The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-10-02
Destruction of German PIungers
Shows Need for Reversal.
Monster Dreadnaught Again
Adequate Undersea Fleet.
DEFENSE RESTS ON BIG GUNS
Progressive Building Policy
Looking to Great Armada.
Program, However, to Call for
Adequate Undersea Fleet.

Washington, Oct 2-The American
naval policy for the coming year,
tentative plans for which recognized
the sudden development of submarine
warfare with provision for a large
number of undersea boats, will be very
broadly affected by the British adj
miralty's development of successful
means for combating the submarine
peril.
Confidential representatives to the
United States disclosing that the de-
struction of from fifty to seventy Ger
man submarines Lad been effected,
fulfilled the convictions of American
naval experts that means would be
found to combat undersea warfare
successfully.
One immediate development of this
newest lesson drawn from the Euro
pean war probably will be a provision
in the new naval bill for continued ad-
ditions to the dreadnaught feet in
stead of building submarines on such
an extensive scale as has been desired
by many
Will Build Plungers, Though.
1t is plain, however, that the devel-
opment of successful means of repell-
ing submarine warfare will not mean
the abandonment of substantial addi-
lions to the American submarine fleet.
The new naval building program prob
ably will include more than the usual
number of submersibles and they will
all be of the new high speed, seagoing
cruiser type, carrying rapid fire guns
recently developed in IT, naval gun
factory.
Naval officers re-lize that the re-
markable success of the German I'M
dersea boats created a profound inn
preston throughout the country and
was the cause of arousing a powerful
sentiment for the building of large
numbers of submarines. Strategists
feel that the naval defense of the
coasts of the United States still rests
on the big gun fleet. They feel. too.
that, while the navy should be equip
ped adequately with submersibles, the
next development is to provide means
of repelling invaders, as has been done
in Europe, and to carry out a logical,
progressive, building policy-produc-
ing a big fleet along the lines laid
down by the navy general board,
which stands for forty-eight first line
dreadna lights by 1920.
Defense Against SubmersibleS.
Various means for developing de-
Tense against submarines now are be-
ing tested in the American navy. All
these experiments are of a most con-
that the best experts of the technical
corps are working on new ideNs in
mines, nets and submarine telephones.
Plans for the two new dfeadnaughtS
authorized by the last congress in
clude means of defense against subma-
rines which probably are not known
to any of the European navies. In
the shallow waters of the Atlantic
harbors might possibly be targets of
submarine invaders, experiments n
stantly are being carried on.
Naval experts consider that a mos
quito fleet, such as Great Britain has
developed, might be created in the
United States, either by building
number of such craft for the navy, or
by organizing the thousands of pri-
vately owned yachts, motorboats and
launches along the coasts in reserve
defense fleet.