Part 14

But let us glance at the kind of weapons which would be used against us in a foreign war, and with which we are unprovided and with which we must supply ourselves. Except the United States, every nation of any maritime importance possesses immense war vessels. There are some vessels which have an average speed of sixteen miles an hour; which have their batteries and their machinery protected by solid iron of a thickness of two feet, or of steel and iron combined of one and a half feet thickness; whose battery, or armament rather, consists of a few _very_ heavy guns, capable of sending a mass of metal weighing one ton a distance of eleven miles, several guns of less weight and power, a number of revolving cannon, a dozen or two dozen torpedoes, two torpedo-boats, each of these fitted with four torpedoes and a revolving gun; whose crews are supplied with rapid, accurate and distant-firing small arms (muskets and pistols). In addition to all this, these vessels are rams, and are themselves most powerful weapons of war, and could cut in two and sink any ship they struck. These vessels, when complete, with their guns, ammunition, crews, provisions and coal, everything in fact on board, weigh from 9,000 to 13,000 tons. About twenty-seven feet of the depth of such a vessel while she floats is beneath the surface of the water, and the whole ship is divided into fifty or more water-tight compartments, so that if any two compartments are filled with water the ship will still float. These iron-clads (more properly armor-clads) do not have this two feet thickness of iron all around the ship, only the vital parts, the engines and boilers, etc., and that part of the ship where the great guns are fought, are so protected. The armor consists of a belt eight to ten feet wide (deep) and from one to two feet thick; half of its width or depth is below the surface of the water and half is above. The machinery, engines and boilers in a war vessel are put in the ship as low down as possible, the farther below the surface of the water the better, as below the surface of the water a shot is not effective, that is, for a greater depth below the surface than one or two feet.

The machinery then is protected from shot on the sides and underneath. To protect it from shot on top, a steel deck of three inches thickness is built in the ship immediately over the engines and boilers, the deck inclining toward the sides of the ship, so that if a shot did strike the deck it would be deflected upward and away from the engines and boilers. This deck is also placed below the surface of the water, if practicable.

The guns of such a ship are generally placed in a citadel and on the deck underneath the citadel. The citadel is clad with iron or steel, and the guns on the deck beneath are protected by the belt of armor spoken of above.

The amount of metal that the guns can fire from one side of such a ship is anywhere from 6,700 to 8,960 pounds. The shot composing this mass of metal travel through the air with a velocity of 1,800 feet per second, and travel nine miles in about twenty-five seconds. When a shot weighing one ton and traveling with such velocity strikes an object squarely, the object must indeed be strong to withstand the shock.

What resistance to such a force could the walls of a wooden ship give, or even those of ten-sixteenths of an inch of steel or of seven inches of iron? Yet there is no United States war vessel with a greater thickness of side than seven inches of iron. Most of our monitors have only 5″ armor.

The people of this country have reason to be proud of the deeds of their navy in the past, and many a time has the “ruler of the seas” lowered his flag to the stars and stripes. But those victories were gained with ships the equal of any in the world, and with guns which had no superiors and with crews and officers well trained and accustomed to the use of their weapons. Is it so now with our navy? No. We would go into battle with the odds all against us. The sides of our ships are as pasteboard to the high-power guns of the present time.

Our guns are as much use against two feet of iron armor, or its equivalent in steel, as a pop-gun is against a stone wall, and would make just about as much impression. And, although we have just as brave, patriotic and skillful men and officers in our navy to-day as we ever had, they are not skilled or trained in the use of the proper weapons, in the management of modern weapons—such as their opponents will use against them.

The possession of these instruments of war would make all governments very careful and respectful in their treatment of us and increase the probabilities of their never being used in actual warfare. The annual cost would not amount to the one millionth of the amount of damage Brazil, or Italy, or Germany, or France, or England, or Chili even could do us in the same length of time if we are without them.

Our navy costs about $15,000,000 yearly, about half of that sum is for the pay of officers and men, and it is misapplied, because they are being trained in the use of weapons which are no longer effective, and our people are not getting the proper return for their money. But the fault is their own and the navy is not to blame. The cause of the great change that has taken place in the last twenty years in the weapons of naval warfare is due to the use of iron and steel, instead of wood, in the construction of ships, and, although the navy has asked the country repeatedly for modern ships and guns, the people have not seen fit to grant them.

This is what our navy consists of: Of high-power rifle guns, such as almost every nation possesses, we have one, recently finished, and which, owing to lack of experience, required _one year_ to construct.

