Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-05-15
NAVY INCREASES
urgent, ASSERTS
SECURITY LEAGUE
National Association Starts
Work to Secure Appropria-
tons From Congress
THINKS AT LEAST DOUBLE
CONSTRUCTION REQUIRED
-Four BattIeships, Is Destroy
ers, IS Submarines on 1916
Program Announced +.
By C. s, ALBERT,

" YIN IL S-g Hudy hS
National Security League Is starting
out with a vigorous propaganda tC
obtain material increases for the ma
val establishment. A fight already
has been instituted for the purpose OF
securing from the next Congress a!
i least double the allowances for con
struction work. ~ ~.
/, The leagues naval program fol
1915 contemplates four hattleships,
Is destroyers, three fleet submarines,
! Is coast defense submarines and IL
auxiliary ships. r.. -,.,..
The naval committee of the Nation.
al Security League consists OF j. Bern.
/. ard Walker, r. w. Eeeser. W. Butler
Duncan, r. p. Forshew. William S.
Lloyd, William McAdoo, Roland r.
Riggs, Herbert L. Satterlee, Benjamin
F. Tracy, Beekman Winthrop and
/ Henry A. Wise Wood. After three
months of careful study the commit
tee has reported in favor of supporting
the recommendations of the general
board of the navy for 1916.
In its introduction the committee de.
clares that I'VE need either an ade-
quate navy, or we need none at all.
That Intellectual resistance Is worse
| than useless is beliyed to be axion1a.
/ tic, and discussion on this point Is
| profitless." In urging Congress to
accept the recommendation Of the gen.
eral board the committee says "the
members of the general board are Of.
ficers of the navy who have made a
lifelong study Of its problems. They
have at their disposal. Information not
available to the general public. and
they have taken ample time seriously
and calmly to consider this informa.
tion, The men. who have made these
Recommendations have well appreciat.
ed their responsibilities TO the country
and therefore your committee believes
It would be inexpedient to go further
than to present the views of the gen
eral board. supplemented wherever
necessary with other official material
as may be available and relevant. A
board such as this, whose personnel is
continually changing. yet which year
after year urges substantially the
same legislation on matters vital to
the navy, must be considered as ex.
pressing the mature views Of the ser
vice. at large.
I'm the matter of battleships the
general board remains Of the opinion
that it has always held, that the com.
mand Of the sea can only be gained
and held by vessels that can take and
keep the sea in all time and In all
yeathers, and overcome the strongest
enemy's vessels that may be brought
against them. Next in importance for
the general purposes OF war on the
sea comes the destroyers, and for this
type OF craft the general board has
come to the conclusion that the needs
OF fleet in war requires at least four
destroyers for every battleship.
Submarines Valuable.
..The value of the submarines for
distant work with the fleet can hard
~ be oyerestimated To this end the
fleet submarines are essential, while
for coast defense purposes smaller
vessels Of the type adopted by the
navy are required. In the cruiser
class our navy has not received al
single authorization Tor construction
since 1901, when three, scout cruisers
and two armored cruisers were laid
down. This leaves our fleet peculiar.
ly lacking In this element so necessary
for information in q navy campaign
and of such great value in opening I
and protecting routes Of trade for our
own commerce and prohibiting such |
routes to the commerce of the enemy.
! "In view of the advance that has
been made in aeronautics during the
past year and the demonstration now
being made of the vital Importance OF
q proper air, service in both land and +
sea warfare our present situation can
be described as nothing less than de-
In our present condition of
lnpreparedness, in contact with any /
foe possessing proper air service,
our scouting would be blind We |.
would be without the means OF detect.
ing his plans and unable to attack
him from the air, while our own
would be open to him.
6unboats Needed.
) Lastly the navy is deficient in
gunboats. In the matter of aufliaries
needed for the fleet most serious
SAloIo. EQAiO"tH6 NhO WYNN
of the general board for
the 1916 program the following auth.
orizations are urged by the commit
tee: Four battleships, Is destroyers,
three fleet submarines, 16 coast de.
Tense submarines, four scouts. four
two oil fuel ships, one de.
stroyer tender, one submarine tender,
Dne naval transport, one hospital ship.
one supply ship and air service, $5,-F
l0O, 600"
The committee closes its report
with an appeal for personnel legisla
ion to take the place of the plucking
was abolished at the last
session of Congress, and urges that
for the navy be appro
priated under the budget system. d
Such a system Of naval appropria
ions" says the report, has proven =
in foreign navies Our pre-
sent system has been proven unsat. +;
sfactory. Should we not be willing
o learn lesson from the examples of