New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-08
GEPuAN AND AMERICAN NAVIES.

GERMAN AND AHERICAN NAVIES
The German War Lord makes prompt
response to the naval display of his
British cousin. The feet which he re-
viewed at Kel on Tuesday is not, of
course. the equal In strength Of that
which was recently assembled at Spit
head. but Germans hold ii 10 be second
To the British fleet alone That it is a
powerful fleet is obvious. and that it, or
rather the German navy, is the second
i'm the world, as German experts are
now jubilantly saying, may be the fact
though it is not easy of positive demon
Stration 1t is not to be expected that
there will soon or ever be warlike
twial Of strength between the German
and American navies and without such
a trial it is not easy to see how the
comparative strengths Of two so nearly
matched forces could be cOnvincingly
determined.
In one Of the most recent published
lists of the ships Of the two navies,
built and building, America is credited
with twenty-nine first class and four
second class battleships, and Germany
with thirty first class and four second
class. On that basis Germany has the
advantage to the extent Of one first class
ship. But the tonnage Of the American
ships is sol 1876, while that Of the Ger
man is only $50 .56G giving America the
advantage on that basis. Again, Ger
many has the advantage with ten
Dreadnoughts to our eight, while Amer
lea has the advantage in from half a
krot 10 a knot higher speed In the
dozen or more ships Immediately pre-
ceding the Dreadnoughts the German
navy has four 11-inch and fourteen 81
inch guns, while the American navy has
four 12-inch eight S-inch and twelve Z
inch guns. How do the two classes
compare in strength? In the classes pre-
Ceding those Germany has four 9.4-inch
and eighteen G-inch guns, while America
has four Pinch and fourteen or sixteen
6-inch guns. How do these compare
ship for ship? The largest German ships
before the DreadnouGhts were five OF
200 tons. while America had six Of
10000 tons and five more OF nearly
5000 tons. Before the Dreadnoughts,
again, Germany had only one ship Of as
much as 10 knots while America had
five exceeding that figure. The newest
German ships, such as the three OF the
Ostfriesland class, now commissioned,
and the three more building, measure
$4,000 tons. carry twelve Pinch guns
and make 90 knots, while our ships OF
the Arkansas class measure 10000 tons,
carry twelve Pinch guns and make
2O5O knots. How DO they compare in
strength?
These and various other technical
data must all be taken into account in
estimating the comparative strengths OF
the navies. Such factors alone make the
problem complex beyond the capacity of
human ingenuity 10 solve 10 entire
satisfaction, for almost any result can
be attained according to the weight
which IS given 10 this or that factor,
and the giving Of such weights is q mat
ter not Of fact but Of opinion. But In
addition there are other factors Of still
greater uncertainty, though Of no less
importance. The auxiliary classes OF
ships, Including torpedo and submarine
boats, must be considered, and also air
ships. Then there IS that factor which
for "A dozen years we have considered
supreme-the man behind the gun. How
do the two navies compare in personnel,
in discipline, in craftsmanship? Note,
too, the interesting and by no means
insignificant circumstance that the Ger
man navy has never in all history been
engaged in serious war. and therefore
has no warlike experience or traditions,
while the American navy has the expe-
rience and the traditions Of half a dozen
wars, in every one Of which it was sue
cessful, or at least acquitted itself with
credit. What weight has this in deter
mining the probable practical efficiency
Of the two navies?
What is beyond doubt, however, Is
that the German navy has for some