Of cruising vessels, fit only to destroy merchant vessels of slow speed, we have thirty-six, four of which are of iron, whose sides are about one half inch thick. None of these vessels would be able to engage the battle ships of any maritime nation.

For coast defense, we have nineteen iron-clads; many require extensive repairs, and it would take time to put them in condition. None of them have sides of a greater thickness than seven inches of iron, and they could not withstand the blows of modern guns.

Of guns for the whole fleet, we have, beside the one mentioned above, eighty-seven converted rifle guns worth retaining, but they are only of fair power. The other guns in the navy, 2,577 in number, are, according to a late report of the Secretary of the Navy, “in no real sense suited to the needs of the present day.”

Of torpedo-boats such as every other navy has, we have _none_ nor have we any torpedo-boats, except the “Alarm.”

Of the personnel, there are, all told, officers, seamen, apprentices and marines, 11,918.

Of reserves, we have none but the merchant marine, and merchant sailors require considerable training to fit them for war purposes, and none of them are trained for such a purpose now.

This force is to protect 10,000 miles of sea coast, the lake coast, the second largest merchant marine in the world, the amount of property is incalculable, and the interests of 55,000,000 of people. Our country is rich and prosperous, and the treasury is fairly bursting with the money we have saved. Every year we put away in its vaults $100,000,000, for which we have no present use. Our resources in metal in the ore, and in everything connected with the material of ship building and gun building is almost beyond comparison with any other country. With one year’s surplus of revenue we could build a navy that would cause the most powerful nations to fear and respect us, and which would be the surest harbinger of peace. But our people are beginning in a slow way to realize that we need a reorganization of the navy, and Congress has appropriated the money for the building of four new vessels. These are to be of steel, and are for the purpose of protecting our shipping, our citizens abroad, and to police the seas in time of peace and to prey upon the enemy’s commerce in time of war. They will have high speed, about seventeen miles an hour, and (if Congress appropriates the money) they will have high-power modern rifle guns which will compare favorably with the guns of similar size of other nations. But they will not be _battle_ ships, nor coast defense ships. Their sides will be about ten-sixteenths of an inch thick, and, although of steel, that thickness will not resist a shot from a high-powered rifle gun. These four vessels have been named the “Chicago,” “Boston,” “Atlanta” and “Dolphin.” The “Dolphin” is now afloat, having been launched Saturday, April 12th, at Chester, Pa., at the works of John Roach & Co. The same firm is building the other three new vessels. They will all be finished one year from now. The guns for the armament are being constructed, some at the Washington Arsenal, some at Cold Springs, N. Y., and some at South Boston, Mass. They are all to be of steel, and this metal, which is used throughout in the construction of the ships and guns, if possible is to be manufactured in the United States, however, it may be necessary to send to England for the tubes for the larger sized guns. The building of these vessels and guns has given an impetus to the steel industry in our country and has been the means of giving employment and experience to our mechanics, which almost alone repays for the outlay in money.

Building ships and guns in our own country, and of our own metal, and with our own workmen, increases our resources just so much, and adds just so much to our war strength; and adds just so much, too, to the interest the people of the country take in their defenses, in their navy. The employment affects thousands of families; not only are the ship builder, the gun constructor and the skilled mechanics employed by them benefited, but the miners, and all those engaged in transporting the ore and the coal from the mines to the workshops, and _their_ families are benefited. We have grown to be a great manufacturing country, and the skill and ingenuity of our mechanics in the manufacture of some articles are recognized by all. Many of our manufactured articles are in use in every part of the world. We are unrivaled in our labor-saving machines, because it requires, to think out and invent the sewing machine, the agricultural machine, etc., etc., something which the mechanics of other countries do not possess, superior mental ability, due to our free institutions and general education. Here is a field for our mechanics, _the manufacture of all war material_. Why should not _we_, instead of Mr. Krupp, supply the world with guns? Why should not _we_, instead of Mr. Yarrow, of England, supply the world with torpedo-boats, etc., etc.?

We have supplied other nations with muskets; an American invented the gun which fires a hailstorm of 1,200 bullets per minute, and which bears his name, the Gatling gun; and our fellow countryman is supplying the world with revolving cannon, but _not_ from the United States. Every one of our manufacturing industries has been assisted by the government by high tariff on similar articles of foreign manufacture. But that would not be the kind of assistance the manufacture of war material would need to boom it along. All that would be necessary for the government to do for that industry is to accept and adopt such articles for the use of our army and navy as are proved to be valuable, and to provide itself liberally with them, and cease doing as it did with the Hotchkiss gun, purchase one or two, and drive the inventor to a foreign land, where his invention is better appreciated.

