New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-01-30

rivets in the por, wall Of tho forward
battery rteel tank; and the secondary
causes, the poor diving qualities Of tho
vessel, and sits consequent failure
promptly to respond to measures taken
to bring II TO the surface.
OF the same or older date than tho
"a there are now in commission
TWENTY-FIVE submarines, and these boats
the administration lists ns available Tor
service i'm 1921. What the navy needs
FOR its coast submarines and for some
other inefficient ships Is. not paper
strength" tahulation TO soOtho unin-
formed lnymcn, but an oilicial with tho
powers. the high courage and inhexiDle
purpose Of Lord Fisher, Admiral of the
Fleet. the man who swept ruthlcssly
into the reserve or the junk heap the
lnttor mainly-England's obsolete ana
outworn ships. valuclcss for offence or
defence. death traps, oil of them. ior
their men in war.
Tho Administrations list calls for
tx monitors One of them Is re
constructed Civil War vessel, another
was authorized in 1887 and the remain
ing four in 1898.
For high seas fighting these six yes.
GELS nrc less efficient than the Oldest OF
our superannuatcd pre-drcadnoughts
IL is true that the monitor has had
something Of a renaissance IN the Brit
ish service during the present war. but
il has been employed in coast lombard
mcnt only of Belgium and at the
Dardancles.
The eighteen cruisers OF the trst,
second and third classes md the TWEEN.
~ gunboats, which arc tabulated, are OF
al ages, from the days of tho first
white Squadron" onward.
All of these vessels were, In their
lime. as good as any Of their type IN
foreign navies. and a fair number OF
them are fully efficient still. They
,erve effectively for police duty IN
reace In the Caribbean and in the Far
Fast and TO SHOW the flag in foreign
ports But except for enforced scout
nc duty, for which their lack OF speed
Guhts them none Of them can. by any
stretch of terminology. he described as
a fighting unit for modern fleet lhey
give no strength TO our battle line.
The thirty-siX vessels remaining in
Secretary Daniels's list are auxiliaries
and special craft Of various kinds in
tended mainly TO serve as the train OF
a fighting fleet Analysis Of the vari-
United States Chief Reliance.
The vessels which have been dis
russcd thus far have been mainly those
fitted only for coast defence and for
the navy's duties In peace. Before
considering the battle fleet, Il may be
we'll 70 show just why our power 70
resist aggression lies chiefly in the
strength Of our battle line.
In the words Of the General Boarc
OF the navy:
The aim should be 70 meet the
enemy al distance and defeat him be
fore he reaches the neighborhood or
the coasts. For this purpose the cOun-
try must rely upon tho seagoing fleet
To forostall the attack OF the enemy,
orr main force must be concentrated
ut a strategic centre. ready TO move
and defeat the hostile main body be-
fore il has entered an Grca where lts
presence Is seriously dangerous TO this
country's interests
Vow. consider our real fighting navy,
the battle feet. The units or sucn
feet are: Its dreadnought battle hips
and battle-cruisers, its scout cruisers,
its destroyers and feet submarines.
Its attendant train comprises fuel
ammunition, supply, repair and hos
pital ships, with transports and MINOR
auxiliaries. IN coastal waters mine
sweepers and mine layers would be
added
In January. 1914. Rear Admiral Nree
land. in his statement before the House
Committee on Naval Affairs, gave M
following figures for the eight United
States and seventeen German dread
nouChts then completed:
The total muzzle energy or one main
battery broadside il, for the Onl'ed
States. 4.5i2456 foot tons; for Ger
many, s,939.Sl5. This IS preponder-
ance in battery power OF two 70 one III
favor OF Germany.
Construction Is Leisurely.
This was two years ago, and yet our
condition as TO commissioned dread
nougbt strength il actually worse,
since the North DAKOTA has been with
drawn from the feet for extensive re
nairs. and there are now only seven OF
these great ships in service. 1t IL true
that three dreaduoughts are nearing
COMPLETION, but even so our navy
seems 10 hold the worlds record Tor
leisurelv progress toward prepared
moss What Germany has done IN the
interval is problematical, but her con
struction has doubtless been pressed.
At present :he modern fighting UNITS
built. building or authorization our
battle feet are:
Dreadnought battleships, II; destroy
ers of 600 70 100 tons displacement
~. and feet submarines. 3.
4 mere handful Of ships all OF
them. however, Of 1.-THE first hgnung
rank. equal to those in any navy. To
This doubtless for lack Of better ma
terial-the General Board adds as
scouts twenty-one of the cruisers, none
Of them modern and all relatively slow.
The actual strength OF the battle
Acct in 1921 depends on the speed OF
construction Of the proposed ships.
The Texas, the last dreadnought COM
pleted. was three years and nine
months from the date of authorization
bv Congress to that of her first com
mission.
On this basis, assuming further the
completion of all ships now authorized,
and taking the times OF authorization
Of the proposed ships as given by the
Secretary of the Navy, the battle fleet
in 1921 would comprise:
Built Building
p,esdaougii haite'hips......... 4
Bdtflc-crlsffs. ........ .+.t...t.-
De.,ro,er- % 900 tonsl......... q 70
Ice, submarines .............. y
It is evident that not only should the
administration receive the strongest
,oosib1o eurnor. from the country IN