Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-10-22
SAYS THAT NAVY
NEEDS MORE MEN
Adequate in Every Other Way,
Declares Acting Secretary
Roosevelt.
SHIPS AND EQUIPMENT
IN EXCELLENT SHAPE
Maintains Battleships Still Para
mount Factors in Wars With Forces
Separated by Water Distances.

Adequate in every way so far as
equipment is concerned. but sadly de-
hcient in point of numbers of person
mel is the American Navy. according to
a statement issued last night by Acting
SscretSfy -to-cdesa2t, experimenting one
recently made by Secretary Daniels.
Like Secretary Daniels, Mr.. Roosevelt
maintains that battleships still are the
paramount factors 'in any war in
which the belligerents are separated
by great distances by water. The
value of submarines in their present
state of development for coast pur-
poses and for offensive attacks within
short radius was conceded. Following
is the statement:
I'm regard to the numbers of the Of
ficers and men of the navy" Mr.. Roose-
welt said, there has never been an at
tempt to hide the fact that although
the numbers are recruited up to the
limit allowed by Congress, we have
only sufficient men to man. in an ade-
quate manner, a portion of the vessels
already built. At the present time
three second-line battleships, two arm
ored cruisers, four frst-class cruisers.
one Second-claSS cruiser, two third
class cruisers, twenty-one destroyers,
gunboat. three fuel ships and two YES
sells of special type are in commission
i'll reServe-that is to say, they have
on board only from 25 to so per cent
of the crews necessary to man them in
case of war;
$4,000 for Proper Complement.
There are also six second-line bat
tleships, one armored cruiser, one
cr11iS o1a
pedo boats which are in condition
technically called in ordinary These
vessels are manned by from 10 to 20
per cent of their regular compliments,
Just enough to prevent them from rust
ing to pieces.
To provide a proper complement for
all vessels of the navy which could
still be made useful for war purposes
would require an addition to the pres
ent force allowed by Congress of about
$4,000 men.
Meanwhile the problem is becoming
more difficult as time goes on. because
of the vessels under construction which
must shortly be provided with crews.
For instance, during the coming year
two battleships-the Oklahoma and Ne
vada-will take their places with the
fleet. Each of these vessels will re-
quire complement of nearly thou
sand men.
Actual Ships for Commission.
''On paper the navy possesses at the
present time ten battleships of the first
line and twenty-three battleships of
the second line. Actually, however,
only the ten battleships of the first
line and eleven battleships of the sec
ond line can be placed in commission
for active service because of the short
age of men.
he oil Of
navy, that is to say ships and their
equipment, matters are, on the whole,
in excellent shape. AS units, the yes
sells in commission are well built, well
designed and well cared for and COM
pare in types very favorably with the
vessels of other powers. In fact, l be-
lieve that they are better. In few
particulars, such as the lack of suffl-
cient torpedoes, there is room for great
Improvement. Also in regard to the
lack of certain auXiliaries and the in
sufficient number of scouts, much can
be done to make the fleet better bal
anced.
Unreadiness Of Fleet.
But the navy has felt that. while it
greatly desires a well rounded fleet in
the material sense, it would be the
greatest possible mistake to secure
such fleet at the expense of the main
sea-going fighting craft, that is to say
our battleships and destroyers. This is
because of the fact that makeshift aux
i!iaries can be improvised in an emer-
,ency, whereas battleships must be
planned and commenced at least three
years beforehand.
Mention has been made of the un-
readiness of the fleet at the presen,
time. 1t is true that during the past
two years maneuvers and battle prac-
tice of the fleet whole have, OF
necessity, been greatly curtailed. In
ternational affairs have required the
use of a certain number of our ships
This lack of fleet maneuvers is, how
ever, a matter which can be remedieC
by few months practice and it i:
hoped that these maneuverS will take
place in the near future.