The editors of Engineering were not in the habit of publishing detailed plans and descriptions of proposed vessels, however they felt that American engineers should have the right of reply to the recent criticisms regarding their use of plans of vessels built in Europe and England without their owners permission. The designs for the proposed torpedo cruiser were got out under the supervision of Mr. Melville the Chief Engineer of the United States Navy (who commanded the services of an exceptionally able staff selected from the best and brightest engineers in the United States service), especially for the reconstruction of the American Navy; one of the most remarkable features in the peaceful records of modern navies. The Americans had set about the work in a characteristically shrewd and intelligent manner. They had for a long time collected and digested all the information that could be obtained as to what was being done by other nations in naval matters. That they have profited largely by European practice is a fact that the editors of Engineering had always found them abundantly willing and anxious to acknowledge; but in some matters they had improved upon their instructors a fact that candour called upon the editors to recognise.