United States should have a larger navy, with speedier
battleships and fast armored cruisers, and with coaling stations in
different sections of the globe, where men-of-war can procure supplies
and make repairs if necessary.

Captain Charles O'Neil, chief of the bureau of ordnance, gave his
opinion as follows:

"I do not think the battle off Santiago de Cuba demonstrated that we
should abandon the heavy calibres of guns. Serious injury to an enemy's
thickly-armored battleships can be inflicted only by large-calibre guns.

"It is possible that with rapid-fire guns you may shoot away the lightly
armored superstructure, but as long as the vitals are protected and the
turret armor is intact the guns in the turret will be able to do
execution, and large-calibred guns will be necessary to perforate the
armor and disable those weapons. Even with her 12-inch guns the Texas
can fire at the rate of one round per minute, and this record is as
good as that made by any foreign ships. Rapid fire consists in good
facilities for handling ammunition and loading the gun with a quick
working breech mechanism.

"We are now building at the Washington gun factory an experimental
6-inch rapid-fire gun, different from the rapid-fire guns we have now in
service, which are supplied with what is termed fixed ammunition. The
powder and projectile to be used in the experimental gun will be
separate, and two operations consequently will have to be employed in
loading. This can be done so quickly that it is expected that a very
rapid fire will be obtained.

"It is the policy of the Department to have our ships a little ahead of
those of any other nation, to have them equipped with armor of greater
resistive power, and guns capable of doing more execution. The 13-inch
gun, as at present designed, is a more destructive gun than a 12-inch
ordinarily, and its energy is very much greater, the result naturally
being that it has superior armor-piercing powers.

"I think we should keep the 13-inch gun on board of our battleships. On
account of the light armor which protected the Spanish men-of-war, it is
difficult to compare the ships and the effect of their fire, or to draw
conclusions. We would have learned more if the Spanish fleet had been
made up of battleships, and the fire of their gunners had been more
accurate. As it is, the value of the secondary battery was certainly
demonstrated.

"The necessity of eliminating wood to the greatest extent