The Washington herald., 1917-02-18
Preparedness Of Country
Should We Enter World War

itive public service Government orders
ana government inspection are to be the
uie In times of peace In order to secure
emciency in the day of need.
] These and other plans Of the National
/ Couhcil of Defense will mean probably
.ne greatest change that has ever oc-
CURED In our history as nation. The
war mas brought about at single stroke
ueVeiopment of national consciousness
the world over which years of agitation
I achieved"
Army and navy officers agree, according
10 the Washington correspondents, that
war with Germany would present naval
rather than military problem. Our At
lantrc Fleet, now modified at Guanta-
tnmo' says the New York World, lis in
petter nghting condition than any fleet
that has flown the American flag" Al
| together, says the Springfield Republican.
/ our navy can add 40 per cent to the
entente lead on me sea- In fact,
Roughly speaking, our alliance with
the powers against Germany would mean
the ADDITION to fleet already twice the
size or Germany's, Austria's. and Tur-
KEY put together of a squadron at least
~ per cent as great az Germany's.
The addition of this strength would
from the first render an attempt to escape
on the part of the German fleet, bottled
up In the Kiel Canal and the Baltic, far
more improbable than 1t has been even
Dreadnought-to-D o-Dreadnought clash be-
tween Germany and the United States are
all but negligible
| "A serious battle with German war
ships on our coast could only occur after
the breaking of the first British line OF
the defense which has held since the time
or the Spanish Armada. And even in the
sea power were broken, the Germans
could hardly be expected to gain their VIC
tory without suffering such losses that
| their prospects for defeating the Ameri-
can squadron would be slight.
| THE prime duty of our fleet would be
to keep the food ships plying between
America and Great Britain. Its first
practical service would in alr probability
be performed in patroling the coast with
our hfty-seven destroyers against an at
| tempted blockade on the part OF Ger
many's great war submarines of the U-52
| type, and in conveying merchantmen be-
yond the submarine Gordon which Ger
many might seek to throw round us"
New Inventions.
| Our naval efficiency can be greatly in
creased. according to the Council OF Ma
| tional Defense, by new inventions and
methods worked out by the Naval Con-
sulting Board. Some OF these devices. &C
cording to member of the board, ARE
lfar in advance OF anything known TO
| European navies, and in the event of a
conflict will give us a decided advantage" "
The Cleveland Leader predicts that in
case of war the shipping OF the Great
Lakes will be drawn ON Ito help provide
a huge fleet of dispatch boats, troop
transports. supply and hospital ships, and
wrecking and salvage vessels. as an aux
Hilary to Uncle Sans sea fighters" But
our greatest need. in the opinion of many
observers, will require a fleet of sea
wasps" to deal with the submarine
menace. Preparations to build such a
motor-boat patrol fleet, we are told, have
already been begun by the Navy Depart
ment. These small, swife craft are to
be equipped with fore and aft guns. wire
less. searchlights, and unique bombing
devices. Says the New York Evening
Sun:
| "Yachtsmen estimate that not fewer
than 1000 boats of type of which only
a few exist in the United States today
would be necessary for the proper patrol
! of the coast. In view OF the speed with
which patrol boats were built for Eng
land 1t Is believed that the 1000 boats
could be built in much less than a year
to substitute or supplement the work
against submarines that may have to be
done in the first instance by the private
owned volunteer craft. The United States
has now two types of patrol boats that
were constructed for test and as a guide
| for yachtsmen. Both boats, one thirty
five feet in length and the other siXty-siN
are capable of doing twenty-five or thirty
miles an hour"
In the seronautical branch Of our de-
fenses we are admittedly very weak, and
the National Aerial Patrol Commission
asks for the statloning of !. coo hydroaero.
planes along the coast and the training
of 5000 aviators. If war were declared to-
day. writes Mr.. Sterling Patterson, the
United States might be able to bring to-
gether 800 trained aviators and about the
same number of machines. Moreover
There is not single kite-balloon o,
ldirigible. or even an aeroplane. connected
with the coast artillery. There are
lseventy-three forts and forty-five field
batteries virtually at the mercy of long.
range guns of battleships lying beyond
the point of vision of artillery observers
Every European nation maintains both
balloons and aeroplanes for the purposes
of observation at coastal forts. Station
larry balloons are considered absolutely
essential IN the work of range-find.
ing. ."
! Comparison of our aeronautical equip.
ment with that of any proportionately
great European power fills one with Z
sence of importance. Great Britain, fol
instance-whiCh. incidentally, is believed
/ to be somewhat less fit aeronautically
than Germany-has between 5000 and 5,UC(
eviators. 1t has more than three times
that number OF aeroplanes."
Universal Service.
Direct military Intervention of tn.
United States in the war in Europe
Is not practicable, even were America
to desire it," according to the military
expert of the London Times. But mil
itary experts in Washington are quoted
as predicting the passage of a uni
Iversal-service law soon after a decla
ration of war, not only to provide &
defense against invasion, but to Civ,
an offensive weapon against German!
II the war should continue two year,
more. Meanwhile the Philippine Sen
ate has adopted bill providing for &
Philippine army division of 25,00t
men. and the Japanese of Hawaii ar,
prepared to offer to the United State!
the services of $4,000 trained Japanes,
| Tho