The San Francisco call., 1908-12-12
MFTCALF WANTS
navy DOCK HERE
In Annual Report to Congress,
as Secretary, He Advocates
Construction
Asks That Yards at Mare Island
and BremertOn Be De-
veloped

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10.-Secretary
Metcalf, of the navy department, in his
annual report. discusses, as the most
notable naval event of the past year,
the voyage of the battleship fleet,
which has proven an epoch-making
cruise
Secretary Metcalf says that the ships
maintained schedule time. and have
practically taken care of their own re-
pairs on this cruise. The repair lists
sent in at the naval station, Cavite, P.
l., have just been received, and are sig
nificant. They show that after the
voyage to the&Pacific the needed re-
pairs are negligible. The performance
of the Oregon in 1898 has, it seems,
been substantially repeated.
This cruise. as yet hardly half over,
he declares has given us an opportu-
nifty to get better acquainted with the
republics to the south of US, with our
own island possessions, with the new
and vigorous branch of the British en-
pire in Australia, and particularly with
Japan. 1t has been everywhere under
stood and accepted, as it was in
tended, as the reaching out of a strong
hand in friendly greeting on the part
of America, and the cordial hospitali-
ties extended to our fleet will be long
remembered, and have powerfully in
huenced feeling in this country.
Passing to certain recent criticisms
of the new and larger battleships now
building, the secretary says that at the
conference, convened and opened by the
president at Newport, the general mat
ter of design of these ships was ap-
proved after 43 days consideration, by
this assemblage of the best authorities
available in the navy, consisting of
about 60 officers, all but seven of whom
were line officers of the sea going
branch of the service.
Workmanship, he says, has inn
proved on the practice cruise. With
respect to the assertion that our IL
inch guns are inferior to those of other
powers, the facts are found to be that
the actual muZzle energy of these II
inch guns, which form the main arma-
ment of our eight latest battleships in
commission, is somewhat greater than
that of any gun af1oat in any other
navy.
Secretary Metcalf recommends that
the navy yards at New York, Philadel-
phia, Norfolk. Puget sound and Mare
island be developed to their full ca
pacity for the repair and maintenance
of ships, but says it Is not further de-
SlraDle TO develop Otner navy ydrdS, al
least until that at Guantanamo shall
have been equipped. the last named
station being regarded as of the first
military Importance and as a natural
strategetic base.
1t is deemed highly desirable to
acquire by purchase or to construct a
dock in San Francisco harbor. With
the acquisition of such dock. and the
bringing up to high efficiency of the
yards at Bremerton and Mare island
another navy yard on the Pacific coast
will not be necessary for some time to
come.
The secretary recommends that con-
gress authorize at it's approaching ses-
sion the construction of four battle
ships, four scout cruisers, 10 destroy
ers, four submarines, three colliers, one
repair ship, one ammunition ship, two
mine laying ships-these two ships to
be converted from cruisers now on the
navy list.