Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1914-02-06
U. 5. NAVY
RANKS SECOND
OREGON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND
INDIANA LEFT OUT
Juggling of Figures Gives Germany
More Than She Deserves.

According to this mornings Ore
gonian, experts of the Navy Depart
ment juggled the statistics in the
Navy yearbook for 1913 to make the
American Navy appear inferior to the
German navy, and thereby set the
United States down fom second to
third place, as naval power, it was
charged today by Representatives
Witherspoon, of Wisconsin, and Hens
ley, of Missouri, members of the
House Naval affairs committee.
With Secretary Daniels before the
committee to explain the Naval pro-
gram for the coming year, the two
Congressman, who are strongly OPP
posed to ga big. navy questioned
him on what they declared were omis-
sions and faulty comparisons in the
year book. The Secretary explained
he was not an expert in comparing
navies, and said he had relied on what
experts in the navy had advised him
about the facts.
Three Battleships Left Out.
In their questioning the Congress-
men brought out that three American
battleships, the Oregon, Massachu-
setts and Indiana, which are of the
same tonnage and of heavier arma-
,,n,,t +Lo, IN l..taJ Go,,,,,o, lot+1o
ships, are left out of the United States
list altogether; and that the year book
instead of giving the United States
36 battleships built and building,
compared with Germany's 80, should
have credited the UNITED States with
80 battleships of heavier total ton
mage and armament than Germany.
(; They also brought out that the
navy statistieians have this year for
the first time taken out of the dread
nought class the battleships South
Carolina and Michigan, which have
dreadnought armament, and have put
into the German dreadnought class
four ships of 11-inch gun armament.
The yearbook S comparison gives
Germany 13 dreadnoughts and the
United States seven, while the Con-
gressman insisted that the correct
figures should give nine dreadnoughts
each.
Results Are Set Forth.
Detailed results of their investiga-
tions of the year book s comparisons
were announced by Representatives
Witherspoon and Hensley in the fol-
lowing statement:
"It was developed that the United
States appeared to have three less
battleships than Germany because
three of the American battleships
were omitted from our list, namely,
the Oregon, Massachusetts, and the
Indiana. The reason suggested by the
Secretary of the Navy for the omis-
sion of these three battleships was
that they were old and obsolete, but
it appears that in the German list is
included 10 battleships to-wit.
Kaiser Frederick iii, Kaiser Will
helm II, Kaiser Karl Der Crosse,
Kaiser Barbarossa Wittelbach, Zah-
ngon, Wetten, Meckleburg, Schwaben,
each of which has a tonnage of TO-
VA, built at the same time as the
omitted American battleships and each
having a main armamenfnUfifour 81 |
nch guns while the Oregon, Massa-
,husetts and Indiana have main
of four 13-inch guns and
/ tonnage of 10,28S tons each.
English Authority Presented
"a high English authority was pre-
'ented to the Secretary of the navy
the inferiority of these 10
ierman battleships with their "a
nch guns to battleships armed with
Pinch OF 13-inch guns.
at was further developed that ac-
'ordlng TO this comparison IN the
lavy year book the tonnage Of the
ierman battleships was from 1924,
which was the smallest, to 1891,
which was the largest of 20 German
and that of 81 American
the smallest was 1856
nd the largest was 10000 tons. The
Secretary admitted that, so far as the
onnage of the battleships was con-
erned, the American navy was great
r than that of the Germans, as well
S an excess of seven battleships in
avor of the American navy.
American Superiority Cited.
"In regard to the armament of the
ierman 20 battleships it was devel-
ped that 10 of them are supplied
ach with four guns, 9.4-inch in cali
'er, and the other 10 each with four
/ inches in ealiber. while all of the
z American battleships are each arm-ll