New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-12-07
NAVY LACKS PLAN
FOR WAR DEFENCE
Officers Could Only Wait
for Attack by Hostile
Fleet.
LF.nm The Tribun, Bureau. /

Washington, Dec. 6.-The United
States to-day possesses no plan, either
general or specific, to guide the officers
Of the navy in the event of war with
another nation. If hostilities were to
begin tomorrow, not man in the
naval service, from the ranking ad-
miral down to the junior cadet at An
napolis, would know what plan Of Of
fence or defence TO follow.
Any strategical system of offence or
defence would have 70 be formulated
under the disadvantage of actual war
fare, and would depend entirely on the
moves of the enemy's fleet, in all
probability based on prearranged
plan of attack.
The Navy Department to-day does
not possess even a fragmentary sys-
TEN designed to meet the naval attack
Of any such power as Great Britain,
France. Germany, Italy, or even Rus
STA. The nearest approach to 1t is a
plan devised by navy officers several
years ago for meeting an attack on
the Pacific Coast by Japan.
For the last twenty months the navy
has been concerned chiefly with ad-
justing itself TO the new regime and
transforming itself from a fighting
force into a floating university, &C
cording TO a large group Of naval OH
GERS who are counted among the lead
ing spirits of the modern navy. A
carefully devised general plan Of ma
tional offence has never been discussed
by Secretary Daniels with the heads
of the various bureaus of the Navy
Department. The series of articles
now appearing in The Tribune is caus-
II r7gsr q y
here. The era of secrecy as to naval
policy, which dates from the begin
ming of the peaceful invasion" of Vera
Cruz. has made it difficult to obtain
opinions from those qualified by their
knowledge TO state the facts Never
theless, naval officers have opinions,
and places and methods of expressing
them.
The Tribune's articles have met with
the full approval of those naval Of
fcers who feel. that the attention of
the nation should be called to the fact
that the navy is falling into a state Of
irtficiency and DISCRIMINATION. The
general belief is that through the
articles published by The Tribune and
the promised answers from Secretary
Daniels the truth about naval condi-
tons may become known.
That there has been an Gppreclable
falling off in the accuracy of Uncle
Sans navy gun pointers, as pointed out
in The Tribune this morning, and that
this fact is clearly demonstrated in
the target practice of the fleet are ad-
mitted by high officials of the Navy
Department insufficient and irregular
target practice is the direct cause as
signed and the policy OF keeping so
raany ships on police duty at Vera
Cruz the indirect.
The autumn practice with large
calibre guns showed fair accuracy, &C
cording to one who observed the last
target shooting of the twelves and
fourteen on the dreadnoughts and
other battleships. The report OF the
actual averages of the big guns IN the
practice this fall has not been made
public. It is said that the compilation
Of the final averages will take consid-
erably longer this year than last be-
cause under a newly developed system
il is possible TO average the grade OF
shooting more closely through new in
struments, which record not only the
hits on the target, but the distances OF
the misses" from the actual object.
.