New Britain herald., 1915-12-13

l NIulScIS. tnlTu claSS ID l DestroYers ....... ........ .... 10S | Fleet submarines ............ IS ] Coast submarines ............. 157 MonltorS .l.. 6 IuHpoa'S 20 supply ShlpS ! uel SnlpS .. 15 transports ...... Tenders to torpedo vessels ... 3 special types .,.. g Ammunition ships .....
 Urging the necessity of a contin-
 ulng building program the secretary
 says 1t is the "surest way to raise the
 standard of naval efficiency" and that
 little is to be gained by Sudden f1uc-
 tuations and changes in policy"
 Emphasis on Dreadnought.
 "If vote had been taken few
 months ago." he adds, "as to types of ships too be constructed, large majority of the people would doubt less have voted to go into building submarines on scale so large as to leave little money for other fighting craft. Recently in navy circles the pendulum may be said to have swung away from an overlarge undersea pro- gram with emphasis again placed up- on the dreadnought
 My first thought was to present a plan for 10-year period, but the argument against determining upon program for longer term than five years seemed conclusive. for in this day Of invention and development if would hardly be safe to fix upon cer- tam types of ships for a long term of l years. We know what other countries l nave hulIt and are building, and we 1 hho" the needs which constant prac- l tlce and maneuvers of the past 12 1 months by our own fleet have taught | us. Therefore the best expert iudr menu approves the number and types of ships which are recommended. If there are those who believe even within these five years changes in types of ships or in equipment or armament will be so marked as +o make the carrying out of the recom- nendations deny the benefit Of new nScoVer1es, the complete answer is ms: Congress, is asked to make ap- 'ropriations only for year at a lme, in accordance with custom. Any ucceeding Congress will make such 1 iterations as experience may prove eslrable, without a reduction of the trength of the fleet to be constructed 1 lpon the plan proposed"
 First to Recommend Course
 Secretary Daniels says his decision o recommend a continuing building policy was reached after much re- lection, conference with able experts 'f the navy and patriotic men in civil walks of life" He lays stress on he fact that he is the first secre- ary of the navy to recommend such l course althought the General Board n 1903 urged that a definite program oe mapped out which would lead to he establishment of a fleet of forty eight battleships by 1919. On the i've year program recommended the secretary says:
 II hope congress will indorse it bv 50 large a vote of it's members as to make certain it's continuance by con- cresses to come"
 Budget for Year.
 The full total of the navy budget Tor the year is $217,652,174: all but S1 2,2S0,047 of which will go for ships now under construction Or to be The remainder contem- plates the increased personnel and running expenses of the navy afloat and ashore
 Tn comparison with the enormous abroad" the secretary writes, "the large expenditure is necessary if our fleet is to be able to enforce Am erican policies. The lesson of the european war warns us that 1 It IS better to spend money in times of reace for preparation than to run the risk, however remote, of sorelv want ing ships and munitions if suddenly aeedeI'
 The secretary comments at length | on the need of battle cruisers of the l proposed thirty-five knot type. The events of the European war are re- counted to show the part these craft 1 have played and the reasons for in l c!uding six of them in the building program. As to the battleships of the 1 future. the secretary says the sug- Sested vessels are of much greater and heavier armament than anything heretofore contem- plated for any navy. The department is now discussing plans for ships of S6, 900 tons and armed with 16-inch or perhaps 17-inch guns. The secretary says the plan has not yet been ap- proved, but his estimates are based on l ships to cost $18,00O,0OO each which would allow for the increased size.
 Another Radical Step.
 Secretary Daniels takes another 1 I'd adical step in his report in urging that the present system of prom otion cf officers by seniority be abandoned in favor of promotion by selection. He goes at length into the results of the seniority system to find that 1t produces "stagnation in the lower grades, arrival at command rank late in life and a feeting passa ge through l command and flag grades, combined With absolute lack of professional in centive Throughout all grades" Off, 1 cers now hold the grade of captain for an average of two years he says, and