The Sentinel=record., 1918-12-13


 Lack of ships of this type. he do.l clarc1. would have been fatal to the United States if it had been fighting the war alone.
 Admiral Badger said that beforoI t1o armistice vas signed requriuc| Germany ;o surrender the grcatc~I part of her navy the general hoart| had recommended a six year building program to include la dreadnaueht3' @nd 1G battlcship cruisers but added that immediate necessities would oe met by the three year buildine pro gram recommended by the secretary of the navy
 This program will add l6 battle cruisers to the six already authorized, he said, aad at the same rate ol au- thorilation would mako total of l9 by lo2j Great Britain now has l3 of these vessels built, or building, he said and it is estimated she will have 70 or % ny 1925.
 Admiral Badger said that type for type. American hattleships compare ! favorahly in power with those Of any other nation. pointing cut that the six 0attlcships soon t0 be laid down are designed for displacement of l3,00o sons of 23 knots speed, a maiU battery of 12 sixteen inch guns and are heavily armorcd They will bo the most powerful vessels in the
 world. he said
 Admiral Badger stated that pro visions for los doStroycrs IS made i'm tho 1920 three year program. There ere 3i2 either buil. or being built. heI said, and in 1925 thero will, there fore, be total of i50, compared with England's 5l6 ct present.
 The submarine program calls for 21 fleet submarines, 1iG type. ? aati-snlmarines and i2 mine layers, he said There are now built. build ing pr authorized. a total Of 169 coast submarines and 3 fleet submarines The general board estimates that al total of 29l < type boats are required and recommends that % be author ized now. The British navy mas now built or building 22S submarines of which about = are large, or flee type"
 Admiral Badger emphasized thcl need for additional mine sweepersl and patrol vessels and spoke Of thel development during the war of tho eeroplane carrier. bitr7 tr76TTI-6m-TTF1 will be preceded in the future by op,l cratiors in the air, he stated, and the general board recommends that the fleet be provided with facilities sol cai1y-on such operations.
 dispositions of the ships surren.l Ddcred by Germany rests with the reaco conference. Admiral Badger stated in response to questions at tEo close of the meeting as to whether or not he thought these vessels should be destroyed, returned or distributed among the allies.
 If England gets the lions share ofl those ships asked Representative Kelley of Michigan, republican, do you think we should go to a pointl where we should have a navy equall to hero
 "Thc necessity Of the United Statesl navy being equal to the most power ful maintained by any other nation in the world by 1925 is as great now as it has ever been," replied the ad miral.
 This may not Do possible by 1925 if the German ships are distributed in large numbers to certain powers. but we should do it as speedily as possible"
 Ln reply 10 question of Represes tative Butler whether the general 1 board had adopted any general pol icy in rcgard to the distribution of the fleets in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans Admiral Badger said that no policy had been recommended as yet
 An account Of the development and scope of activities of German subma- rines was given by Admiral Badger. Ten years ago, the submarine was not larger than lj0 tons, could cruise less than 5G0 miles, and was very vulner- alle. Today they are thirty times larger and can make trips of 7c0o miles and more. They have destroy cd hundreds of vessels and have laid mines in sea lanes and in harbora, making constant sweeping operations necessary.
 Admiral Badger told the committee that the country never has been, and probably never will be again, as well prepared to build q powerful fleet as at present Hundreds of thousands of men have become skilled in shipyards which have been building vessels for the merchant marine, he said, and as fast as these yards are released from that work the training and ereriencc of these men should be utilized to the greatest extent possible.