Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-12-11
REPORT or NAVY SECRETARY
Continued from pare ID

NN0AsAn@so nom page I'D
ships was approved. after ferty-thrsa
days consideration. by this assem.
blaze Of ne best authorities avail
able IN the navy. consisting Of about
sixty onaeerA all but seven Of WHOM
were line officers Of the seagoIng
branch Of the service.
Marksnanahip he says has Inn
proved on the practise cruise. with
respect to the assertion that our l2-
Inch guns are inferior to those Of
other p0wers. the facts are found TO
% that the actual muExle energy Of
these 12-inch guns, which form the
main armament Of our eight latest
hattleships IN commission. Is some.
what greater than that Of any gun
ahoat In any other navy.
AS the ofiicer in command OF the
American feet now in the Far East
holds the rank OF rear-admiral only.
ne is In a position Of suboRdination 10
foreign naval officers. This Is trae
because foreign powers have. on Inn
portant naval stations. representa-
tiFes Of the rank Of wiee-AdmiFal
The secretary urges that the navy
shoula. without delay. be provided
with two vice-admIrals.
1t is desirable. the secretary states.
70 lengthen the dry dock authorised
BY congress to be constructed at
Pearl Harhor. Hawaii. from $50 10
LAO feet. to render 1t capable OF
accommodating two or more vessels
at once.
Secretary Metcalf re 'ommends that
the navy yards at New York, Phil
adelphia, Norfolk, Puget Sound, and
Mare Island be developed to their
full capacity for the repair and main
tenance OF ships, but says 1t is not
further desirable to develop other
navy yards. at least until that at
Guantanamo shall have been equip
ped, the last-named station being re-
garded as Of the first military import
ance and as a natural strategetie
base.
1t Is deemed highly desirable to
acquire by purchase or to construct
dock in San Francisco harbor. With
the acquisition Of such a dock, and
the hrfn OfwO nm - ktUh aRaafarnxy -
the yards at BFemerton and Mare
Island. another nsvy-yard on the Pa
cific coast will not be necessary for
some time to come.
The navy department being a large
business organization, Mr.. Metcalf
suggests Fearrangements OF the du-
ties of any bureau are exceedingly
difieult and complex, and necessari-
ly rests with congress; but those who
speak OF the millions unnecessarily
spent annually by the lack of econ
omical administration do not realize
that a comparatively small persent-
age Of the annual budget goes for
repair and maintenance Of the ma
terial Of the feet. The greater part
is expended for the pay and provis-
ioning OF the navy and marine corps.
ammunition, fuel. and expenditures
on account of increase Of the navy
So far as concerns the last named
item, the department has long been
an exceedingly economical purchaser.
the contract price Of our latest bat
tleships being hardly more than the
actual cost Of the labor and material
and incidental expenses. and very
considerably below the limit fixed
by congress. The secretary says
also that It would be dificult to find
in any large manufacturing estab-
lishment. or other industrial organ
izatlon, greater coordination than ex-
lists among the heads Of the great
bureaus and Offices OF the navy de-
partment.
The secretary recommends that
congress authorize at its approaching
session the construction of battle
ships, 4 scout cruisers. 10 destroyers,
submarines, colliers. repair
ship, l ammunition ship. mine-lay-
ing ships-these two ships to be con-
verted from cruisers now on the