The Washington herald., 1916-02-06
BY r. u. JOHNS.


That the Artillery Board has recon-
mendsd the construction OF l6-inch
howitzer is the informa ton that has been
impaired to the Senate Committee on
Military Affairs by Col. Charles G. Treat
of the General Staff. Col. Treat said that
the l6-inch howitzer was for the railway
mobile artillery. plans for which are
being prepared by the General Staff and
Ordnance Department
Col. Treat said that the latest report
from our military observers is to the ef-
feet that the German 42-centimeter guns
are being transported by motor tractors
over the roads. He said: They divide
them into three loads: one is the gun
itself. another is the carriage and a third
the steel plane, which Is a platform. The
gun is hauled over the road to the point
where 1t is to be placed and the platform
Is dropped first and the next car comes
along and drops the carriage. while the
! third, which carries the gun, is pulled
onto the carriage. The gun can be as
sembled and fired in an hour and half ''
Col Treat expressed the belief that in
this country we would be compelled to
depend largely upon railways to transport
heavy artillery of the 42-centimeter type.
Our roads he did not think would carry
the heavy guns.
| Col. Treat said: The plans of the Gem
eral StaT were to have a S-inch gun or
lganization so horsed that they can 20
where the average cavalryman or in
! fantryman go and go as quickly. With
, our heavier guns. 6-inch howitzer and the
| i.I-inCh gun. we are experimenting at
present at Fort Sill with the use of
motor tractors. and when we figure out
the cost Of horses and forage and COM
! pare it with the upkeep of the tractor
{ We find 1t an economic proposition for
! this heavier type to use motor tractor
rather than horses
| The most serious problem that the
Navy Department would be called upon
! to face in increasing the output OF bat
| tleships by the government as well as
! private yards would be that of securing
| skilled labor. This is the statement which
! Chief Constructor Taylor of the navy
! made to the House Committee on Naval
! Affairs in discussing what should be
/ done in the event that Congress should
| adopt an extensive naval program. Ad-
miral Taylor declared that there is a
scarcity of skilled labor which might
restrict the operations of the navy
yards.
! In the opinion of Admiral Taylor the
| minimum time in which a battleship
| could be built is two years. To do this
| the government must not take into con-
|
| 10 speed up either a private or govern
ment yard. At present, he went on to
| explain. there are only two slips In the
/ government yards for battleships. one
at New York and the other at Mare Is
land. There are ten battleship slips in
private yards and ten more could be
| secured in a comparatively short time
He expressed the opinion that twenty.
[ two battleships could soon be under con.
! lStr ha lad la hnr r..
| secured to operate the yards.
According to Admiral Taylor warships
can be built under the present conditions
/ cheaper in private yards than in the
! government plants. He thought how.
ever. that with more experience the diff.
! ference between the cost of ships built
at private and government yards could
be greatly reduced. The government ha.
not been IN the business of building bat
tIeships as long as private concerns and
therefore. Admiral Taylor Insisted
should rot be expected to build them
at the same cost as the older concerns
With the exception of the Queen Eliza
beth class the speed OF the battleship,
of the English navy are the same a.
those of the American navy Admira
TAYLOR declared that while the Queer
Elizabeth cla.s was designed for
twenty-five knots the speed of the later
ships built by England was twenty-on,
knots or the same as the recent classe.
Of the American navy.
The 4th regiment of marines has re
turned from Mexican waters. 1t is nov
stationed at San Dcigo Cal. which will
be the permanent station of the regi
ment.
The navy personnel bill is now await
ing the approval OF Secretary and Assis
tant Secretary of the Navy. The bill
would probably have been approved ant
sent to the naval committee this weel
II It had not been Tor the Illness OF As
sistnat Secretary Roosevelt. AS the As
sis.ant Secretary has had the entir
matter under his. personal direction tn
Secretary will not take up the personne
I bill until 1t is approved by Mr.. Roose
welt.
4 Army officers reporting at the War De
partment yesterday were Brig. Gen. VIII