The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-08-20
WHAT WE ARE DOING FOR
OUR ALLIES AMERICA AT WAR
How We Will Strike in the Fight For Freedom-The
Iimitless Resources of Our Great Country.

Fight For Freedom-Ine
{ Our Great Country.
the supply of a naval reserve force,
but tfnsp contemplate, primarily, a
vast programme of construction. This
covers the period between the years
1917 to 1921, and has in view OF the
building of forty-eight standard bat
tleships of the super-dreadnought
type. None of these ships has yet
been laid down, but, If the arrange
ments adopted before the war with
Germany broke out are carried
eighty-two vessels of varying types
were to have been begun bytJuly LIST.
/ The American fleet in being, though
small compared with the fighting
forces which Britain and Germany
now have in commission, is by no
means a negligible quantity. 1t in
cludes eight dreadnoughts with r..
inch guns, the most modern being the
Arkansas of $50 tons. Since 1914
six super-dreadnoughts armed with
14-inchasguns have been commission
ed. They are as powerful lighting
craft, probably as any of the parti-
cipants in the war now possess. The
Texas and the New York are of IT,
UVO lOuS CdCnS LH0 1NGVdud anu Lil6
Oklahoma displace 81, tons each,
and the Pennsylvania and the ArIona
are of 31.4oO, tons each. The last
named units mount twelve 14-inch
guns apiece. Five other ships of the
same type, lin some respects even
| more powerful, are on the stocks.
Three of them are more than half
completed. There are, in addition to
these capital ships, & seventeen or
twenty armored cruisers, sof. which the
most modern are four of The Tennes-
see class, of 1880 tons, their main
batteries mounting four 10-inch guns.
! Our new naval programme also
provides for four light cruisers of
thirty-fiye knots speed, armament of
eight 6-inch guns and twelve torpedo
tubes. Nine fleet submarines and fif-
ty-eight coast submarines are to be
constructed, each well over 1000 tons
displacement, with a surface speed
i merged, their armament consisting of
ten torpedo tubes and 12-pounder
i guns,
Once again we shall be able to draw
for naval personnel on the same kind
of hardy seafaring stock What Is bred
on British coasts Sai1or-folk are in
digenous to the ,seaboards of the At
tlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico,
land from our Middle and North
West which border the shores of the
i Great Lakes, raw material for blue
jackets exists In plenty. Annapolis
fulfil1s for the United States the same
4 function as Osborne in turning on,
fmidshipnnen admirals to be-. and while
the American Naval Academy, like
the American Military Academy, is
not capable of supplying at once even
I Approximately the number of officers
required to transfer the United States
4 to a war footing, we shall eventually
produce them. But that all-vital es-
lsentia1-time-wiIl as in nearly ev-
terything connected with aur war pre-
. parations, require to be heavily and
: patiently drawn upon.
Il As might be expected from the
land OF Wilbur and Orville Wright we
Fare preparing to do great things in
!, the air campaign, Mr.. Alan r.. Haw.
j ley, president eof the Aero Club Of
America, announces that the conclu,
sion has been reached BY the 4offi.
Gals Of the Governments Aircraft
Production Board and the Aero Club
in conference, that the United State.
must strike Germany through the
air." In order to accomplish this ar
addition would he made to the Allies
present aerial forces, to ensure the
: binding OF the German batteries and
, to prevent German aviators from
crossing the Allies lines. Arrange
ments have been made for the con
lstruction of $500 war aeroplanes and
for the training of 5000 airmen thi
{ year. Mr.. Henry Woodhouse, Of tn,
! New York Aero Club, declares tina
the United States can produce 500
wieo los. III Tr.~
D Entry into the war found us, o
5 course, as practically unprepared 70
! fighting in the air as. on land an,
!. sea.
The aeronautic service of any on
: of the European belligerents is sal,
!. to be ten times the strength the Uni
ted States will have when machine
: now under order are delivered.
Up to April, 1917, when we went t
3 war with Germany, the total FLYNN
8 strength of the American army an
0 navy, then in service and in machine
y under order for delivery this yeal
9 was 522 planes, balloons, and dirig
ell ibles.
Q 1t will be observed from this brie
summary how hopelessly unread
America was to take an effective pa1
in fighting Germany in the air. Bu
g is an almost inexhaustible supply 9
. young airmen. and an almost unlimit
+ ed 'tplant" for the manufacture {
. aeroplanes and dirigibles. Americ
= has been taking part in the air wa
= in France and Flanders already o
IT no inconsiderable scale. Hundreds {
= young Americans-I have heard til
l. number estimated at as high as /
y, 000-are in the British and Frenc
8. flying Corps, especially in the Cana
"a dian Contingent France has long f,a
m regulation American Flying Div
,e sion," consisting exclusively of sor
3 of Uncle Sam, and some of them hay
le won distinguished honors Nm combat
8. ing the Boche aloft. Any number {
D. them have fallen CALAMITY in actor
Ill 1T is ships, ships, ships, and evs
is again Ships that Mr.. Lloyd Geors
Or a few weeks ago, addressing a
L American audience In London define
pr as the need of needs which the Un
IN ted States can supply for the benef
D. of the Allied cause in general ar
n for British requirements in particl
y 1<r y NJ. !,