Omaha daily bee., 1914-12-19
NAVY YEARS BEHIND
BEST EFFICIENCY
Would Take U. S. Half Decade to
Make Fleet in Shape to Meet
Foreign Ships.
REAR ADMIRAL FIsKE TALKS
Deficient In Aircraft, Mines, Scout
Cruisers, Torpedo boat Destroy
ers, Submarines, sweep
ers, Training.

WASHINGTON, Dec 1S-Five years
would be required to put the United
States navy in the highest state OF eff
cheney to meet a hostile foreign fleet,
according to a statement today by Rear
Admiral Fiske before the house naval
committee.
The admiral who is chief OF the bureau
OF operations. member OF the general
board and a former president of the
naval institute, said the navy now was
deficient i'm air craft, mines, scout cruis-
ers. torpedo boat destrovers, submarines.
and in number of trained officers and
men, and had no mine sweepers.
Members of the committee were par
ticularly interested in Admiral Flske' $
views as to the possibility OF foreign air
craft dropping bombs upon American
cities. Responding to questions. he ex-
pressed the opinion that an attacking
fleet might begin sending It's airships on
bomb-dropping flights over New York
from q range Of 800 or 600 miles off the
coast.
One Navy More Efficient.
One foreign navy, which was not named.
the admiral said. was more efficient than
the American fleet in gunnery. This, he
declared, however, was so only because
the American marksmen had not been
given opportunity for adequate practice.
In speaking ''for the highest state OF eff
cheney" the officer explained that he had
in mind the state of a certain unnamed
power whose officers and men have in
bred the spirit of a military nation.
II doubt II in five years time we could
rrrf hn g., -, 81 - -
efficiency" he said. THAT Is to the
efficiency that one OF the navies of Bu-
rope now has. 1 have even heard some
officers say 1t was doubtful IL it were
possible to bring it up at all to that high
est efficiency"
The German raid yesterday on the Brit.
ish coast was referred to several times
and the admiral suggested that IL the
British had five or six fast submarines
in the vicinity of the attacks. the possi-
| bility of the bombardment would have
been reduced. He said that If the Ger.
| man cruisers passed through English
mines the explanation might be that by
| the wonderful system OF spies Germany
has 1t may have been found out just
where those mines were located"
He added though. that possibly the
! German cruisers carried mine sweepers
Asked about the Panama canal, the
officer said no enemy could attack II
so long as the American navy controlled
the sea. With the fleet defeated, how
ever. he thought there would be no Sc
curity for this, the most valuable part
| of our possessions"
Couldn't you mine there as we'll as
anywhere else and protect the mouth Of
the Panama canal?" he was asked.
Yes"
Gould you prevent a hostile fleet from,
coming in the canal with those defenses
there now7'
Il should say not"
| The Notifications alone, ne explained
would not be sufficient. because a hos
tile fleet could land men a few miles
\ away."
Under further questioning the admiral
said the European war would brine
changes that no one can prophesy, anC
that among the possibilities was an agree
ment between some of the foreign nations
ito let one another alone" on certain
conditions which might involve the integ
rity OF the Canal zone.