Evening star., 1918-12-09
Secretary Daniels Urges An
other 3-Year Program Cost
ing $500, 900, 900.
IN WAR OUTLINED

! greater thrill of pride when the world
fully knows the many instances of
| splendid courage which could not be
| fully disclosed during the struggle
| and musa be left for the historian to
record
Record Of Notable Achievements.
| The report tells of achievements in
ordnance, especially the notable work
OF the fourteen inch naval guns on
! railway mounts on the western front,
| which hurled shells far behind the
| German lines. these mounts being de-
signed and completed in four mon tbs.
An account is given of the mine bar
| rage in the North sea, one of the out
| standing anti-subnarine offensive
projects of the year, thus closing the
North sea. a special mine-loading
1000 mines a day, was established by
| tho Navy Department. star shell
was developed which when fired in
| the vicinity of an enemy fleet will
light it up. make ships visible and
render it an easy target, without dis
closing the position of our own ships
at night. The bureau Of ordnance,
under the direction of Rear Admiral
| Earle. is stated TO have met and con-
| quered the critical shortage of high
j
| to prolong the time of preparation
necessary for America to smash the
! German military forces.
Non-Recoil Aircraft Gun Perfected.
| The work of the bureau in complet-
! ing a successful Davis non-recoil air.
| craft gun is declared to be "a great
| milestone in aircraft armament" and
| there is given an account of a. heavy
o.,
/ submarine warfare and the protec-
| tion of merchant ships by increased
armament, naval gun production being
! stated to have kept pace with war
! needs. while the smokeleSs powder
| output was increased. In the future,
| it is stated, American dreadnaughts
| and battle cruisers will be armed with
! a 16-inch gun, making these the heav-
| lest armed vessels in the world. Depth
| charges are stated to be the most eff
| fective anti-submarine weapon, and
| American vessels were adequately
| armed with that new weapon.
| Great strides in torpedo production
| have been made. A new long-range
proving ground on the Potomac, near
Machodoc creek, Va, has been ac-
gineering has been carried out with
eminent success.
THE Navy that flies" is given special
! reference, it being stated that the eX-
| PdHSkO4l VI IldNdl dtldlIOu HAS UCcIl
of gratifying proportions and effec-
tiveness, many air stations being
established at home and abroad. Naval
aircraft has been big factor in the
war, and aircraft has come to stay"
says Secretary Daniels, who plans for
i it's permanency and development
! Speaks of Enlarged Navy.
When war was declared the Navy
| harpn G5777 the dav
Germany signed the armistice this had
increased to 10000 men and women.
! Referring to the excellent work done
by the women who enlisted, the Secre-
well as a man ought to receive the
same pay, and that policy has been
carried out by the Navy"
| When war was declared there were
1871 ships in commission, now there
are :,0o3 vessels in service, and they
have been furnished with trained
officers and men, "and how fit they
were all the world attests." The
value of the Naval Reserve is en-
phasized and the evolution which
brought this into being as an es-
sential part of the Navy is recounted.
From a small enrolment when the
war broke out, this grew to 85,473 by
April, 1918, and now numbers about
100000.
Competitive Building to End.
In reference to the three-year
building program, Secretary Daniels
says:
The day is not far distant when
the world will witness an end of
competitive building between nations
of mighty weapons Of war. In the
peace treaty there will undoubtedly
be incorporated President Wilson's
proposal for reduction of arma-
ment to the lowest point consistent
with domestic safety
"Navies will still be needed as an
international police force to compel
compliance with the decree of an in
ternational tribunal which will be set
up to decide differences between ma
tons. Naval vessels will have large
peace tasks of survey and discovery
and protection in addition to police
duty of aa International as we'll as
of a national character.
"Inasmuch as the United States is
the richest of the great nations, and
has suffered less in war than any Of
the allied powers, it will devolve
upon this country to make contri-
button to the navy to preserve the
peace of the world commensurate
with it's wealth, its commerce, it's
growing and expanding merchant
marine. and its leadership in the
our duty now not, indeed. to enter
upon any new and ambitious naval
program, but to go forward steadily
upon the lines of naval increase to
(which the country committed itself by
the adoption three years ago of the
first far-reaching constructive naval
program in the history of the repub-
lie
Il have recommended to this Con-
gress the adoption Of another three
gear program substantially like the
one authorized in 1916. But the VIC
tory of the allies and the United
states should, and will, 1 sincerely
trust within few years make it no
longer necessary for any nation un-
der whip and spur to burden its tax
payers to undertake to build. in com
petitive construction, bigger fighting
ships and more of them than any
iother nation can construct"
Recital Of Accomplishments.
AS concrete evidence of what was
accomplished, the report shows that on
October 1 there were S3S United
States naval ships abroad, with 5000
officers and 10000 enlisted men, or a
greater force than the total strength