Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-02-15
Congressional Committee is
at Work on Bill Which
Wilson Approves ..
CONTINENTAL IDEA
SEEMS ABANDONED
liberalization Of Present
Organization Adopted
as Defense Means .

Washington, D. c., Feb. 14.-Na-
tional preparedness problems again
today held the center Of the stage in
congressional committee activity.
Having concluded It's hearings on
military defense questions. Chairman
Chamberlain and his associates on the
senate military committee today be-
gan framing a bill on the subject,
They were to incorpate in the meas
sure a plan of liberalization of the
national guard to create a reserve de-
tense force. AS their work progresses
the senate committee proposes to con-
fer frequently with members OF the
house military committee.
Chairman Hay and members Of the
house committee resumed today work
of redrafting the house defense bill
to eliminate the continental army fea.
ture and place in it's stead the plan Of
federalizing state troops.
The house naval committee today
began an exhaustive inquiry into sub
marine warfare and the alleged short
comings of American submarines.
Rear Admiral Albert w. Grant, assign
ed by Secretary Daniels several
months ago to command the subma-
ready to take the witness stand and
reveal the results Of his close study
Of the underwater craft. His exami-
nation was expected to last we'll into
the week.
Commander Yates Stirling, who
commanded the feet last year and
who made startling revelations con-
cerning the ineficiency Of the sub
mersibles, is expected to follow Ad-
miral Grant.
At the, present rate of progress,
Chairman Padgett OF the committee
does not believe that the naval ap-
preparation bill will be ready to place
before the house until the latter part
Of May. The senate naval committee
will not consider the bill until the
house committee hearings are nearing
an end.
Wants Big Submarines. u.
Limited cruising radius, unseaworth-
mess and other limitations of the coast
defense type Of submarines made it ad-
visable hereafter to build only sub
mersibles Of the 1000 ton submarine
type of which three have been author
lied and none yet completed, said Ad.
miral Grant.
Admiral Grant said he had positive
knowledge that German boats from
U-39 to U-58 inclusive displaced 800
tons on the surface as against $50 tons
for the X boats Of the American navy,
the largest In the service. For months
the German boats, he said, had operat-
ed out of Heligoland around Scotland
at distance of 1900 miles from their
base. It took them nine days to make
the round trip, he said, and they re-
mained on the operating station thir-
teen days unless driven to base sooner
through having used up the torpedo
supply. Three Of these u boats, he
said, could keep the cycle working so
pne was always on the operating sta
ion. To do the same thing, he added,
The United States would require twen-
!y-two class X boats because of their
Ten day sea service limitation.
Admiral Grant thought it unwise to
construct any submarine of less than
twenty knot speed and said this could
that the minimum size of future boats
be 800 tons surface displacement.
II consider ten days to be the limit
Of time men should stay at sea on K
boat, our largest type, and that limit
must be reduced for smaller boats. Ten
lays is the limit of time K boat can
Itay at sea and be at all effective.
g Cost Favors Big Ones.
"For months the big German sub
marines operated from Heligoland as a
base around the coast of Ireland, a
round trip of 2,70O miles. If we had no
engine trouble and if the X boats
could make twelve knots an hour, 1t
would require twenty-five K boats to
do what three Of the 800 ton German
q boats did for months. Three vi