The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-20
Tells Marine Engineers Senti-
mrnt Of Country Is
Changing Fast.
r. s. HAS FIRST CALL
on STEEL PLANTS

eaus,ic references to Mr.. Bryan and
Henry Ford and by proclaiming their
desire ,o stand by the Government no
matter whether II builds all Its new
ba,tlcships itself or not.
There Was n mild measur Of protest
from J. ". Powell, president of the Fore
River Shipbuilding Corporation, on be-
hal, Of the shipbuilders of the country
over tn. reports from Washington that
tepres,nt IN" navy officials as fearing
that the makers of steel plate and other
materials are trying To milk the navy
and suggesting that an embargo may be
placed on wal materials 70 that this
Government may be assured Of "A sufii-
cent supply TO meet its demands.
y believe that these reports misrep-
reer, the view OF the Secretary OF the
Navy" said Mr.. Powell. IL know that
recently a Government official went to
the head Of a steel plant and asked what
could be expected from the plant in case
the military programme went through.
He was told that the Government had
the frs; call on all the facilities OF that
plant. and | believe that In the attitude
Of all the makers OF war material in the
country"
The Navy Department was represented
b. Franklin -. Roosevelt. Assistant
secfetary, who said that he nae no
doubt the naval programme would pass
in its entirety. This he based on the
,hsnge In public opinion hat has come
over the country in the last two years.
He said he did not know whether the
Government is going in for building all
Of the proposed ships or not. bu that
he does not believe they can all be con-
Gructed in the nav yards.
IL wish the programme could be made
larger he said. but there are practi-
a. ,taE,Gnps n. IN IN pa,gt,, 80 tha i,vta
labor and other things which make Il
questionable as to whether We could lay
down more ships. There is one thing
certain. however. and that is that all the
scientific rlen OF this country are going
10 cooperate. to g.se OF their best. not
only to carry out this programme but
20 help us through the years to put this
country as quickly as possible on "A right
basis
Henry 4. Wise Wood. a member Of
tire Naval Consulting Board. paid his
compliments to Henry Ford. as did
Homer /. Ferguson. general anaxe
Of the Newport News ~Shipbuilding com
pany. but both men said that MIR. Ford
knew 4 lot more about automobiles than
he did about ships and preparedness.
The mention Of Nebraska by Col. Robert
NJ Thompson in outlining the work Of
the Navy League brought loud shouts
from the diners.
The Submarine. Future.
paper OH the Submarine of To-day
nd Tomorrow" WAS read at the after
noon session by l.. Y. Spear. who holds
many patents on undersea boats. MIR.
Spear said that indications point To the
Development of a type OF o by the
United states which. while larger than
e. 1T
sill perform that duty and he effective
FOR long distance offensive work. There
are strong differences Of opinion In the
navy, he said. as TO the valu of local
Units Of moderate cruising radius and
boats of higher speed and seaworthiness
which can he rushed to the threatened
point Of attack. The controversy. he
believes. will result In the choosing OF
tie middle path.
AT the present time IL appears to be
the policy Of the United States to employ
the submarine extensively for coast de-
fence purposes and also to construct II
for offensive purposes. either In con-
function with or independent OF the bat
tleship fleet" said Mr.. Spear. in view
Of the great distances which separate us
from the most OF our probable enemies
and certain special characteristics neccs-
Sdry for the Offensive type. II appears
safe TO conclude that in the immediate
future at least two quite separate types
vii De employed. one OF which We shall
designate As the defensive submarine
and tile other as the fleet submarine '
No Standardization AS TO the size OF
future submarines Is to be expected. he
added. because the effective displace-
Hents vary with the conditions under
whi,A the submarine must work. But
fk. No.. -. rsp. .p - ,oxar M
ally exists is exenplified In its highest
Development by the boats OF ESQ or 15t
tons surface displacement.
Needs In the Pacinc.
The ..ecessity of terrifying nava bases
n the paeihc not only for u owr
defensive purposes but to prevent them
from being utilized against us by ar
enemy was pointed out by Capt. a. +
Nblack. L. :. y, vice president OF the
society, in a paper on The Maintenance
q the Fleet" He began his address by
stating that voluntary service and un'
Preparedness as compared with con
triptlou and preparedness are the mos
expensive in the long run.
The voluntary system. however com'
fortsb.r to the millions, Is
expensive, unfair. clumsy. unreliable anc
generally unsatisfactory" he SAID
"braft.ug by riot in time VI war is onl
palliative, as shown by the Disgrace
~ draft riots IN the civil war
Turning to the necessity OF fortify'
Ing The Paciic, he said:
"G'ugrtphy. acquisitiveness or destiny
h. presented us In the Pacific viii
Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands. Tutuila
Midway Island and Guam as steppint
stones d.rosS the Paciic. ana by
their possession imposed on us th'
same policy as If they were actually II
tae hands ~ an enemy or rival, because
Icy exist and cannot be sunk, ana !
We fan - make the right use or then
geography viii turn them against us
Just Is j. turned them away from Oticr'
tud 20 ls
We cannot evade the cost Of AIDE
elAie.y Terrifying n naval base in TN
.'1hhd % Guam and in a lesser degree
~ The STAND Of Tutuiid, in The Archl
lclaro ~ AlhsNa and on Midway Island
Just 4. We have begun the good wN'
III u" hawaiian Islands and ~ Btlbof
!" Ia" Pacific end Of The Panama Canal
n" r"'Spu being, II there were no other
" prevent their being used against VI
49, commercial! supply stations or nava
vases by All entcrprtsing rival or enemy
WIFI adequate supplies OF coal an'
ol At Honolulu. Midway and Guam w
nay attain the desired mobility Of thu
meet even in war, provided VIC AIDE
'lAttly iortify Guam and Midway. TIT
.'St would not exceed that Of one bat
trship. All this talk Of fertilization
HNd equipment means less than the COS
" NO Jattle-hips and without which
'r hlt'eships are restricted To opera