The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-02
World Must Understand
 That America Is Pre- b@ pared for War s..I1
SECRETARY ASKS
 FOR MORE SHIPS
Short Life of Warship Is Responsi- ble for This Demand--NOt to Increase Navy But to
 ee MaintainrIt

States navy, George Fon IL. Meyer, Secretary of the Navy, in his annual report to Congress, declares that while seeking peace and playing a leading part in the movement for general ar bitration treaties the world must un- derstand that America lis prepared for war" -r.nz. ...Y ss ssa f-
 , The short life of a warship for first CT second line of defense-approxi. mately 20 years--has caused the secre- tary to ask for more ships this year, not to increase tile navy, but to maintain it at its existing strength This strength, he says, is being diminished by the elimination from active serv- ice of the battleships first constructed for the new navy"
 "The recommendation" he says, for a continuing naval policy which will give us the fleet desired is made with a due regard for the almost world wide movement for the settlement of international disputes by arbitration in which movement our country has taken a foremost part. History of all kinds. including the present, shows the fu- tility and danger of trusting to the good will and fair dealing, or even to the most. solemnly binding treaties between nations for the protection of a nations sovereign rights and inter- ests, and without doubt the time is re- mote when a comparatively unarmed and helpless nation may be reasonably safe from attack by ambitious, well armed powers, especially in commer-. cial age such as the present. The eco nomical system of a great commercial nation is so delicately balanced that even a threat of war is very disturbing and harmful, while a war with any other great power would cause incal- culable damage, and it Is more neces- sary now than ever before that we should be fully prepared and that ev- cry other power should understand thas while seeking peace we are prepared for war;
 The United States, Secretary Meyer says, is far in the rear of the leading naval powers in projected naval con struction, even on the basis of two new Dattleships a year.
 MT. Meyer submits estimates for two battleships and two colliers only This is in line with the policy of several years standing of building two battle ships a year. In addition to this the Secretary indicates that the navy wouru welcome one of the new type of bat tleship cruisers. such as Great Britain, Germany and Japan are building. He further points out that there is a great deficiency in the number of cruisers, scouts, destroyers, submarines and aux tliareS for the maintenance and pro- tection of the battle fleet.
 He suggests that all of these aux iliaries need not be ordered at once. but that the appropriation could be ct fobA [. -.f n turbances in Asia and Central Amer ica, necessitating the protection of in- terests of this country. also have shown the need for more light draft gunboats for river use.
 The secretary declares that ships 20 years old are obsolete and worthless even for the second line or reserve His list shows the famous old Oregon and her sister battleships Indiana and Massa- chusetts as having reached the fatal pe- riod and should be replaced immediately as well as the Iowa. In fact, Secretary Meyer names 12 battleships that can no longer be regarded as available for the first line of battle and which should be replaced by 1920. Aside from those al- ready indicated they are the Kearsarge, Kentucky, Alabama, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maine, Ohio and Missouri The youngest of these has turned Il years.
 "A total of 40 battleships with a pro- portional number of other fighting and auxiliary vessels, is the least that will place our country on a safe basis in re- lation with other world powers" says the secretary.
 The secretary regards the creation of the reserve fleet as a most important development of the year, since it will insure. the readiness for war of prac- tically every vessel of military value.
 The report touches sparingly on the gt.l.t taAt .f {. &s~ l.
 the experience of the department dur ing the past year in placing contracts for ships and winding up with the state ment: What the effect will be on the bidding for the battleships provided for by the last act is problematical."
 As to personnel. the report declares that the aim of all naval education and training is to produce the sea officer who is to command ships and fleets and that all the cembatant elements aboard ships should belong to the line. Line off cers hereafter should perform the duties of paymaster and while the present con- struction corps, made up of Naval acad- emy graduates may continue to do spe- cial work. the younger officers may here after perform both lines and construction duty.
 The abandonment of the turbine en- zine in favor of the old reciprocatine type is declared to have followed an ex- haustive comparison of the two kinds or machinery. 1t was found that the reciprocating engine is about 30 per cent more economical at cruising speeds than the turbine and of about the same econ- omy at high speeds. As one result of the use of oil burners instead of coal furnaces the new battleships Oklahoma and Nevada will each have but one smoke pipe, thus clearing. the upper deck and improving the arc of train of the tur- rets.
 At the close of last year 2s ships. iron, battleships to colliers. were tied up at navy yards under repair. As a result of the new policy. by next March every one Of them will be ready for active
 The secretary regards it as a waste of money to endeavor to improve old ships and bring tiem up to date. and he cited case of the New York. now the Sara toga, where 51 per cent of her original cost was spent OH alteration without making the ship equal In value to a modern vessel of light type.
 The report dwells at some length upon the successful results attained in the experimental work fo. the development or aviation In the navy and especially In the direction of the production of -aeroplanes fitted for use from shpboard. It is the purpose to issue a few of these machines to che fleet as soon as they have been sufficiently developed
 Dealing with foreign building pro graInfnes the report says that England lsNlaying down four battleships and one armored cruiser; Germany three battle ships and one armored cruiser. and Ja- pan four armored cruisers and one battle ship All of the batt1eships are being in- creased in size and so are the cruisers. deStrOyerS and submarines %Sacretnrv