It is humiliating to every patriotic man and to every mechanic in our land, and a disgrace to the American people that we, a manufacturing country, a country full of mechanical genius, a country full of iron ore and of coal, a rich country, should go to other nations to buy steel plates to use as armor for our monitors, and steel for the tubes of our guns. That is what we have recently done, and the “Alert” is now bringing us some steel plates made in England. Why should not our manufacturers get the large profit there is in the manufacture of weapons of war? All they need is a little encouragement from the government, and orders would soon come in from foreign governments, for it can not be doubted that our superior mechanics in a very short time would produce a superior style of weapon. There is at present no demand by our government for such articles, while in England there is _constant_ demand for them; our mechanics are inexperienced, and governments which have a need for such material, and which _do_ prepare for war in time of peace, purchase from those skilled and experienced in their make. Our government, by encouraging such an industry, would be but providing itself with the best of weapons, and would be putting the country in a secure state of defense.

Germany, ten years ago, adopted a scheme for the improvement of her navy, which before that time was of little consequence, and part of the policy was, to build her own armor-clads, and everything pertaining to the navy in her own country, and she has so far succeeded that her navy, though not the largest, is one of the _best_ in the world, and was all created by her own people, and at a small annual expenditure. Now, the private dock-yards in Germany that build some of the new ships of the navy are building war vessels for other countries. It is unnecessary to say that Germany’s wealth and natural resources are not nearly as great as our own.

At the opening of Congress in 1872, the President, in his message, called attention to this subject in the following few but apt and unequivocal words:

I can not too strongly urge upon you my conviction that every consideration of national safety, _economy_, and honor imperatively demands a thorough rehabilitation of our navy.

With a full appreciation of the fact that compliance with the suggestions of the head of the Department and of the advisory board must involve a large expenditure of the public money, I earnestly recommend such appropriation as will accomplish an end which seems to me so desirable.

Nothing can be more inconsistent with true public economy than withholding the means necessary to accomplish the object intended by the constitution to the national legislature. One of these objects, and one which is of paramount importance, is declared by our fundamental law to be the provision for the “common defense.” Surely nothing is more essential to the defense of the United States, and of _all_ our people than the efficiency of our navy.

We have for many years maintained with foreign governments the relations of honorable peace, and that such relations may be permanent is desired by every patriotic citizen of the republic.

But if we heed the teachings of history we shall not forget that in the life of _every_ nation emergencies may arise when a resort to arms can alone save it from dishonor.

The Secretary of the Navy commences his annual report for the same year with this earnest appeal in behalf of the navy:

The condition of the navy imperatively demands the prompt and earnest attention of Congress. Unless some action be had in its behalf it must soon dwindle into insignificance. From such a state it would be difficult to revive it into efficiency without dangerous delay and _enormous expense_. Emergencies may at any moment arise which would render its aid indispensable to the protection of the lives and property of our citizens abroad and at home, and even to our existence as a nation.… The mercantile interests of our country have extended themselves over all quarters of the globe. Our citizens engaged in commerce with foreign nations look to the navy for the supervisory protection of their persons and property. Calls are made upon the Department to send vessels into different parts of the world, in order to prevent threatened aggression upon the rights of American citizens and shield them in time of civil commotion in foreign lands, from insult or personal indignity. It is to be deplored that in many such instances it has proved impossible to respond to these calls, from the want of a sufficient number of vessels.

These things ought not to be. While the navy should not be large, it should _at all times_ afford a nucleus for its enlargement upon an emergency. Its power of prompt and extended expansion should be established. It should be sufficiently powerful to assure the navigator that in whatsoever sea he shall sail his ship he is protected by the stars and stripes of his country.

Notwithstanding such messages from the highest authority in our land, only _some_ of the money necessary to build four new cruisers has been appropriated by Congress. Our people must instruct their representatives in Congress to provide them with the means to put them and their country in a secure state of defense, else that body, composed of many politicians and few statesmen, will never show that they have any other welfare at heart than their own reëlection, and the getting or retaining of their party in power.

THE COMING SUMMER MEETINGS AT CHAUTAUQUA.

