Arizona republican., 1915-07-12
Secretary of the Navy Dan ielS and lis Advisors Have Subject of Program for Congress Under Con Sideration
DREADNAUGHT
 IN THE BALANCE
Name of These Enormously Expensive Fighting Ma chimes Still as Problemat- ical as When England Launched First of Type
IAssocIArED PRESS DIsPArcHl

WASitlNGTON. July 1.-The nay al program to be presented to con sress. in the light of the lessons of The European war. has not been def lnitely framed, notwithstanding the fact that Secretary of the Navy Dan iels and his advisors have had the subject under consideration continu- Cusly for months.
 The building plans for the coming year win not be completed until the last moment when. probably. Presi- dent Wilson will say the final word as to the number and type of ships the navy department will request Neanw hie Secretary Daniels hopes for information from the war zone upon which the United States can build with profit and safety.
 So far little information has been received to aid the naval construc- tors. All the benigerents are main ,ainlug the strietest secrecy as to their plans or the lessons they have arawn for themselves from the few sea battles American naval attaches at London. Paris and Berlin. have lad little opportunity to furnish en- Tightening reports and there have been no foreign observers aboard any ,f the war fleets at sea
 It IS said that the American at tache at Berlin has had opportunity to sec, considerable of the work going on in German yards. but if so he has i.-rn under the strictest injunctions not to reveal what he has observed. even in official reports. during the continuance of the war
 The greatest question that has come out of the war is considered I.v many American naval officers to ie the future of the dreadnaught- SO far as is known not a single capi- tal ship has been engaged and the value of those enormously expensive fighting machine is still as problem atic.tI as il was when England launched the first ali-biggun ship. the Dreadnaught England's newest Super-dreadnaught. the queen Eliza beth. has bombarded the forts at the Dardanelles. but so far as navy de rartment advices go, she is the only ship of her class to have fired shot so far
 The reason for that. navy officers say. is the full realization of predic- tions made for submarines when the first undersea boat was constructed Against those small and compara- lively inexpensive weapons. no ade- utate means of defense has been found and the first line ships of the fighting navies are behind mine field or screens of torpedo boats and destroyers leaving the active work of the war to the older pre-dreadnaughI hattleships. the battle cruisers and Iiebter and less expensive craft.
 When the first maneuvers of the Arner.can navy in which submarines participated took place, some officers declared the day of the battleship had passed In theory every big ship which approached shore during those operations was destroyed Events Of rh.- European war. so far as they are known. apparently bear out that as sumption of the superiority of sub marines and that is proving a veXinS urobIern in deciding what shall be the future American policy of naval construction.
 Navy engineers now are deeply en- s-aged with experiments looking to the discovery of some practical de- fence against submarine attack. should they find a solution of the problem. the big ship program will be vindicated. While nothing has been revealed of their experiments, it is assumed that questions of greater subdivision of hulls and stronger bulkheads. of armor to extend about the midship sections of battleships below the waterline and capable of resisting the blow of a modern tor pedo. and also the location of sub marines at a considerable distance and their pursuit by swift light. easily handled craft such as destroy CTS are being considered. The latter defense is the only practical one