Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1915-12-23
WANT A FIT" NAVY
ONE EQUAL TO ARMY
Fleet Sufficient to Drive Commerce
of Any Enemy From the Sea
Declared Necessary.
TO DEFEND COAST NOT ENOUGH.
Lessons Drawn From War---Battleships
Still Supreme---What General
Board Would Have U. S. Take
As Its Goal.

10 the most powerful maintained b,
any other mai ion of the world" not la
ter than 1925, is the opinion of tn,
Navy General Board, headed by Ad
miral George Dewey.
The annual report of the board made
public last night. discloses that this
naval policy was formulated by the
body in July last in answer TO the fol.
lowing propositions propounded by the
Secretary of the Navy Daniels wher
the Administration arrived at its decis-
ion to enter upon a campaign of ma
tional preparedness:
What the navy must be in the fu-
ture in order to stand upon an equal
ity with the most efficient and most
practically serviceable?"
The boards conclusions follow:
THE Navy of the United States
should ultimately be equal to the most
powerful maintained by any other ma
tion of the world 1t should be grad
ually increa sed to this point by such a
rate of development, year by year. as
may be permitted by the facilities OF
the country, but the limit above defined
should be attained not later than
1926"
The board again developed its idea
of the peace the American Navy should
hold in the world in the following
language:
The general board believes that the
course of the present war in Europe
affords convincing reasons for mod
flying the opinion which it has eX-
pressed for the last eleven years as to
the proper size of the navy 4 navy in
firm control of the seas from the out
break of the war is the prime essential
to the defense of country situated as
is the United States, bordering upon
two great oceans. A navy strong
enough only to defend our coast from
actual invasion will not suffice
Defense from invasion is not the
only function of the navy 1t must
protect our sea-borne commerce and
drive that of the enemy from the sea
The best way to accomplish all these
objects is to find and defeat the hostile
feet or any of its attachments at a dis
lance from our coast sufficiently great
to prevent interruption of our normal
course of national life The current
war has shown that navy of the size
recommended by this board in pre-
viOus years can no longer be consider
ed as adequate to the defensive needs
of the United States. Our present
navy is not sufficient to give due
weight to the diplomatic remonstrance
of the United States in peace nor to
enforce its policies in war"
The report lays stress upon the
boards proposal that seven of the six
cen new ships, -four superdreadnaughts
and three battle cruisers, be authoriz-
ed in 1916 Secretary Daniels has rec
commended to Congress, however, that
only two dreadnaughts and two battle
cruisers be authorized at this time.
Under the boards plan the total ex-
penditure for the five yeras, including
81 100000 for the aviation service and
81 100000 for reserve ammunition and
material, would be S499 SIC. 000.t last
appropriations for which would be
made in 1929; the Secretary's recon-
mendations call for a total expenditure
-
shown being for 1921 and increases be
ing made over the boards estimates
for submarines and reserve ammuni-
tons. The board program contem-
plates the building of thirteen fleet
auxiliaries, while the Secretary of the
Navy recommends only six.
The board reviews the course of the
For -
naval actions. to reach the following
conclusion:
las to types of ship, the battleship is
still the principal reliance of navies
as it has been in the past"
Because of the great naval supe-
liority of the Entente Allies. the report
says, their control of the seas has never
been seriously challenged, and "they
have securely held the objective of al
naval effort" Naval warfare has beer
confined, by reason of this superiority
it states. ito double series of minor
Incidents In the first group it places
German commerce raiders. which have
finally been destroyed or driven from
the seas by the syst ematic pursuit. "anC
in the second, the activities of German
submarines first against allied war.
ships. where the high score obtain.
ed" is asserted to have been due to sur.
prise attack not to inherent combatant
superiority" and second. against com.
mercial vessels of the Allies Of this
campaign the report says:
After six months of war the sub.
marine form of attack drew renewed
attention by its direction against hes
tile commerce. American public at
tention was redoubled toward this side
of the war, owing to the humanitarian
interests involved, and to the diplo-
matte questions which were raised
thereby. To hastily formed public
opinion, it seems, that submarines
We're accomplishing great military re
suits. because little else of importance
occurred in the maritime war to at
tract public attention.
Yet at the present time when the
Allies have learned in great measure
how to protect their commerce. as they
learned a few months previously 10
protect their nayies from the subma
rine menace. it is apparent that the
submarine is not an instrument fitted
TO dominate naval warfare. 1t an