The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-12-23
NAVAL BOARD GETS
POINTERS OVERSEE
II. f.. Coffin Says L. 5 Can
Become as Prepared for De-
fence as Germany Was.
NAVY YARD VISIT TO-DAY

The members % the Naval Consulting
Board met yesterday In the Engineering
Societies Building. 20 West Th,-ty-ninth
street. with seventeen OF the twenty-four
members present. Nine committees met
and discussed plans for national defence.
The members present were Andrew
l.. Riker. Benjamin G. Lammc. Elmer A.
sperry. " X. Hutchison. A. VI. tiunt,
feter Cooper Hewitt. Hudson Maxim, =.
> woodward. l.. Il. Baekland. Thomas
iiobins. Lawrence Addicks. ". y. Sell
lers. IL. r. Coffin, ". l.. saunders, II.
b. mayer. i. T. Sprague and Dr. A. e..
WEBSTER. h abseh'ees were Henry a.
Wise Wood. who has resigned w. l.. X.
f~'Hliiet, W. X. Whitney. NJ. Spencer Mil
ier. ard the president. Thomas A.. Edi-
son. All except AIr. Wood viii be on
hand to-day. when the meeting will be
held in the Brooklyn navy yard.
There yer. meetings hrSt by these
suo-comm!;,.es: Ordnance and oxplo.
s'ons' product. organization. !naau:ac-
lures and Standardization, submarines,
internal combustion, motors. food and
sanitation. electricity. ~aeronau,!cs. steam
engineering and ship propulsion ana ship
construction
III tho evening the committee met as
a whole AMI discussed tie resul, o.
their days work. II. Il. Coffin, chair
man OF the committee OF production,
manufactures Organization and stand
ardization. said the committee is not at
tempting to dicta,. as 20 what l. to Ne
done. but Is making practical sucges
lions TO the Department. lie added:
The army and ravy are simply the
cutting edges o; defensive operations.
and the blade OF the Knife behind the
steel edge n the civic organization 10
Furnish the necessary supplies, from bull
let's TO bacon. We don't assume to know
anything about fighting. but we must
furnish the lighting material when the
time comes. II, K ever does. The COM
mittee can do much work now In time
OF peace In getting things 20 work
smoothly so that should "A war rome
there Will rot Do tho wild confusion
Their" uas at the tiIe OF the outbreak
o. the spanish war.
one Of the concrete thing done to-
day and which VII, at once be put IN
to the Navy Department Is for tho prar.
teal training Of met for the aviation
school. II IL suggested that the Depart
ment detail men to spend three months
at the different automobile factories TO
study the motors. SO tha, they may b.
thoroughly practical. The hoard Of a.
rectors of the Automobile Chamber OF
commerce has Invited the Department
10 send men 10 IN" factories for this pu--
pose, and II 4 - don" III rine,v DAYS
there viii be 1000 men for the aviation
service who have "A thoroughly prdcticn!
khn"IedGe OF the motors.
The first move was also made tov,lrsa
getting the ~aeroplane Industries together
ior Standardization purposes. THIS in
distry is now in rs infancy.
l.. X. iiaciland, chairman of the
committee on Orluanc" and Explosives.
I0o'ntcd out that this country wou!G ..ake
q bis mistake x y ran short OF suroxe-
less powder. ITO make this powu.r."
said Mr. Breskland. "n.,rio ACID Is
needed. There are two clements on
which this country Is dependent on out
side sources, potash salts and n!trates,
when com" from Chile. should TVS
ne AZ war with a foreign Power
all that would be ,leceSs;lry n absolutely
cripple us would be to stop the export
o. nitrates from Chile.
Germany is in this same cord,t!on,
but the German chemists have m.ads
nitric acid syuthetically from tho nitro
gen IN the air. our has
that the Department obtain
some water power IN tho interior and
establish a unit Tor the MANUFACTURES OF
nitric acid"