El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-12-12

secretary JOSephuS DanlelS IN MS an
nual report submitted to president
Wilson. The navy general board
urged the building Of four.
The complete building program for
rhe coming year recommended by sec
rotary Daniels comprises:
Two dreadnoughts, six destrOyers,
eight or more submarines one to he
large. sea going craft and the others
of smaller size for coast defence Upei-
atoms: one gunboat and one fuel oil
n this program is followed out. Mr.
Daniels says, 1.-THE increase will be
noteworthy and will give us a wei
rounded navy equal if not superior
TO that Of any navy in the world ship
for ship and man for man.
Reduces Boards Recommendation.
Secretary Daniels program, he
stated, follows the policy OF the gen
eraI board recommendations but re-
duces the number of ships Of each class
asked for. The board recommended
the construction of the following as
the 1916 program:
-Four dreadnougn;s, 16 destroyers,
three sea gong submarines, 10 coast
defencL submarines, four scout cruis-
ers, four gunbOats, two fuel oil snlps'
one destroyer tender, one submarine
tender, one navy transport, one hospi-
t. ship. one supply ship and S5,OOO,-
600 appropriation for navy arr craII.
The board was acting on us pHllcN
looking to the completion in 1918 OF
a fleet. the main line Of which would
be As battleships
HAS Faith I'm Submarines.
Submarines come in for extended
discussion by the secretary and the
general board Recent Developments
a naval warfare" Mr.. Daniels says,
s.have strengthened faith in the eff
cacv of the submarine. The depart
. rnenr urges, therefore, the construction
Of an increased number Of submarines
and the larger utilization OF this
-veapon OF warfare which has demon
strated its effectiveness
THE general board relterates the
ooinion II has always held that com
rnand of the sea can only be gained and
held nv vessels that can take and keep
me sea fin all times and In all Weathers
and overcome the strongest enemies Is
that can be brought against them It
declares other types are valuable ana
have their particular uses, but the
backbone Of any navy that can com
rnaud the sea consists of the strongest
sea going. sea keeping ships Of its day,
or Of its battleships'
Faith IN DreadnOuEhfs Unshaken.
THE department feels that it is upon
safe ground in looking to the board to
prescribe the character of the ships
TO be constructed. The large increase
in submarines is most desirable, but
nothing i'm the present war has dis
proved their faith in the modern dread
nOught The fact that there has been
no encounter between these powerful
ships does not. justify the conclusion
that their further construction should
be discarded in favor Of the smaller
craft which has astOnished the world
by its ability to sink cruisers and
other craft, giving its severest and
most fatal blows before its presence is
discovered It may be that naval en-
fragments later on will teach lessons
that will change expert opinion.
Is Third In Submarine Strength.
That our navy has not neglected
the construction Of submarines will be
seen by a comparison Of our strength
in this craft with that Of foreign
navies. It is roughly estimated that
there are built or building for the
various navies the following number
of submarines: England, 81; France,
IS: United States, ST. Germany, 81;
Japan. II. This estimate was made in
July Of this year.
when the relative sizes Of the fleets
Of the great nations enumerated above
are considered, it will be seen that the
United States has submarine flotilla
relatively and actually very powerful.
England's fleet is more than twice as
great as ours. get she has but little
more than half as many more subma-
rines. France has considerably
larger submarine fleet than or IN
a smaller navy, but she has in the past
taken the lead in submarine building.
Some years ago she abandoned the
dreadnought policy to acquire large
numbers of submarines, but in the last
two or three years has made unusual
eXertiOns to repair her deficiency In
dreadnoughts. England has overcome
this lead. and we. are on that road
having in addition to the 81 ships al
ready mentioned eight more authorized
by last years BILL on which work will
shortly commence, an" We are asking
for eight or more this year, which will
swell our total to at least 81 in the
next three years Germany, with
larger fleet than ours, has less subma-
rines, and Japan, with fleet smaller
than ours in strength, only half as
many submarines"
Must Have Air. Craft.
OF aviation the secretary says:
Air craft have demonstrated in the
present war in Europe that no military
arm is complete which lacks them.
They will not replace vessels Of war,
but will extend the field Of operations
to the air as well as on the surface OF
and underneath the water. They pro-
vide the best means for discovering
submarine mines, and have now become
an indispensable naval adjunct
I'VE are but in the infancy of air
craft The development in the manu-
facture Of these craft in this country
needs to be stimulated, and the sue
cess Of this arm of the military ser
vice abroad will be a mighty stimulus
TO American manufacturers.
Must Depend on American Make.
"Orders were given, early in the
planes. in addition to larger orders for
aeroplanes made in this country. I'm
fortunately, the war made IL impossi-
BILE for the orders placed abroad to be
filled, and the trial of such craft must
be postponed. The best types of Ameri-
can manufacture have been ordered,
and the department will develop this
modern branch of the naval service
steadily and rapidly"
General Board Takes Issue.
The general board does not take the
same view. It's report refers to its
recommendations in 1913 which
drought to the attention OF the de-
partmenu the dangerous situation Of
the country in the lack of air craft and
air men in both the naval and military
services. At the present time, the to
tai number of air craft Of any kind
owned by the navy consists of u aero
planes, not more than two Of which are
Of the same type, and all reported to
have too little speed and carrying
capacity for service work.
Wholly UnDrepHred.
"In our present condition Of unpre-
paredness, in contact with any foe