The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-12-16
? TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFOR MA TION
Blu RE AU i
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director.
THE NAVAL. PROGRAM.
Washington. D. G


THE NAVAL PROGRAM
Washington D. c.. Dec. ta~-The
secretary of the navy hasrasked con-
gress for six hundred million dollars
for additional naval construction. con-
stituting a second "three-year pro-
gram"
This is simply the next step In car
rying on the policy inaugurated lin
1915, before this country. entered the
war for increasing the size Of the
navy The work of the navy does not
end with the war. There is still a large
American merchant marine to protect.
and there will be, it is hoped, league
of nations, the DEGREES of which Will
have to be enforced upon disobedient
nations by the navies of the world.
Thinking Americans are strongly in
favor of a>po~erful navy. If the
navy in 1914, the war might have
been over long before this, but it has
taken a great deal of bitter expert
ence to make us realize the necessity
of keeping Our-weaponsN sharpened.
Before the war, the navy department.
was able to secure appropriations for
one or tive new battleships every
year, only after prolonged agitation
and haggl.ng with congress. Some
times it asked for two, and got only
one. In 1916. however. when our
participation in the war began to ap-
pear inevitable. the first big naval
program was received by congress. IL
not with enthusiasm. at least with toll
erance. The navy succeeded in get
ting g. three-years' appropriation for
three years will be up on the first of
next July. and the navy is now re-
questing the money for another three
year program including the same
number of ships.
Guided in the first three-year program
have not yet been completed, partly
because it takes long time to build
modern battleships. and partly because
this work has been thrust into the
background by a greater emergency
the submarine situation. Destroyers
have had to be built instead and
smaller craft, like the Eagle" boats
and sub-chasers, capable of combat
ing Submarines. In the period that
this country has been at war, over
fifteen hundred craft have been added
to the navy. I'm addition to the many
ydestroyers and sub-chasers built, the
navy has taken over hundreds of YES
sels-merchantmep. yachts, tugs,
motor craft. and all kinds that could
vessels needed. The interned German
vessels have been repaired and put
into service as troop transports and
supply ships The United States navy
today has six times as many ships as
it had at the beginning of the Euro
pean war, and ten times an large a
personnel Including marines and re-
serves. there are now 100000 officers
and men in the naval sarvice. In
GLIDING the marine corps. which is a
part of the navy, altho in France it
fights with the army. the navy has
more men than all the navies of the
world had before the world war be-
gan in 1914.
Great Britain alone still keeps
ahead of us. but the British navy h0
For years 1t has been-England's policy
to maintain a two-navy standard. In
other words, it held, the idea that in
order properly to protect its world
wide possessions, it should have a
navy as strong as any other two nav
les in the world. And this idea. was
consistently carried out. even tho it
bec4me extremely difficult and ex-
pensive when the German govern
ment began to add greatly to the size
OF its navy. For every ship that Ger
many built. Great Britain endeavored
to build two. While heBritish navy
today has nots as many men on its
rolls as the American navy. its ton
mage is much larger.
The French navy. while very eff
cient, has not been increased in the
same proportion as the British and
American navies. France, fighting
for its very life, has had to devote its
principal energies to its army, and has
not been able to build Aships on the
same huge scale as have the British
and Americans. The Italian navy,
while not so large as the others. ha.
been greatly strengthened and i'm
| proved. and did sAendid work in the
Mediterranean and Adriatic, where it
| DESTROYED the Austrian naval base at
Durazzo. T.
The carrying OF millions of Ameri-
| can troops 5000 miles overseas has
been characterized as 1.-THE biggest
transportation job on earth" This
task was entrusted to the navy, which
| mans and operates all our troop ships
carrying munitions and supplies to ouI
armies overseas. So well has this ia SIX
| been performed that not single
American troopship under American
CT nvcy has been sunk on the way tc
! France The British navy has given
the greatest assistance in troop trans-
portation. furnishing many fast liners
for this purpose. A few Of these Brit.
ish ships. notably the Tuscania, this
Moldayia and the Persic. have beer
transportation of 100000 soldiers
has not been as large as Is sometime.
the case in the sinking of a single pas.
| senger vessel.
| In addition to conveying transports
AMI merchant ships, and patrolline
thousands OF miles of ocean from tbs
North Sea to tho Mediterranean ant
the Adriatic. guarding our own lonl
coast lines and patro;ling the Westerr
! Atlantic. the islericafr navy engaged
in extensive activities abroad during
| the wa.
| q One Of the most important features
| of the anti-submarine warfare wa3 thu
huge mine barrage across the NORTH
sea, which was almost entirely ceQ
structed by the United States will
mines of American invention. Oul
navy laid a pipe line clear across Scot.
land to pump oil for naval vessel.
from the west to the east coast, saving
the long haul formerly necessary.
built large number of aviation base,
covering the ontire western coast o.