Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-02-14
Preparedness Measures Oc-
cupying Time of OFF,
cial Executives.
SHOWS COASTS NEEDS
Present Protection Lacking
Larger Submersibles
Recommended.

Washington. Feb. 14.-National pre-
paredness problems again today hold
the center of the stage in congression-
al committee activity.
| Having concluded its hearings on
military defense questions, Chairman
Chamberlain and his associates on the
senate military committee today be-
gan framing bill on the subject. They
were to incorporate in the measure q
plan of liberalization Of the national
guard to create a reserve defense
force AS their work progresses tho
senate committee proposes to confer
frequently with members Of the houset
military committee.
Chairman Hay and members Of the
house committee resumed work today
of redrafting the house defense bill to
eliminate the continental army fea-
ture and place in its stead the plan Of
| federalizing state troops. The house
naval committee today began an ex-
| haustive inquiry into submarine war
| fare and the alleged shortcomings of
American submarines. Rear Admiral
Albert W. Grant, assigned by Secre-
tary Daniels several months ago to
command the submarine fotilla of the
Atlantic fleet, was ready to take the
witness stand and reveal the results of
| his close study Of the underwater
craft His examination was expected
to last we'll into the week.
Commander Yates Stirling who COM
manded the fleet last year and who
made revelations concerning the inef-
ficiency of the submersibles, is expect
I, ed to follow Admiral Grant.
At the present rate Of progress
Chairman Padgett of the committee
does not believe that the naval appro-
priation bill will be ready to place be-
fore 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.
Coast Defense Poor.
Limited cruising radius, uniea-
worthiness and other limitations Of the
coast defense type of submarines made
it advisable hereafter to build only
submersibles of the 1000 ton feet sub
| marine type of which three have been
authorized and none yet complete, said
Admiral Grant.
| Admiral Grant said he had posi-
tive knowledge that German boats
| from U39 to U-5S inclusive displaced
500 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
| operated out of Heligoland and around
Scotland at a distance of 1900 miles
from their base. 1t took them nine days
days to make the round trip, he said,
and they remained on the operating
| station 13 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 one was always on the op-
Grating station. To do the same thing,
he said. the United States would re-
quire % class X boats because of their
Today sea service limitation.
Admiral Grant thought it unwise to
construct any submarine of less than
20 knot speed and said this could not
| be done on small boat He urged
that the minimum size of the future
boats be 500 tons surface displace,
ment.
az popcidar I n dave e., H. a. 1T.
time men should stay at sea on a X
boat, our largest type, and that limit
must be reduced for smaller boats.
Ten days is the limit of time X boat
can stay at sea and be at all effective.
For months the big German subma-
rines operated from Heligoland as
base, around the coast of Ireland,
round trip of 200 miles.
IF we had no engine trouble and if
the X boats could make IL knots an
hour, it would require % X boats to
do what three of the 500 ton German
U boats did for months. Three U boats
will cost S2.500,0e0 and 22 X boats
$40, 900, 600"
Captain McKeen, assistant for ma
terial in the operations division In the
navy department, said that so far
American submarine experiments had
not produced satisfactory engines or
motive power for submerged running.
Recent experiment with the X boats.
he said. had indicated that engine
trouble would soon be eliminated
largely but that the storage battery for
submerged operation remained the
lgreat problem TO be solved.