Rensselaer Republican, Volume 28, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1895 — OUR NEW NAVY. [ARTICLE]

OUR NEW NAVY.

Extract* from tire Annual Report of "Sen- ... * retary Herbert Washington, Dec. 2. Advocates of contin lltng the incrr.qge i n r>A.iv_naL-y n.-il| find satisfaction in the annual report of Secretary .Herbert to the president. The secretary recommends the construction of twi, battleships and at least. 12 torpedo i boats, and he - prefaces his recommendation with the statement that "an inspection' of the tables herein given, showing | the relative strength of navies will furnish, it is believed, all the argument now needed for the continuation of the building pr-igramm c heretofore indicated by tinaction of congress We are not in want of ordinary unarfndred cruisers or gunboats,' but wc arc lamentably deficient iuporpedo" /boats, and we certainly need ipojMLbattleships. An inspection of the programme of other nations will dttnSinatrate that The lessons taught at Wei Hai Wei have tended to confirm the belief of naval experts throughout the world in that efficiency of these-.two classes of. vessels” .;, 5 Toward thts proposed dnerease of she navy Mr. Herbert estimates that $9.628,353 is necessary, and, inclusive of that amount -his est . nates for the complete expenses of -the naval establishment for the fiscal year enjiing June 30. 1307, aggregate $29,311,106. Out of the appropriation for the current fiscal year, amounting to $14,212,301, there remains $942,286. yWith the exception of the appeal for more ships, the most important topic treated by -Secretary Herbert is that of a reserve sys tern. He prefaces his suggestion that such a system be established with some pom mont on the necessity for having more enlisted men, and recommends that the enlistment of 1,000 more men be authorized. We have, he says, a magnificent squadron if armed and manned; but, he adds, wa havr not a man to put updn cr.o pi them gn<l no autb&r'ty 9? law (9 CUvCpt the services or a single er.e of the thouStu-dc u;hi> in case of wan, would volunteer (o serve* Mr. Herbert says:" “All this ought hot to be. It Is the height of unreason to pay heavy subventions to swift ships and call them pur auxiliary navy unless we have the means of arming them: it is folly to maintain these ships and procure arms lot them if we are jiever to man them, and certainly it is unwise and shortsighted to defer making any provision by law for vessels until after- the emergency of an always possible war shall have arisen In this connection he incorporates in his repor| some extracts from his report last year, one paragraph of which is so interesting that it is herewith given: "Under_ nor the English can keep more than one small naval vessel upon our northern lakes. So far the two countries are matched. In case, however, a war should unfortunately break-out between them. Great Britain could promptly furnish guns and gun mounts to her merchant marine on the lakes, and, though their marine is far inferior to ours in strength, the British might master those waters and do Incalculable damage to our lake cities. If wn had a reserve of ordnance and ordnance stores we could dominate those waters without question.”