The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-12-09
SECRETARY DANIELS

UlUul NIL UnUIlIU
! Continued from page one.)
year. which were submitted in accord
ancc with the requirements of law
| on Oct. Il. before the armistice was
signed. total 44.S07, 046. But the
secretary states that the signing of
the arm stice will, of course. enable
radical reductions to be made and
that these will be submitted later.
! In urging a second ihree-year pro-
gram including ten. battleships and
six battle cruisers, the other 40 YES
sells TO be OF such types as the naval
authorities shall determine are best
Al demonstrated by the experience of
the war, Secretary Daniels adopted in
1915. of constant and consistent de-
yelopment of the navy. He reviews
the building of destroyers and new
i records made in construction. the
! building of hundreds of submarine
fchasers and The design and contract
for 100 boats of tho Eagle" tyne
being built-in the Ford plant at De-
/ troit
! Work on carital ships TO some ex-
tent necessarily suspended the pre-
vious year Is now to be pushed, the
secretary states. He pays "a high trib-
ute to the ability and distinguished
service of Rear Admiral David w.
Taylor. chief of the bureau Of cons
struction and repair. and tho person
incl of the construction corps. The
vessels contracted for during the year
are four battleships. one battle cruis-
Ter. two fuel ships, one transport. one
gunhoat ono ammunition ship, 223
destroyer fifty-cight submarines. II
| fabricated patrol vessels tincluding
twelve for the Italian governmenD,
Ininety-two submarine chasers tinclud-
ing fifty for the French governmcnt
/ hfty-one mine sweepers, twenty 1--WE
| sea gutng tugs forty-six haRbor tugs,
a large number rf- lighters. barges
| and other auxiliary farbor craft and
in addition contracts have been placed
flor twelve large fuel ships in con-
junction with the Emergency Fleet
corporation Up to oct. |, 1919,
there had been launched l55 ships.
in the first nipe months of the year
no less than eighty-three destroyers
OF 9S,2Si tons aggregate normal dis
placement, as contrasted with Sixty
1.-TWO destroyers of 5S.2S5 tons during
the entire nine years preceding 1918.
New records have been made In de-
stroyer construction, only seventy
days having elapsed from tho laying
of the keel of the Ward. built in the
navy yard at Mare Island, Cal. TO
the placing of the ship in commits
sion. only seventeen and one half
DAYS elapsing from the day of the
laying of the keel TO the launching
Of the ship. The dazzle" painting
tof the ships against submarine attacks
lis commended AS superior to the
icamouflage. while the 'battleship
gray" is stated to he about the most
desira BILE for all-around purposes. Up
ito October I. 1918. not less than l.l27
vessels had been specially painted
GnI
wage work has been fully organized
and many damaged ships cared for
An Engineering War.
Secretary Daniels says that both on
land and sea this has been very
largely an engineering war. and he
holds that electric propulsion of
vessels. applied With complete sue
cess TO the battleship New Mexico.
is a great achievement in engineering.
iCommendation given to the vision
and tho wisdom of Rear Admiral
Griffin. chief of the bureau of steam
engineering and his able assistants"
The secretary gives an account OF the
repairing of German ships taken over,
and says that electric welding solved
the problem OF saving the cylinders
deliberately damaged by the Ger
mans, the work done proving a com
IpIete success. 1t being estimated that
s20.000.0 600 and years time was
saved by the process.
Drydocks are declared prime
requisite, and it is stated that crafty
ing progress is being made. Legisla-
ton for navy-yard development Is
urged. the navy's policy being stated
to he to construct every type of snip
and every character of munition re-
quired In its own plants: extensive i'm
provements in navy yards being re-
Iported The work done in naval sta
tons In foreign waters IS detailed, as
lis also the aid given allied shipping.
The report tells of notable achieve
ments in ordnance, especially the no
table work of the fourteen-inch naval
guns on railway mounts on the west
ern front, which hurled shells far be-
hind the German lines. these mounts
being designed and completed In
four months The land battery of
these naval guns was manned exclu-
sively by bluejackets under command
of Rear Admiral c. =. Plunkett. The
work of the bureau OF ordnance is
praised. and Admiral Earle. the chief
of the bureau. is declared "one Of the
ablest and fttest officers"
An account Is given OF the mine
harrage In the North sea. one OF the
outstanding anti-submarine offensive
projects OF the year. this closing the
North sea. One hundred thousand
mines were manufactured and $1,000
shipped abroad. A special mine load
ing plant with capacity of more
than l000 mines day was estab-