The Washington times., 1915-07-06
Results Abroad Yet Too Obscure
to Justify Planning Types OF
New Vessels.
BATTLESHlP VS.. SUBMARINE
Undersea Fighters indicated,
But Value Of Floating Fort
ress Has Been Improved.
NEW YORK, July GA Washington

The naval program to be presented to
Congress. in the light Of the lessons OF
the European war, has not been def
nitely framed. notwithstanding secre-
tary Daniels and his advisers have had
the subject under consideration con-
tinuously for months.
The building plans for the coming
year will not be completed until the
last moment, when. probably. President
Wilson will say the final word as to the
number and type Of ships the Navy De-
partment will request. Meanwhile,
Secretary Daniels hopes for more in
formation from the war zone, upon
which the United States may build with
profit and safety.
So far little information has been re-
ceived to aid the naval constructors
All the belligents are maintaining the
strictest secrecy as to their plans or the
lessons they have drawn from the few
sea battles.
Little Light From Attaches.
American naval attaches at London.
Paris. and Berlin have had little op-
portunity to furnish enlightening re-
ports, and there have been no foreign
observers aboard any of the war fleets
at sea. 1t Is said that the American at
tache at Berlin has had opportunity to
see considerable of the work poing on in
German yards. but If so he has been
under the strictest injunctions not to re-
veal what he has observed even In OFF,
cial reports, during the continuance of
the war. =,
The greatest question that has come
out of the war Is considered by many
American naval officers to be the future
of the dreadnaught. The value Of those
enormously expensive fighting machines
Is still as problematical as 1t was when
England launched the first all-big gun
ship, the Dreadnaught. England's new
est superdreadnaught the Queen Eliza
beth, has bombarded the forts at the
Dardanelles; but, so far as Navy De-
partment advices go. she Is the only
ship Of her class to have fired a shot
80 far.
A Vexing Problem.
The reason for that, navy officers say.
Is the full realization of predictions
made for submarines when the first un-
dersea boat was constructed. Against
those small and comparatively inexpen.
sive weapons no adequate means Of de.
fense has been found, and the first-line
ships of the fighting navies are behind
mine fields or screens of torpedo boats
and destroyers, leaving the active work
OF the war to the older pre-dreadnought
battleships. the battle cruisers. anc
lighter and less expensive craft.
When the first maneuvers of the
American navy in which submarines
q - n NfR ~ar.
declared the day of the battleship hae
passed. In theory every big ship which
approached shore during those opera
tions was destroyed. Events of the Eu
ropean war, so far as they are known
apparently bear out the assumption O.
the superiority of submarines, and tha
IL proving a vexing problem in deciding
what shall be the future American pol
icy of naval construction.
Defense Against Submarines.
Navy engineers now are deeply en-.
gagged with experiments looking tc
the discovery of some practical de.
Tense against submarine attack
While nothing has been revealed o
their experiments, 1t is assumed thai
questions are being considered Of great
er subdivision of hullS and stronger
bulSheads. of armor to extend about the
midship sections of battleships below the
water line and capable of resisting thu
blow of h modern torpedo, and also tn,
location of submarines at a consider
able distance and their pursuit by swift
light easily handled craft. such as de
stroyers. The latter defense Is the onl,
practical one which seems to have me
with anv success abroad. so far as i
kaown. yet offers here point out tina
at best it is Ike searhng for a needl,
in haystak. and that the destroye
defense does not meet the problem II
anything like an adequate way.
Location and destruction of Subma
rines by aeroplancs also is considereo
impractical in any but special case
where weather, depth of water, AM
other conditions make It possible
Bomb dropping from aeroplanes. eVel
over far-reach.ng land fortificatlors an
other easily visible stationary objects
has not proved so successful as to CIV
much promise where a small, dimly VS.
ible shape beneath the surface OF tn
water is the target.
Would Abandon Dreadnanght.
Similarly, submarine against sui
marine Is not considered a possible dt
velopment of undersea warfare unles
some new and startling device
give submarine commanders the powt
OF underwater vision is discovered.
submarine is a blind thing once its per
scope is below the surface. One of til
novel exploits of the war, however, wa
an Austrian underwater boat. The RI
ports of the encounter, however. wei
not sufficiently complete to indicat
the value of that sort of warfare.
The result of the development of tn
submarine with widening range
action, mounting disappearing guns II
surface action, and with increas!n
numbers of torpedo tubes, as shown
reports from Europe, has been to crea
a school of navy officers here who al
said to be urging the abandonment
dreadnaught building in favor of
huge submarine fleet. Other office
declare the backbone of the navy mu
always be in first line battleshps, ar
they urge larger and more heavil
armed dreadnaughts than ever. Som
where between these two schools
theory, II is said. the course of the d
partment will lie in its recommendation
to Congress.
Officers who advocate the submarir
navy say that II s thoroughly pract
cable for the United States, because II
mission of the American navy is TO d.
tend the United States from invasion
not to prepare the way for an invasio
aF Tha0 "A