732 THE SUBMARINE BOAT. 



work .should have been pushed upon an experimental or trial boat if 

 the type had already been developed to a satisfactory stage. It would 

 rather appear as if the Holland Company had encountered unexpected 

 obstacles, and that an experimental boat was necessary in which tests 

 could be conducted independent of naval inspectors. 



PROGRESSIVE ADVANCE CAN ONLY BE SECURED BY ENCOURAGING 



COMPETITION. 



In the construction of surface torpedo boats the Navy Department 

 invites and encourages the several shipbuilders to submit designs. In 

 advertising for bids for battle ships the Department permits bidders 

 to submit plans of their own. Experience shows that by inciting a 

 rivalry between designers of every kind of naval craft, the Govern- 

 ment is a great beneficiary. Any policy which would settle upon an 

 approved type of battle ship, cruiser, ram, surface torpedo boat, or 

 submarine, without taking into consideration the fact that progressive 

 development might be expected, would soon give us a navy whose 

 ships were inferior to those possessed by other powers. Such a policy 

 would develop rather than delay the construction of submarines. In 

 maintaining a progressive advance there would be no reaction of senti- 

 ment. There should be just as much encouragement to individuals to 

 develop the submarine as to develop the surface torpedo boat. 



SUBSTANTIAL AWARD AWAITS WINNER OF COMPETITIVE TEST. 



During the next six months the United States will secure some very 

 positive information as to the practical value of these boats. The 

 seven boats now under construction by the Holland Company ought 

 to have had their official trials. If these boats are able to fulfill con- 

 tract requirements, then it will be possible for the Department to 

 commission them without delay, and make extended experiments so 

 that not only the efficiency but the endurance of the craft can be 

 determined. Before the last of these Holland boats is turned over to 

 the Government, it is highly probable that the Department officials 

 will have an opportunity of passing judgment upon the efficiency and 

 sufficiency of the Lake submarine boat, now building at Bridgeport, 

 Conn. A contest between these boats should be welcomed by the 

 owners of both craft. It is certain if either boat shows a marked 

 superiority over the other for naval purposes, the fact will be heralded 

 throughout the world, and the successful boat will probably be regarded 

 by many naval officers as the highest type of submarine construction 

 extant. As it is quite certain that both the Lake and Holland people 

 have a pretty accurate knowledge of the capabilities of the rival com- 

 pany's craft, the boat that is the superior will force a contest. Since 

 it is to the interest of the Navy Department to bring about competition 

 between these boats, it can be expected that the Department will not 

 permit either company to avoid a competitive test. 