The advance number of the _Assembly Herald_ for 1884, already in the hands of many of our readers, contains a well arranged, though necessarily condensed, program of the exercises for July and August at this well known and increasingly popular summer resort. The tens of thousands who expect both pleasure and profit from spending part of the season there, will be glad to have some notice beforehand of the rich things in preparation for them. For our friends who have already acquaintance with the place and the persons who have brought it into such favorable notice, it is enough to say, there is, in the schedule before us, unmistakable evidence that the motto of those in the management of Chautauqua is still _Excelsior_. The attractions of the place itself have by manifold improvements been constantly increasing. Means have not been wanting, and their outlay has been generous—science and art, under skillful direction, have done much, never to mar the beauties of nature, but rather to unveil features of exquisite loveliness that were partially concealed. The grandeur of the noble forest trees that tower above the neat cottages is even more majestic since the occasional openings show them to better advantage, and afford glimpses of the cerulean vault, or floating clouds against which they seem to thrust their branches. The native flora, of great richness, has, whenever practicable, been protected, while many carefully tended exotics display their modest beauty or shed sweet fragrance on the air. The little patches of lawn are becoming more beautiful, and the larger one extending from the hotel Athenæum to the lake, is arranged with taste, and kept in fine condition. The hotel itself is very commodious, furnished and kept in the best style. From its spacious verandas there is a delightful view of the lake and the landscapes adjacent to it. There are accommodations for about five hundred guests, who at moderate cost can, if they will, enjoy all the conveniences, comforts and luxuries furnished at the best hotels in the large cities.

The places for all public meetings, concerts and class lectures are in good order, and many interesting and valuable additions have been made to the museum, among which are mentioned a cast of the arch of Titus; several new statuettes, just received from the British Museum; also casts of the Siloam inscriptions, and of the Moabite stone. Much valuable information may be gathered, as well as a pleasant recreation enjoyed in the museum. The grounds and principal buildings are provided with electric lights, so that there is no groping around in the dark, as was the case at our first visits to “The Fair Point,” as the retreat was then called.

But “Chautauqua” has a meaning far beyond what belongs to the place, charming as the site is, and beyond the material improvements that have been made. It is often, and not inaptly, spoken of as an “idea,” a thought or conception of a desired object, and the way to reach it. The thought, however vague at first, had life and power in it, took form, and was cherished till a new system was evolved—one that at first proposed more complete normal instruction and thorough preparation for Sunday-school work. But the _idea_ soon so expanded as to take in everything pertaining to the proper development and culture of human beings. From the first inception of this grand work that, in eleven years, has extended into every state in the Union, and influenced many kindred educational enterprises, there has been no standing still. The idea having thorough possession of the minds that entertained it, “progress” has been the watchword, and, fortunately, the management has been in such competent hands that the advance movements have always been in the right direction. The trustees and other business officers have approved themselves as wise counselors, and been liberal in their personal sacrifices of the time and means necessary to forward the enterprise, while the Superintendent of Instruction and President of the association have demonstrated to all their rare qualifications for the responsible positions they occupy. With faith in the enterprise, a worthy object in view, and the resolute purpose to accomplish it, all obstacles have been overcome, and a marvelous fertility of invention shown in the methods adopted. It is not too much to say that all the important measures proposed and adopted have been found both practicable and useful. Skilled architects have wrought in the Assembly, but their united efforts did not make it. Chautauqua, as it is to-day, confessedly far surpassing the most sanguine hopes of its founders, was never made. It was born and grew. It has vital elements; and whereunto it may yet grow, no one can tell. It is already, though in its youth, a university in fact, as well as by the charter obtained from the legislature. It employs some thirty or more able professors, selected because of their known ability and success as teachers in the several departments to which they are assigned.

We take note of a few things in their order:

_The Teachers’ Retreat_, under the personal direction of some of the foremost educators of the age, will open July 12. It is specially for the benefit of secular teachers, and a large number of them are interested in it. The time thus spent in counsel and delightful social intercourse, without interfering with the needed rest, recreations and pleasures of the summer vacation, will lead to a higher appreciation of their work, with a knowledge of the best methods of accomplishing it, and make their return to the school room a delight.

_The Chautauqua School of Languages_ includes Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, German, Spanish and English. This school is not for undergraduates alone, as the instruction is given in a way to illustrate the best methods of teaching. Students, if prepared, may profitably pursue the study of several languages at the same time, but are not registered as beginning more than one. As all having experience in the matter know, much depends on starting right, and any one, of fair ability and a firm purpose, with the help and direction furnished at Chautauqua, can, in due time, become an accomplished and thorough linguist.