Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-12-12
FLEETS TRIP BIG BENEFIT
Secretary Metcalf's Report for Navy
Department.
STRENGTHENS POSITION IN EAST
Appropriations for Four New Battle
ships and Four Scout Cruisers
Are Recommended, Besides
Minor Vessels.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11.-Secretary Met
calf of the Navy department, in his an
nual 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"
Late in the spring Of 1907 Is was decided
to send the Atlantis fleet y practice
cruise to the Pacific. When the purpose
Of giving this assemblage of sixteen battle
ships such a practice cruise under severe
conditions, was announced, he states,
criticism from high technical quarters was
heard. The undertaking, It is said, was
too monumental dangers more that multi
piled with numbers in such a case; battle
ships should not be sent around the globe
on any ordinary occasion; the skeletons
of some of them would doubtless be left
In the Straits Of Magellan; and, II the
ships should round South America, they
would, one by one, arrive with machines
loose and unserviceable, and with crews
reflecting the condition of the material
The facts are, Secretary Metcalf says,
that the ships maintained schedule time,
and have practically taken care of their
own repairs on this cruise. The repairs
list sent in at the naval station, Cavite,
+. l., have just been received, and are
significant. They show that after the
voyage to the distant borders of the
Pacific, the needed repairs are negligible.
Inc performance Of the oregon in 1898 has
1t seems, been substantially repeated.
Strengthening Alliances.
This cruise, as yet hardly half over, he
declares has given us an opportunity to get
better acquainted with the republics to
the south Of us, with our own island posses
Wit ha
Of the British Empire in Australia, and
particularly with Japan; and has given to
those countries better opportunity to get
acquainted with u.s. 1t has been every
where understood and accepted, as it was
intended, as the reaching out of strong
hand in friendly greeting on the part of
America, and the cordial hospitalities ex-
tended to our fleet will be long remem-
pered' and have powerfully influenced
teellng IN this country. Between the United
states and every country visited there is
a feeling of deeper interest and friendship
than existed before the fleet sailed.
Passing to certain recent critisms of the
new ana larger battleships now building, the
secretary says that at the conference con-
vened and opened by the president at
Newport, the general matter of design of
these ships was approved, after forty-three
days consideration, by this assemblage Of
the best authorities available in the navy,
! consisting Of about sixty officers, all but
seven of whom were line officers of the
| seagoing branch of the service.
craftsmanship he says has improved on
the practise cruise. With respect TO the
assertion that our twelve-inch guns are
Inferior to those of other powers, the
facts are found to be that the actual
muzzle energy of these twelve-inch guns.
which form the main armament OF our
eight latest battleships in commission, is
somewhat greater than that of any gun
afloat in any other navy.
AS the officers in command OF the Ameri-
can fleet now in the far east holds the
rank Of rear admiral only, he is in a posi-
ton OF subordination to foreign naval Of
ficers. This is true because foreign powers
have. on important naval station, repre-
sentatives of the rank OF vice admiral
The secretary urges that the navy should.
without delay, be provided with two vice
admirals.
Secretary'H Recommends atiOns.
A is desirable, the secretary states TO
lengthen the dry dock authorized by con-
gress to be constructed at Pearl harbor.
Hawaii. from $50 10 l,l4O feet, to render II
capable of accommodating two or more
vessels at once.
Secretary Metealf recommends that the
navy yards at New York. Philadelphia,
Norfolk, Puget Sound and Mare Island be
developed to their full capacity for the re-
pair and maintenance of ships, but says
II is not further desirable to develop otner
navy yards. at least until that at Guanta-
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