Show I SHORT LIVED SHIPS I The Tho president ent in his 1906 message e wanted just enough additions made to the na navy Vj- Vj to keep up its efficiency ncy In the last message e ho asked that tha congress should provide for building four foul battleships Many newspapers newspaper's have affected to see inconsistency between be he- tween t the two messages Judged b by the messages message alone there is lS inconsistency But the constitution p provides that hat the president shall from tim time to ti tithe time inform congress rss of the state of the thc country and make such uch recommendations as he lie ma may deem proper Judged that way ay there is no inconsistency for what was pertinent and proper a year ear ago may maj be obsolete lete Ide now flow The flurry with Japan and the attitude of the English press which reflects English opinion were cr enough to re the with the thc truth that the most feasible way WRY to maintain peace is to be ready for war But there is another way to look at the matter Battleships Battleships great heavily ar mored battleships are battleships arc an invention of the last Jast few years and so 50 are power high guns gulL And neither has yet ct reached perfection The Thc result is th that t the ships and guns of ten years ago are obsolete now Of the ships of the Dewey squadron or the squadrons of ol Sampson and Schley all are out of commission ion or orare arc are l lying merely as secondary se forts in the country's harbors no no longer rated available for a modern war ar Ten years ears ago perhaps the Oregon and Iowa were the very highest examples of perfect fighting ships Both al are e now obsolete and out of commission An r I English n l sh naval officer was in the Japanese fleet i when the Russian fleet was destro destroyed ed in the Japanese Japanese Japa Japa- nese sea lie hurried home and with the ideas he lie had lad gained in watching an actual naval fight had luid 1 his liis ideas before the British admiralty with the result result re re- re- re sult suit that the tho was planned d and built Since then other superior ships have been put under construction c ion by br Great Britain Germany and Japan And the limit is not yet et reached So there is nothing to 10 do except t to keep on building ships and working to get stronger guns and higher explosives at least until we wc have a navy y off both boUt coasts that will ivill make all f foreigners hesitate before trying to have trouble with tho United States because this is a cold blooded old world and nations respect very little except force |