The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-11-14

Twelve Battieships of the Second
Line of National Defense-Vesseis on
Par With Foreigners and Material,
on the Whole, In Excellent Shape.
Contradicting the statements of some
naval men, the unpreparedness of the
American navy for war was frankly
conceded in an official statement by
Acting Secretary Franklin d. Roose-
welt. In this statement he says:
Mention has been made of the I'M
readiness Of the fleet 1t was true that
during the past two years maneuvers
and battle practice Of the feet as
whole have, of necessity, been greatly
curtailed. International affairs have
required the use of a certain number
of our ships on foreign duty.
I'm many of these cases the depart
ment has found it necessary. owing to
the shortage of men, to use battleships
for duty which could have been per-
formed as well by gunboats or small
cruisers. This lack of fleet maneuvers
is, however, matter which can be
remedied by a few months practice,
and it is hoped that these maneuvers
will take place in the near future.
We Need 1900 More Sailors.
ITO provide 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 becom-
ing more difficult as time goes on be-
cause of the vessels under construc-
ton which must shortly be provided
with crews
For instance, during the coming
year two battleships, the Oklahoma
and the Nevada, will take their places
with the fleet Each of these vessels
| will require a complement of nearly
| 1000 men each.
Theoretically and on paper the navy
| possesses at the present time ten bat
tleships of the first line and twenty
| three battIeships of the second line
Actually, however, only ten battle
ships of the first line and eleven bat
tleships of the second line can be plac
ed in commission for service because
of the shortage of men.
Only Part of Navy Can Be Manned.
There has never been any attemp
to hide the fact that, although thu
numbers of enlisted men are recruit
ed up to the limit allowed by congress
there are only sufficient men to man
portion of the vessels already built
There are now out of commission
three second line battleshipS, tire
second line cruisers, one third elias
cruiser. one destroyer, two monitors
one hospital ship, four torpedo boats
six gunboats, one transport. one fue
ship. one repair ship and eleven cor
verted yachts. These vessels are hops
lessly out of date.
1T would be foolish to attempt t
prophesy what the future will brin
forth, but it is at the present time clea
| that submarines have an undoubte
sphere Of usefulness in harbor wor
and within short distances of the Goa
and that battleships are still the co
trolling factor in any war in whiC
the belligerents are separated by gre;
distances of water.
' Ships Equal to Foreign Vessels.
e in regard to the material of Il
navy-that is to say. ships and the
i equipment. including guns, engine
: range finders. etc.-matterS are. on Il
: whole. in excellent shape. AS uni
! the vessels in commission are We
: built. well designed and well cars
for and compare in all types very f
vorably with the vessels of other POI
ers. In fact, believe that they a
:, better. In a few particulars. such
g the lack of sufficient torpedoes. the
e is room for great Improvement
k Also in regard to the lack of &c
l. tain auxiliaries and the insufficie
: number of scouts much can be dol
l. to make the feet better balanced"