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44 MARINE REVIEW. [February 97, a NAVAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE PAST DECADE. BY REAR ADMIRAL GEORGE WALLACE MELVI Probably the four most significant events in the nation's history during the past decade have been the satisfactory solution of the financial ques- tion, our remarkable industrial expansion, the acquisition of the Philip- pines and the rapid development of the navy. Not only our own thought- ful people, but also our continental neighbors have been impressed with our action in these matters, and as a result our relative military and indus- trial standing has greatly advanced. Our progress in securing the front rank in financial credit; our ability to hold the home market as well as to successfully compete in the foreign field; our rapid colonial extension, and our-success in virtually obtaining the command of the waters of North America, have forced us into a position as a world power. It is not only our right to extend our trade, but it is our duty to prevent foreign markets from being unjustly taken away. We must never forget, however, that prosperity and success pro- duce rivals and incite the jealous to opposition. They, therefore, bring new responsibilities, and it is certain that in order to hold on to what we have secured through conquest or industrial superiority we must maintain an armed force of sufficient strength to manifest our readiness and ability to protect commercial rights and privileges. Only by right, and not by might, will this nation fulfill her highest destiny. For all time the thought should be dispelled that increased mate- rial prosperity can be maintained by conquest. It should ever be kept in mind, however, that those countries which are rich in natural resources, but wherein there is no martial spirit, are always the objects of attack and conquest. It is as essential to be in readiness to restrain by military and naval forces the foes that are beyond the boundaries of a country as it is to effectively control, by a local police, the turbulent within a community. In this age of strenuous life and action war can only be averted by those nations which are in condition to resist aggression. The best guar- antee for peace is military strength and preparedness. Our environments are such that no nation would dare to attack us except from the sea, and, therefore, the navy must constitute the first line of defense from a foe. We don't require a navy great enough to attack the coast of any conti- nental power, but we do require a fleet of battleships that could quickly prevent an enemy reaching our shores. Since the navy should be too large rather than too small, it should be regarded as a weapon rather than a shield, for the exigency might arise when it would be necessary to seek the enemy's shores. If maintained to a strength sufficient to be used only as a shield, it would not be long before the navy might be compelled to retreat from its position off shore and seek the shelter of the harbor batteries. The question of the development of sea power has always been an attractive one. There is a wonder and romance to the sea which makes everything pertaining to the ocean of absorbing interest. The element of danger is never removed from those who go down to the sea in ships, and as the scene is ever changing, the subject is always of interest. It will be remembered that the navy has always kept in close touch with the people, and has never been used in the suppression of liberty. Despotic as may be the organization of the individual war ship, there is a spirit per- vading the service that keeps the navy in sympathy with the purpose of the great mass of the community. Life on the deep is a busy, stirring and invigorating one, and the spirit of unrest and anarchy has never secured a firm footing in any naval service. With each succeeding year new and powerful forces are arrayed in favor of increasing the navy. It is inevitable that there will be a pro- gressive and rapid development of the naval organization during the next decade. By briefly mentioning some of the elements that are back of the movement to advance our relative naval strength one can best realize how certain we are to advance in standing as a sea power. Probably the strongest force arrayed in behalf of a greater service is the attitude and action of the generai press. Fortunately for the interests of the nation the question of increasing the navy is not a political one. Its augmentation is urged as vigorously in the south as it is in the north. In demanding that the complement of war ships be increased the people of the Pacific coast are as enthusiastic on the question as those living on the Atlantic. It is a happy coincidence that there is a keen desire every- where for information relating to the construction, organization and use of the battleship. Many writers now find the subject a profitable field for the employment of their literary talent, since there is a commercial value to news pertaining to the navakservice. The several thousand daily papers and the hundreds of magazines and periodicals are almost a unit in urging the congress to give more men and more ships to the service. The press is, therefore, a mighty force in working for a larger navy. The subject meets with such approval that it is now an interesting and leading topic of the lecture field. By means of lantern slides and interesting descriptions of war ships addresses upon the navy are exceed- ingly popular. The war ships in themselves are also powerful educators in influencing public sentiment as to the necessity for an increased naval establishment. It is safe to say that during the past four years hundreds of thousands of visitors have been shown over the battleships and have been told of our naval needs and necessities. There are a dozen naval stations and navy yards which are centers of influence for creating an interest in the organization. The mechanics at these stations have allied themselves with organized labor, and as a result the congress of the United States receives hundreds of earnest and power- ful petitions urging the construction of war ships at the navy yards. At least ten ship building firms in this country can build battleships and armored cruisers, and some of these establishments have a literary bureau for creating public interest in war ship construction. Over fifty firms can build gunboats, and hundreds can manufacture naval stores and supplies All these firms have a selfish, if not a patriotic interest, in the enlargement of our fleet, and in the past these forces have been quite powerful factors in helping us to secure more war vessels. The army of tourists and commercial travelers who annually visit Europe return to America strong believers in a larger navy. The influence of these classes is very great, and has made itself felt upon this question in "'*Reprinted from the Philadelphia Record's ri Hie A pee Te nt an Pople Questions." D s series of articles on "Public Men . struction Possesses an important military advantage, and with our great resources 'we should be second to no nation in this respect. vd LLE, ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.