Rocky Ford enterprise., 1916-03-17
OPINIONS DIFFER AS TO THE
TYPE OF VESSELS THAT
Is MOST NEEDED.
WARS LESSONS UNCERTAIN
Battle Cruisers Arc Strongly Urged by
Some Naval Experts and Congress-
men-comparatIve Values Of Dread
nauahts and Submarines In Debate.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

ference OF opinion as to what tyre o
vessels shall be built in order that
tt best naval protective service may
be secured for the country.
1t may be that the ship building pro-
gram will be attacked not because 1t
is too ambitious. but because the YES
sells provided for do not meet. as some
senators. representative and navy men
view 1t. the requirements of the case.
1t is held that the present war has not
produced conclusive proof that one
type of ship must be done away with
and another type substituted. Some
of the navy men urge. and some con-
gressmen hold the tame view. that the
tie cruiser is an imperative neces-
sity. but while this is so. they say. 1t
is not necessary to supplant other
classes of ships.
The battle cruiser is a fast steam
ing. fighting ship. It is the peer of
the battleship in armament and in Of
felsive strength. and 1t can outstrip
any battleship af1oat.
Dreadnaunhts Versus Submarines.
In the senate there is a controversy
over the comparative values Of dread
naughts and submarines. Most Of the
members of the senate committee on
naval affairs seem to think that big
battleships are more necessary than
e-er, while the belief Is that the
chairman of the committee thinks sub
marines have made the lives of bat
tleships precarious and that therefore
chief attention should be paid to the
construction for the American navy
of plenty Of under-the-sea boats.
All these differences of opinion must
be threshed out and the chances are
thet in the final outcome 1t will be
found that the judgment of the ma
Jority of the naval experts has been
taken. 1t is a fact. however. that the
naval students of the present warfare
abroad are at variance in their views
as to Just what kinds Of ships will be
best adapted to meet conditions OF
the future.
A difference OF opinion some years
old has been renewed because of the
resu' of the first fight between the
Germans in southern waters and the
English ship Good Hope and the
smaller vessels which were with It.
The Germans sank the Good Hope
and either destroyed or drove away
the smaller ships. American naval
experts say that it is now known def.
nitely that the Good Hope was unable
to use its heavier guns effectively
because a high sea was running and
the bounding ship made ao suracy Of
nre impossible.
Fighting In Heavy Seas.
Eight years ago an article was writ
ten by a naval expert in which he
said that under certain conditions of
weather some of our ships woul be
useless in a fight He singled out one
of our cruisers and said that II 1t
were compelled to engage in battle
while anything more than a moderate
se-. was running 1t could not use its
big guns. The argument was mat the
vessels OF this type were built along
wrong lines. It is limited today that
in the American navy there :re sev-
eral ships which would meet the fate
of the Good Hope II they were COM
PEELED to fight while a high sea was
running. and. Of course. II their an
tagonists were more stable than they
in rough water.
1t seems likely that the question Of
stability of certain types of ships in
all kinds of weather will enter into the
debates in congress.
Conditions In British Army.
Within a day or two in Washington
there have been issued as an article
of Information" some facts concerning
the condition Of the British forces of
all kinds at the outbreak Of the pres
ent war. Unquestionably the object OF
this article is to help the propaganda
for an increased regular force In this
country as opposed to a plan which
would place main dependence upon
bodies of partially trained men like the
militia and continental army of re-
serves. The article. however. has
much Interest as showing actually the
conditions which existed in the ranks
of the English territorials and the
forces known as the special reserves
at the time of the outbreak OF the war.
When your correspondent was in
England some months ago he had an
opportunity to visit the training camps.
He saw enough to know that England.
even when the war had been in prog.
ress for more than half year. was
largely In the same condition with re-
gard to trained soldiers that the Uni
ted States is today. He noted the
sharp differences between the men of
the British regular army. of the terri
torials and of the special reserves.
There was also in England force
known as the army reserve. This army
reserve, as the article just given out in
Washington and written by Frederick
Scott oliver shows. was composed OF
fully trained fighting soldiers. Now
the British army reserve has In Its
.antn man u ho had served In the regl.