The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-24
Converse Calls Attention 10 Con-. Con-.
dition Which May Have Sc n
rious Efert Upon Nation.
TWO v nc AID N lIR / 4 IS, s.
Bureau Chief Urges This Upon.
Congress- fficiency OF
Battleships. a

WASHINGTON, d. c., November e..
How badly off the navy Is for officers,
and how seriously this condition may af--
feet the navy and the nation. Is plainly
told In the annual report Of Rear Admiral
George A, Converse, chief Of the Bureau
Of Navigation. approved by Secretary H,r:
Morton to-day III "a y /. " ,5S
Experience especially in gun-hre, ne
avs. shown that 1t Is necessary to IN
crease the number OF officers assigned ass
to ships, so that the estimate made IN
1872 of the number OF officers needed for
ships in commission Is INADEQUATE. i
provided for only about one-half as many
officers as ships OF the same class carry
sinsthe British, French and German naVles.
Admiral Converse recommends that thc
number of l!eutenunts he increased from
$50 to 60, and that the number OF lleu-
ant-commanders be increased from aO
to 500 81 /, !. S, 3 !. g., /,
"It is especially desirable, the Admiral
says. 'sthat every battleship and other
powerful vessel requiring me srea.es, YES,
skill should have her full quota for full
ranks. Many Of our battlesl!os have
.lIeutenants as ordnance officers, and sew
era battleships have ensigns and even
smidshipmcn as watch and division olii-
GERS. This very unsatisfactory and even
dangerous condition is due to the many
urgent demands for officers, the eXlsung
of numbers often making ~
impossible to detail officers of approprril;ate
rank 5
Because OF the important part played BY
a torpedo craft In the war in the Ear East
1t is deemed advisable that the larger yes
sells OF this type be commanded by leu
tennnt-commandtrs 81 .#
Two Vice-Admirals. II
Authorization by Congress Of two vice.
admirnls IS urgently recommended in Or
der that our flag officers may not DO
beneath foreign officers holding equal or
inferior commands. 1T Is nhnifestly
undesirable" says the Admiral. FOR our
flag officers to be beneath al others IN
matter Of precedence In international al
fairs with which they have to do as rep
resentatives OF the United States It Is
tthereforc recommended that the rank Of
vice-adlniral be conferred on the officer
detailed as commander-in-chief of the
North Atlantic and tho Asiatic deets,
Regarding the paramount efficiency OF
the battleship and the part played by
them in the Far Eastern war, Admiral
Converse says; I'LL ~ ;i Is ia ER
"Although torpedo boats and tdestroyers
nave DeeIl slCluul'y viz q SSA Z. ~ ~ y
months against battleships Which have
been exposed to attack times without
number, we have yet to learn authoritn-
lively of torpedo from torpedo vessel
causing the loss OF q single battleshlp,
Those which have been sunk owed ther
destruction to submarine mines. anchored
or broken adrlft, torpedo vessels not con-
ftrlbuting TO the result, except by the con-
fusion and sense of greater danger due "a
their presence 1t IS evident that In the
final summary of losses the achievements
Of torpedo vessels will count less than
was at first supposed, NJ cannot be claimed,
therefore, that8tller has been so far any
thing to dlscredit The battleship as a
type: nor IS any such outcome TO pc en-
rected from this war, whatever may he
the casualties among the battleships To
wage successful warfare with "a naval
force requires now, as 1t has REQUIRED ~
ali ages, type OF vessel Which shall
combine in The most effective manner the
qualities of offense. mobility. defense, on
durance self-malntenance, Such vessels
are battleslllps, and they constitute the
main strength and reliance OF q navy"