Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-07-30

In the course Of long convcrsa-
ticn, Mr. Pollen made the following
! points
No admiral can enter upon an en-
! gagement with . modern enemy bat
| tie fleet uloss protected by n screen
of high speed light cruisers and de-
stroyers If he has not plenty OF
cruisers as well as destroyers tho enc
my light squadrons will overwhclm
his own and expose his capital ships
to torI edo attack. The United States
has not one cruiser fast enough tc
fulfill this duty. At Jutland more
than twenty-five light cruisers were
engaged OF a type superior to any
thing We possess.
All predreadnaught battleships
against an equally efficient enemy
are useless.
All armorcd cruisers are worthless
TIE type never should have been
built, and for purposes of first action
all light cruisers which cannot make
IN the neighhorhood OF 25 knots are
not good for much. England has 80
cruisers. all built in the last six years,
which do from 25 to more than thir-
" knots During that time America
has not built ship OF this class.
U. S. Battlcships Too Slow.
One Of my naval informants stated
further that Jutland proves the stand
ard dreadnaught type of battleship to
bo a mistake. because 1t is too slow,
and a modern battle may be imper-
lied. If not decided. before it can get
into action. II this theory is cor
rect, the United States has no ships
at present os the best fighting type.
Mr.. Pollen. however, says it is too
socn to dogmaiize on the relative val
ue OF the fast, lightly armdred pattle
cruiser and the slower, heavily al
mored superdreadnaught- He is in
clined to think that both types may
he done away with in the future and
compromise ship like the Queen Eliza
beth adopted, faster than the modern
battloship. but not quite so fast as
the lattle cruiser and carrying more
armor than the Lion type, but not so
much as the Royal Sovereign, Eng
lands latest thing in batteships.
The one fatal mistake made by
American naval designers in the las.
ten years, my informants say. haA
been their failure to realize the inn
portance Of speed in battle. IT am In
cIined." said an admiral, ITO say that
the three most important requisites
for n modern fleet, in the order OF
their Importance are guns, speed anu
nrmor. No ships of the American
fleet are as fast as all our latest
battleships and battle cruisers
Nayics Must Have Speed.
II was this point that Mr. Pollen
seized upon when I asked him, what
IS the most important lesson for our
navy taught by the battle Of Jut-
land ?" he replied: There Is no doubt
that speed. or rather sped superior
TO that of your enemy, is all import
ant. A determining factor in the for
tunes Of the engagement was intro
duced by the scouting, the attacks
made by, and the attacks ayerted by,
tie fast, light cruisers ard the big.
fast destroyers. Very large numbers
of these were engaged on both sides
An action on this scale could not ~
contemplated with any sort of conf
dence or euuanimity unless an ad-
uiral had not only the scouting serV-
mes. but the help for offensive ana
defensive purposes in battle that fast
TORPEDO craft affords. But 1t is no.
sufficient only to have destroyers. In
this battle. the light cruisers on botn
sides fought the destroyers OF the
other, and both made and prevented
torpedo attacks on the main fleets
Only one British ship was struck b,
a torpedo, and this fact is extremely
eIouuent Of the protection that the
Ight craft afforded TO the main fleet
But many enemy ships were sunk by
our torpedoes, for we had more fast,
light Graf. than the enemy. If the
enemy had come out without any fast,
light cruisers the German losses must
have been incomparably greater"
Mr.. Pollen paused, and added sig
nificantly: Here Is something for
the men responsible for the Amer
ican naval program to ponder Had
our fast, light craft not been both
numerous and extraordinarily fast, 1t
is possible that we should have lost
half a dozen capital units before a
gun could have been fired against
the capital units of the other side.
The American program seems to me