New-York tribune., 1914-12-21


point Of very great importance. But
1t cannot come within the category OF
permanent naval bases because IT is
situated in an alien country and liable
10 be cut of from communication with
home.
North OF the Chesapeake Bay un-
doubtedly the most valuable strategic
point for q defensive naval base is
Narragausett Bay. Its advantages
were recognized by British naval Of
iicers as early as 1773-'71, and an elabo-
rate report on its vantage points was
submitted 70 the British Admiralty iu
the latter year. This report is as true
to-day as the day IL was written, but
the United States has carried out only
part Of the recommendation made
namely, the erection Of strong forts on
shore. A similar report was made TO
Congress in 1902 by Joshua Hum
phreys, the naval constructor who de-
signed the frigate Constitution, and
again in 1917 a board composed Of such
historical characters as Commodore
Bainbridge. Captain Evans and Oliver
Hazard Perry, of Lake Champlaiu
fame, together with two distinguished
army officers. made similar recommen-
dations which to this day have been
acted on only in part. and no fleet,
however strong, could take proper care
Of itself IN any naval campaign con
ductcd from Narragansett Bay as
base And with the three lookout sta
tions at Gay Head. Block Island and
Montauk Point Narragansett Bay is the
natural outpost for the protection Of
New York City.
,,T.r.o
cien naval powers will show the mill
tary value attached to naval bases and
TO the imperative necessities of organ
izing the reserves Of the line Of bat
tie. The great military ports of Eng
land, Germany, France, Russia, Italy
and Japan are illustrations in point,
and in the scheme for rehabilitatiny
the Chinese navy one of the very first
steps taken was the establishment of a
permanent naval base at Hal Fu-wan, In
Nimrod Sound. This strategic point
bears about the same relative position
20 the Sea Of Japan that the S2O,0O0,000
naval base at Dover, England. bears TO
he North Sea. Also the utterly i'm.
pregnablc line of defence between Hell
goland, the East Frisian Islands and
Borkum shows how Germany apprecI-
ated the necessity of having a safe
cover at hand for the use of her fleet"
Admiral Luce believes that the rea-
son the United States has made no
provision whatever for the protection
Of its battle feet is found in what he
calls the "onc-sided development Of our
navy" from the very beginning. when
the first steel gunboats and cruisers
were built, thirty years ago. "In the
~ rrr nn Of in st l.
public mind seems TO be centred on
ships alone. Tables are published from
time to time showing the comparative
strength of navles as measured BY the
number Of battleshps Of each country,
together with their tonnage and gun
power. Engrossed by the continued
development Of battleships, we over
look the important fact that there
should be maintained q fixed ratio be.
tween tonnage and personnel And
with the increased personnel and size
Of the battlcships comes the increased
demand for means of taking proper
care OF them, such as docking facilities.
etc, and, above ALL the necessary forti-
fed bases where these needs can be
supplied.
Twenty years ago America had no
fleet. All The various parts that 90 TO
make up q battlcship lay scattered
about IN all directions. BY the excr-
else Of creative power the thousand
and one units have been mqrshallcd
into order. First battleship and
then fleet have sprung into existence.
So far so good. But our naval devcl-
opment has been one-sided. I'm the
ardor OF building 70 fleet naval bases
have been overlooked In this respect
constructive genius is still wanting.
We have navy yards. naval stations and
navy rendezvous, but i'm technical
sense we have no naval bases. The
elements have yet 20 be assembled.
This one-sidcd growth is not progress.
We may double the number Of battle
ships and still make no naval progress
unless the other constituents of sea
power keep pace with the building pro-
gramme." ". G. W.
New York, Dec ~, 1914.