rom the British yacht Genesta in
1855 is now hauling gravel between
New York city and The Cape Verde
The Puritan, first a racing
YACHT then a pleasure yacht. and
alter a fishing vessel, was for TWO
Tears an adjunct 10 a junk heap. but
II has been rebuilt for the gravel
.rade. Boats, Ike men. sometime.
descend rapldly from their hirh "a