The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1915-04-29
AMERICAN NAVY
WELL PREPARED
WORK DURING LAST TWO YEARS
is DETAILED BY SECRETARY
DANIELS.
MORE, VESSELS IN SERVICE
There Are 225 Warships Commissioned
and 1o1 Ships in Reserve-Letter
to President Garfield, of Will
iiams College, Published.

Washington. April 27.-Secretary
Daniels has made public a letter he
has written to President Garfield, of
Williams College, detailing the work
in the navy during the last two years.
Mr.. Daniels wrote in reply to Mr..
Garfield's request for material to meet
statements that the United States is
unprepared for military emergencies.
The letter follows:
my dear President Garfield:
Il am in receipt Of your recent ia
vor asking for an authoritative state
ment concerning the present status of
the navy equipment of the United
States, and take pleasure in comply
ing with your request as far as is
compatible.
There are now in active service,
fully commissioned, 225 vessels of ali
characters, which is thirty-six more
than were fully commissioned when
| became secretary. There are also
101 vessels of various types, in re-
serve and in ordinary and uncommis-
stoned. capable Of rendering service
in war. We have under construction
and authorized II vessels g dread
naughts, % destroyers, 38 submarines
and Z auxiliaries) as compared with
"a vessels 6 dr~eadnaughts, IA de-
%stroyers, % submarines, 3 gunboats
and 8 auxiliaries) which were under
construction on March l. 1913.
War Munitions Increased.
"All the vessels enumerated, those
In active service and those in reserve,
are supplied with munitions of war.
No navy makes public the quantity Of
ammunition and t%orpedoes. mines and
other implements Of naval warfare
which II keeps ready. 1t may be said,
however, that within the last two years
the quantity of all has been on hand
and greatly increased. Fol example,
we have increased the number OF
mines, OF hand and in process OF
manufacture. by 244 per cent. With
reference to ~torpedoes, the increase
In two years has been 90 per cent. BY
the enlargement of the naval powder
factory WI shall soon be able to al
most double its former capacity, and
like enlargement of the torpedo works
and the equipment of a plant to con-
struct mines will still further increase,
at decreased cost, the quantity of such
stock, and the possession OF these
plants In times OF emergency will
enable the department to be in a bet
ter state of preparedness as regards
the supply of ammunition than ever
before.
Maximum Strength Recruited.
The personnel OF the navy is at
present composed Of 1855 line, staff
and warrant officers and 53,171 en-
listed men. Increase in the number
of officers is dependent almost en-
tireiy upon the output OF the naval
academy, admission to which is re-
stricted by statute. The number of
enlisted men also Is restricted, and
the navy today is recruited to the max
imum strength allowed. There are
now with the colors 1924 more men-
an increase Of IL per cent-than there
were on March 1, 1914.
MY PioieSsiohai THRILLING as d jour
nalist has always inclined me to the
conviction that any officer, within the
prescribed limits recognized by the
navy, should feel free to express his
opinion in regard to matters in the
service; and there is not an officer
who commands a ship today who could
or would say that his ship. without
or within. was not as good as it was
two years ago. or that the officers who
command it and the crews who man
it are not as thoroughly disciplined,
sober, loyal and efficient as they were
two years ago., or as they ever have
been"