The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1917-03-08

cruisers have not been let ana IL is Cnt
opinion of the National Securit!
league that because of grave mill
tary defect in the designs for these
ships, due to the fact that one-hal1
the boilers is carried above the pro,
tective deck, the contracts should have
been recast so as to bring the boilers
below the protective deck where they
belong. The change can be made with
not more than a months delay and
the interest of the Navy demands that
the revision of these plans be under
taken at once. Of the four scout cruis-
ers, the contract for only one has been
let. In both battleships and scout
cruisers it has been found that the
high cost of labor and material neces-
STATED an increase by Congress of the
limit of cost and this we understand
has recently been made.
Contracts have been let for % de-
stroyers and 62 submarines. 1t will be
understood that a certain percentage
of the ships included in this total have
been given to the government navy
yards. We have under construction
also seven fuel ships, transport and
other auxiliaries.
"Now it is the opinion of the Ma
tional Security league that an emer-
gency appropriation of at least $780,
100000 should be made at once for
rushing work on new vessels and the
repair of the old vessels and for the
purchase of ammunition and the va
rious other material which would be
Immediately necessary upon the out
break of war. All government and
civilian yards which are building war
ships should be required at once to
work double-shift. Furthermore, all
vessels of the three-year program
should be put in hand just as soon as
new building ways and the necessary
machine shops and other buildings can
be got ready.
at is desirable that the three-year
program should be strengthened in
those directions in which it is weak;
that there should be authorized and
begun, as soon as men and facilities
can be provided, rs additional scout
cruisers, IS additional destroyers and
at least 40 sea-going submarines.
Congress has failed to make any
adequate provision for an air navy, for
scouting purposes with the fleet and
particularly for assisting in the detec-
ton and destruction of submarines. It
is Imperative that our navy be provid-
ed with a numerous fleet of powerful
hydro and provision should
be made on every one of our fast
scouts for carrying and launching at
least three of these.
"But, after all, we have yet to speak
of what we consider to be the most
important asset of this country for the
creation and maintenance of the great
Navy which is necessary to preserve
it's safety and dignity. We refer to
the great ship-building yards of this
country, against which, most unfor-
tunately, the Navy department is at
present directing an attack of great
persistency. If the newspaper propa-
ganda of the Secretary of the Navy
is to be believed, the gentleman be-
hind these institutions are utterly de-
void of patriotism and are determined
to wiring the very last dollar that ex-
tortion can secure from the taxpayers
Of the country. Such a propaganda
from a cabinet minister, If kept up
with peEsistency, will have it's effect
and indeed, I am free to confess that
for a while I was inclined to believe
that there might be some foundation
for the Secretary's attitude. Today
after careful investigation, am full.
ly satisfied that the great ship-build
ing interests of this country are no,
only ready but extremely anxious t.
do their share in the great patriotic
work of strengthening the naval de-
lenses Of the United States.
81 have spoken so far as Chairman
of the Navy committee of the Nationa
Security league, but in closing,
would like to add word or two on tn
most important feature of the situa
ton as it affects the Army. To m,
mind, for the Army as for the Nav,
there is just one possible solution o
the problem of getting men, and tina
is the institution of universal militar
service and training, and I say thi
without in the least disparaging tn
patriotic work done in the years gon
by by the individual officers and me-
of the National Guard. 1t is my con
viction that the whole history of thi
system, from the War of the Revolu
ton down to the recent fiasco on tn
Mexican border, has proved, abov
everything else, that it is inefficien
and unjust. There have been man
Indictments by military m9n an
others of the voluntary system, an
none has been so severe as that con
tanned in the recent report of the pre-