Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-05-18
Massachusetts Congressman
Again Presses Point of
Efficiency of Fleet
[special star-Ruretin co:reepondeneel


to former President W. H. Taft This
letter reads as follows:
Washington, ID. C.,
May I, 1915.
Hen. William Howard Taft.
New Haven, Connecticut.
My Dear Professor Taft: The
morning papers of May 3 contained,
as you know. anotheS memorandum
issued under the approval of Secretary
Daniels This most recent memoran-
DUN is devoted entirely to eXtolling
the merits of our superb naval 14-inch
guns, whose quality no one questions.
IL has occurred TO me, however. that
ought to send you a letter supple
mentary to my effort of April %, in
order to point out the errors into
which a casual reader CT this new
navy department statement might
easily fall.
Il am glad to be able to agree with
Secretary Daniels that the broadside
of the Pennsylvania with it's IL IA
inch guns is mightier than the broad
side Of the British dreadnought,
Queen Elizabeth, with her battery Of
eight 15-inch guns-and this in SPITE
CT the fact that the British PROTECTIVE
is over 500 pounds heavier than ours.
The British projectie weighs 1920
pounds; ours weighs 1900 pounds.
But why does the secretary pick
out the Pennsylvania which will not
be complete till next year to compare
with vessel now bombarding the OAR
donolIae fcrtc7 Uhy mot tolo tho Nnur
York or the Texas as the standard of
comparison? They are the only two
ships in commission in the United
States navy which carry guns bigger
than II inches in diameter. Each of
these ships has a battery of only ten
14-inch guns. In other words, the
weight of their broads.Ses is $4,000
pounds as against a broadside from
the Queen Elizabeth weighing 1880
pounds.
Unless man is wilfully blind, the
explanation of the whole gun question
is perfectly plain. The British ad.
miralty prefers dreadnoughts with a
little less tonnage and little greater
speed than ours. Furthermore, the
British admiralty prefers 2 battery of
a lesser number of 15-inch guns, while
we prefer a battery of greater num-
Der of 14-inch guns. That is all there
is to it. But there is deal of hum.
bug going on about these naval guns.
1t is not as if they were land guns
On land you can build guns of unlimit.
ed size and number. On shipboard
what you gain in one direction you
must cut down in another. Great Brit.
ain, Germany ants Italy are equippfng
their newest dreadnoughts with 10
inch guns, the United States and
Japan prefer 14-inch guns, while
France and Austria prefer 13 IL gins.
AS for dreadnought cruisers, Russia
and Japan equip their newest with IL
inch guns, while for this type Great
Britain prefers 13 1-2 inch guns and
Germany prefers Pinch guns. ~
The United States, France, Italy
and Austria have no dreadnought
cruisers. ".=... :".>
in a naval battle an inch or two
in the diameter of the guns is not
likely to make so much difference as
a little better team play in the work
ing of the gu;s. In fact, last winter
there was testimony before the com.
mittee on naval affairs in Washington
to the effect that some people thought
we made mistake in adopting a IA
inch naval gun instead of Pinch
naval gun. . - ~.
After all, it is pretty safe to as
sumo that the naval officers of the
various nations have some degree of
sense and that there is a pretty strong
in favor of each of the types
OF big guns. -.....
AS a matter of fact / have not |
heard of anyone turning up his nose
either at the 1-3 1-2 inch gun or at /
the 14-inch gun or at the 15-inch gun. I
Our naval guns would be all right II /
we had enough of them and enough OF /
the right sort of ships On which to !
mount them. Unfortunately, so of our /
big guns are mounted on pre-dread-
noughts, type of battleship about as
much up to date as two-cylinder au.
tcmobile. Likewise, 16 other of our (
big guns are mounted on the two near
Michigan and South
Carolina, which were relegated on /
March 3, 1915, to the second line OF
Dattleships. - ...... - -. +.
IF you want to know how our big
guns compare in number with those
Of foreign nations, turn to page $50 of
the U. S. Navy Year Book for 1914,
Senate Document No. 637. You will
ind there table headed Large Guns
which shows the number of guns from
IL inches to Is inches, built and
belonging to each of the
great naval powers. The totals are
Is follows:
Great Britain ......5 64 large guns +
Germany ....... 800 large guns
United States .... 224 large guns /,
France ..........2 04 large guns
am not sure whether these figures
would reassure President Garfield OF
Williams College. j
When all is said and done the
Whole story is better told by the Off
ial Bulletins of the U. S. office of ma
raj intelligence than in any other way.
SItppaSf that Won send for the last