* the halls of congress. The commercial and maritime associations of the leading seaports have also done effective work in aiding us to secure a larger navy. These organizations have correspondents in every section of the country, and the indirect aid extended has been greatly appreciated, The shipping interests particularly are interested in the movement, for the friends of the merchant marine fully understand that a fleet of battle- ships paves the way for the formation of a line of merchant steamers. As to the attitude of the administrative officers of the government upon this question, every secretary of the navy and president for the past twenty years has urged the progressive development of this branch of the military service. They have personally visited the ships, and also urged the creation of a naval reserve. The annual appropriation for the naval service has gradually increased, till now it 1s over double and nearly treble what it was five years ago. For the next fiscal year, including public works of a naval character, Secretary Long has submitted estimates call- ing for an appropriation of practically $100,000,000. The secretary has been an extremely conservative administrator, and the naval needs must have been very urgent, otherwise he would not have recommended an appropriation of such character. The president has indorsed in its entirety the budget submitted by Secretary Long. There has been no chief executive whose knowledge of naval affairs has been so thorough as that possessed by Mr. Roosevelt, for only a few years after leaving college he wrote a naval history of the war of 1812 that has long been regarded as one of the best upon the subject. His appointment as assistant secretary of the navy was, therefore, to his particular liking, and while in that office he learned fully of our needs. If the estimates submitted by Mr. Long had been in any way excessive the matter would hardly have escaped the attention of the President. The naval estimates have been received with such favor that it is exceedingly probable that the congress will even increase the appropria- tions urged by the navy department. It is neither wise nor necessary to set our standard of naval strength by that of any other power. No nation should be regarded as a probable foe, but all are commercial rivals. "The history of the world shows that every commercial rival is also a possible foe, for nations will rush to arms in defense of maritime and commercial rights sooner than they will for almost any other cause. One need not possess a great military mind to realize that now we are in possession of the Philippines it will be near those islands where we shall have to fight our future decisive battles. It is there of necessity where we are weak, and it will take many years to strongly intrench our- selves in that locality. There is already a cry of "Asia for the Asiatics," It is certain that we must eventually renounce all sovereignty of the Phil- ippines or else prepare ourselves to hold these islands against an efficient naval power whose base of operation may be much nearer than our own. It is a fact that once a nation acquires territory the flag is never hauled down except at a loss of military prestige and commercial influence. We are going to maintain a protectorate over this littoral beyond the Pacific for some time, and a strong navy is the first requisite of this responsibility and duty. We should establish in some harbor in the Philippines large engineering shops, where machinery could not only be built and repaired, but where war ships could be docked and built. For the past three years the private docks in China and Japan have been reaping a financial harvest in the repair of our ships, and military reasons demand that we should not continue to strengthen these establishments in this way. The defense of the Philippines is but one of the many reasons why we should have an increased naval establishment . Within ten years an inter- oceanic canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans should be well under way, and no matter at what point it is cut it will require a strong navy to insure its safety and neutrality when completed. Such a canal is a military necessity even though the final cost should run up into the hundreds of millions. Such a canal would help guarantee peace since it would permit us to move our fleets quickly from coast to coast. It will be a paying investment in the end to do the work, The canal can certainly be built for half what it cost England to overcome the Boers. Anything, therefore, which will avert war is worth paying for. We are bound to advance in relative naval strength, for it is more than probable that before the end of the decade we shall rank next to England as a seagoing power. Some exigency may compel us to suddenly increase our naval strength, and if industrial and commercial reasons justify the purchase of steamship lines, it may be pertinent to ask why we may not be compelled to make a wholesale purchase of war ships from some nation that has greater temporary need of gold coin than steel guns. Just pre- vious to the Spanish-American war we were ready to purchase anything in the shape of war material that could be bought, and it is not at all improb- able that some of the surplus millions in the treasury may go to the purchase of foreign warships. It may be that there is no precedent for such action. This nation, however, is going to care less for what has been than for what may be. To maintain its position as a dominant world ROWer it will make precedent. The financial condition of several coun- tries is such that they will have to dispose of some of their most promis- - ing assets, and it may be that we can make for the peace of the world by suddenly augmenting our naval strength in this manner. pe Me ee will not only be made in the direction, of 3 ne s ips, ut advance will take place along the line of making a . apse none PHAAUHE. Improvement will be evidenced everywhere. 1p, Sebel BAS icu at Esenects marked progress will be noted, : Ulli the ee ty e e gain in the speed construction of war ships. tits as & Ps a ie ie as taken five years to design and build a war lg ao i once ie the modern battleship been commissioned in ee ae : rom the Ums she was authorized. Since several of ee Be ea eS Ow in condition to build the largest type of war ship, are going to be spurred on to faster work in the com- pletion of war vessels. Unless individual establishments expedite the -- Ce of naval work, the government may undertake the task of uulding its own war ships. The nation which is superior in speed con- -- The progressive improvement that has been made in the character of