New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-16
III. 5. SUBMARINE
EXPERTS IGNORED
Never Heard by Congress,
When Submersible Pro.
gramme Is Made
BY CUSHING sTErsoy

BY CUSHING srETsoS
The greatest satisfaction N,
pressed by naval ofiesrs ysstsrda, A..
The Tribune had published tAs ~.
that not one Of the submarines q, y.
Atlantic Coast was AZ to rsni., :,
fcient service. At the same tin. ,.,.,
officers were disposed to stat. ,.,.
frankly the reasons why such q ..N
ton exists. They charge tia, tA,,. !.
no bureau In the Navy Dep.rr.,,
which can be held accountable 70, ,,,
ditions in the submarine dotIns ,,I
that until such q bureau IL created ear,
ditions will remain as they are
The Secretary Of the Nsvy, oe,.,,
point out, had it within his power ,,l
could easily have created such bur.,,
at the time when he appointed R.,,
Admiral Grant as the head Of the ,uA.
marines As a matter Of fact, bov.v.,
Admiral Grant has been a mere sru,s'
head since ne was placed in .aIs q.
partment, and all Of his recommend.
tions for promoting the sHieisa.v :.
submarines have been eonsistsn.ly n.
jected and ignored.
1t Is pointed out that the U,i,a
States Is going through precisely w,
every European nation with sny 49,
tence at having an efficient navy s,,,
through long ago, and that ther, v,,
plenty Of precedents and erampls, a,
our Navy Department to follow IN a,
evolution Of submarines. For eranol,
Germany, when the possibilities Of Il,
submarine was appreciated, first BEN,
their development by organizing tsrr
as q part Of the destroyer notills. fAs
was soon found 70 be too compliance
q scheme 70 be practicable, and es,s
the importance OF Q submarine Ao,Il,
was fully appreciated, the dsrnsn
with characteristic efficiency, did No,
hesitate to look facts In the faes sri
to create a definite and distinct bursss
TO take charge Of their undersss ersf
Russia Also Careful
In the same way the Russian govern.
ment, also appretiating the impor,sra
of submarines as a distinct branch u
the service. has more recently created
a separate bureau to look after thss
with no less a person than Q Nes-si
mirsl in command and with TIVE rss,
admirals or his stan.
All Of this information. American
submarine officers declare. was seta.
sible TO the Navy Department. vhe
Congress passed the last huge sppw
priation bill. There were plenty "
submarine officers who were thoreuss.
" we'll posted and up To- dsu W.
would have been only too glad 10 w.
tify before the committees Of the Hesa
and Senate concerning the need u
the hotilla. Instead Of hearing hsf
testimony. however. officers on duv d
Washington who have never had srs
marine duty and know Of their n
uuirements only in theory were esllx
upon to give evidence. and the rsr,
is that the submarine fotills ID q
worse shape to-day than II was sifi'
teen months ago.
IL is the view Of the service psi
there are many naval officers who ess'
slider themselves competent 10 give ~
timony on any branch Of the nsvI, n
gardless Of whether they have he'd a.
periencc In the specific subject uftu
discussion or not. As an example q
this darkening OF councils win vs'a
without wisdom. naval ohicers insnss
the small type Of submarines vsia
/ Congress enthusiastically voted 70
large numbers ut the last two sesslses
/ Solemn testimony was presented 70 We
| Congressional committees that suens.
rine, of 900 and 500 tons displsesnsaii
we're thoroughly good for pupo'" T"
coast defence.
Useless for Coast DefeneS
Such naval officers. however, % "
respected for their sound ludsne'
throughout the service unanlmesE
contend that there Is no such thint
coast defence" The direct sttenh~
10 the fact that few years sn y
were building battleships for e0 ~,
defence" and these ships are nov w"
I'm in the back waters OF the rnlise,.
mia. Boston and Norfolk navy JAW
"a monument 70 the extrsvsssse
and lack Of foresight Of the NAVY !"
partment. 1917 All
In the same way we also stsrted w.
constructing torpedo boat des.l0yu'
for coast defence" which were u ~.
abandoned and now are useless =.
Charleston and other navy ys'os ~"
the coast. For the tnird time' -
legged, we are now constructing w'-.
rines for purposes OF coast eeiens,
and il is unhesitatingly stated oy n''.
officers that these submarines sn ~
worth for practical purposes ~
which is put into them. Ihey ~ n.
small 70 provide living quarters i0l -
men. where they may sleep Q. ~.
thew are cold and impossible 70 n.'r
thew cannot carry supplies IN ms ~
of fuel, repair parts or 1000, sa' ,,I
are utterly unseaworthy. As
officer nut IL: "You can get -
weather a mile from our eoss.
can in the middle OF the Atlahu.. 80.
IL is true that few ses-soIns, ~
marines OF 1000 tons displacement.
now building or authorized, but h'..
thes. larger boats can De put in.o
mission FOR at least two years; W..
radical and revolutionary en.nr
made in the present deps' -, ,.r
methods. Submarine experts W ,.s.tL
,,;cs are unit In recommending M"s
work on these smaller suofns1r ~ ~
stunned and that the energy OF W.
tire department be devoted 20 .lsm
boats of the larger and uselu'
5nO 0OO SAILORS ADEp