New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-06-04
u. S. DEFENCELESS
TO REAL ATTACK
Continued from page !
manned and strategicalIy directed By a
general staff.
Inadequate Opposing Force.

Inadequate Opposing force.
"What have we with which to oppose
this force? A smaller number Of dread
noughts. pre -dreadnoughts and de-
strovers than the enemy would BRING
no battle cruisers. no effective scouts,
one airship recently contracted Tor.
only three good aeroplanes, not ye'
ready: an embryonic aeronautlcal ser
vice. two mine depot ships, one NINE
lnyer and twelve mine sweepersi also
about forty-fve submarines of al xmas
and ages. distributed over the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts, Panama, Hawaii ana
the Philippincs. none of which has ever
attempted fcats like those ehectlVeiy
performed i'm foreign navles now anu
an inadequate merchant marine ITO"
which 10 get auXiliaries.
"To man even this insufficient ma,
,orial we have an enlisted personnel
insufficient even for that. even IN time
of peace. and no trained reserves ana
no general staff or similar agency to
direct the whole. 9,
"This means that. reasoning on the
assumption that the United states de-
sires that the navy shall be able TO
Guard our coasts effectively against the
only kind Of attack that would be made.
tho navy must obtain several types OF
vessels and instruments that we 90 not
now possess, or possess IN only in3u"l-
cient measure; must learn 70 use them'
both as units and a members OF one
Great unit. with a skill AZ leasI equa
10 that with which foreign naVles al
ready use them, must enlist ana e'n-
clentlv train as large a force OF en-
listed men, active and reserve AZ our
probable enemy would send, and must
develop a general staff or some sim var
agency as sklful and experienced as
theirs. 49,.
I'VE. as naval officers, realize all THIS
but this will accomplish nothing unless
We make the laymcn realize It. too. II
yo fear TO do this lest VIC incur dis
Measure and spoil our individual ca
reers we are unworthy of the uniform
we wear and we fail our country IN
her hour Of need just as etfectually as
if we deserted her flag IN war.
Not Keeping Pace with Europe.
I've must make the laymen realize
that the naval profession has devel-
oped greatly within the last ten years
in Furopp. because Of the imminence
Of the awful war for which her navies
strenuously prepared; while we OF the
United States. feeling secure behind
the hulwark of the ocean. have not Sc
riouslv prepared and have therefore
dropped behind in the march Of naval
progress and have been, IN TACT, out
stripped. We have seen the battle
cruiser. the scout. the submarine. the
airship. the aeroplane and the mine be
ing developed by foreign nations INTO
effective instruments of war, while
their officers and men have been eif-
GENTLY trained IN their use and tao
tics. but we have not developed them
into effective instruments OF war our
selves. and therefore our officers and
men have not been efficiently trained
in their use and tactics.
I've have observed the formation OF
great organizations Of highly trained
reserves. but have gotten none our
selves worthy Of the name. We have
admiringlv noted the wonderful work
Of the general stats. but have proyid-
cd no general staff or similar agency
ourselves. though the recent creation
Of the Office Of chief of naval opera
tions is step in that direction that
ebould have been taken fifteen years
ago. We have TO tested wHr plans, as
ali naval officers know. American and
foreign; no tested organization for
war. no proper system of communica-
tons. no tested mobilization scheme.
"As 10 gunnery, the ntNys that keeps
coming in Of achievements in long
range firing by European ships shows
us that while we are As good in gun
merry AS we have ever been our COM
petitors have accomplished feats
greater than any that We have ever at
tempted.
This is destructive criticism. some
may say. True. but has destructive
criticism no constructive value? Yes,
because until destructive criticism
points out faults, constructlyeneSs will
not be used and remedies will not be
applied. During the laborious hours Of
no criticism can be too
keen. no searching out Of faults too