Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1915-06-12
FIXING UP NAVAL PLAN
PROHTTING BY WAR
General Board Win Submit Recon-
mendatiOn to Daniels.
COMPREHENSIVE STUDIES MADE
Battle Cruisers, Scout Ships and De-
tense Against TOrpedOes Among
Subjects Studied.

Comprehensive studies are being
made by the General Board OF the
Navy, the Naval War College and the
Bureau of Operations. looking 10 the
preparation Of a report 10 the Secre-
tary OF the Navy, which will contain
recommendations as to what Congress
should provide in the next naval bill
in the light of what the European war
has demonstrated to be necessary for
the American Navy.
These studies. il has been learned.
will be completed in time to have the
report in hand before the department
budget of estimates is made up. 1t is
accepted as a foregone conclusion in
Administration circles that Secretary
Daniels will be more disposed than
he was last year TO accept the recon-
mendations of the department ex-
perts and that Congress.as a result of
the better preparedness" campaign
that has been waged since the out
break of the European war, will be in
clined TO be more libebral
Not only are the departments ex-
perts devoting particular attention TO
the types of ships which the present
war have demonstrated to be most
necessary. but Secretary Daniels has
admitted that Admiral Taylor, Chief Of
the Bureau Of Construction. has been
devoting considerable attention TO
plans for devices to protect the big
ships of the navy from serious dam
age of torpedo attack.
Because of what the war has de-
veloped as to the Importance of speed
in fighting ships, particular attention
also is being directed to plans which
the naval architects have prepared for
highspeed, powerful battle cruisers. OF
which the German navy has many and
the American navy none, and of the
scout cruicsers, whose function is spy
on the enemy's movements The Ger
man navy has several squadrons of
these scouts. The United States has
but three such vessels, one of which
was out of date before it left the ways
Admiral Benson, chief of operations.
whose powers under the new act
creating that office are very broad, is
directing the studies, and recommen-
dations win pass through his hands.
In this connection it can be stated that
the Navy Department is making extra
ordinary efforts to prevent the details
Of these studies or of the prepared
plans of the new types Of vessels from
becoming public.
Secretary Daniels manifested this
concern for secrecy in commenting on
the recent decision of theUnitedStates
District Court for the Eastern District
of New York, in the injunction suit
brought by the NavyDepartment to re-
strain the e. w. Bliss Company from
selling the so-called Bliss-Leavitt tor
pedo to foreign powers. Mr.. Daniels,
in his comment, said:
Il am gratified that tho Navy De
partment has won it's contention that
contractors must guard devices Of the
navy and not disclose them to foreign
governments. The decision enjoined
the Bliss Company from disclosing the
underlying secret of that sort of tor
pedo to any individual corporation or
any government.
"The decision is all the more salts
factory inasmuch as the opinion APP
proves a policy recognized some time
ago by the secretary. At the first SEES
sion Of the Sixty-third Congress,I urg-
ed Congress to make an appropriation
Of a sufficient sum to make possible an
Increase in the Government torpedo
plant by which the product of the
works at Newport to be doubled.
Congress made the appropriation,
work is being pushed forward, and to-
ward the latter part of the year the
enlarged factory will be in operation.
"The Navy Department has realized
the Importance of having a manufac-
tory of its own for the production of
torpedoes as well as powder and guns
and has striven toward increasing the
capacity of the torpedo station